Debating Cultures: Race, Migration, and Coloniality in Mediterranean Crossings

3 units

Taking as a point of departure the cultural and religious diversity of medieval Iberia, this course takes a postcolonial approach to the study of migrant cultures in contemporary Spain. The course studies migrants both as objects of representation and as producers of culture. From filmmakers to literary writers, thinkers on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar produce narratives about migration that invite us to reflect upon how immigrant communities are racialized, how religion becomes entangled with far-right politics, and how Spain's colonial legacies shape immigrants' lives. The materials studied include film (Chus Gutiérrez) and literary texts (Najat el Hachmi). As part of the course, students will discuss the interplay of cultural production, history, and politics. Students will be encouraged to think about the relevance, and limits of, prevailing and emerging concepts such as Orientalism (Said), andalucismo (Hirschkind), migration studies, and Mediterranean studies. This course will have a strong writing and oral communication component. 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.