Debating Cultures: Latin(x) America in the Streets

3 units

So much of life in Latin America -- and in many Latinx communities across the United States -- happens in public space: in the streets, to be precise. Picture street food vendors in Mexico City, outdoor produce markets lining squares across Lima, Rio de Janeiro's world-famous carnival celebrations, or politicians addressing thousands in Buenos Aires's Plaza de Mayo. Economic transactions, social interactions, political legends and mass political movements, religious processions, festivals and spectacles, and public art all depend on the streets. In this course, we will focus on the incredible diversity of activities that define and give meaning to public life in Latin America and the Latinx diaspora. This course will have a strong, mandatory and graded oral communications component, and it is taught in Spanish. Prior or concurrent enrollment in Spanish 303 is required. Students who have taken more than two Spanish culture or literature classes are not allowed in this course and must proceed to a Researching Cultures class.