Researching Cultures: Cumbia Culture in Latin America

3 units

This course explores the social impact of cumbia culture in Latin American lifestyles. Why has this music genre become a staple of Latin American countries? How does this music genre interact with the social, ethnic, and economical issues of the region(s)? By looking at cumbia as a transnational phenomenon, we will study how this genre interacted with different contexts and countries, such as Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and the United States. We will explore the multiple cultural practices related to this culture, including music production, visual imagery, identities, parties, and dance. Our material includes music, album covers, video footage, and films, starting from the sixties to the present. From these productions, students will develop research essays using academic sources and methodologies from the cultural discussions of the classes with the guidance of the instructor. This course will have a strong, mandatory, and graded written communications component and is taught in Spanish. Students who have taken more than four Spanish culture or literature classes are not allowed in this course and must proceed to a Major Seminar.