Intro to Latin American Studies

(4 Credits)

This course is designed to introduce students to some of the most important problems and debates about Latin American history, society and culture. Latin America is a complex region full of contrasts. Its population is both racially and culturally heterogeneous. Its many countries share some common cultural roots and political origins, but also have distinct histories. The structure of this course is primarily chronological but also thematic. We will start with the Conquest and its legacies and we will end with the problems that we experience today in big cities in Latin America. The course favors a multi-disciplinary approach, and therefore we will use a different array of materials including films, letters, photographs and essays. We will emphasize first hand accounts of the topics we discuss.