Seminar On Urban Cultures in Latin America

3 units

The course will focus on the key role urban development and urban cultures have had in Latin America with particular emphasis on contemporary times. The goal of the course is to discuss the connections between the formation and expansion of cities, the definitions of citizenship, and the role of modernity in the development of high and popular cultures within different historical and geo-cultural contexts. Particular attention will be paid to the issues of race, class and gender. Te course, which will utilize an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, will also focus on the phenomena of marginality, cultural resistance, nationalism and consumerism as well as on the role played by the media in contemporary Latin American societies. Some of the cultural expressions to be analyzed in the course are music (rock, pop, rap), sports, film and video.