Cultural Policy and the Politics of Culture in Latin America

3 units

This course will examine cultural policy making in Latin America, which has developed from the close relationship between the state and a nation's writers, intellectuals, and artists. Focusing on case studies from Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, we will explore ways in which the arts have connected with civil society and the public sphere, in turn becoming engines of economic development, political mobilization, and social intervention. We also will examine the evolution of Latin American media and the manner in which public intellectuals have shaped public opinion in the region. Authors include Mary Coffey, George Yudice, Néstor García Canclini, Nicola Miller, and Anne-Marie Stock, among others.