ANTHROPOLOGY
217 Race and Ethnicity Cross-Cultural Perspectives
An introduction to the main theories that attempt to explain race and ethnicity,
including the notion that both are social and not biological entities.
Case studies from around the New World that reflect the ways different
socioeconomic, political, and historical structuring contexts encourage
varying forms of racial and ethnic identification. Application of the principles
derived from this study to understanding racial and ethnic interaction
and tensions in the contemporary United States. Prerequisite: Anthropology
112. Four credit hours.
231 Caribbean Cultures An examination
of the historical and contemporary development of the Caribbean; careful
consideration to the racial and ethnic composition of its people. Issues
such as family, class, color, gender, politics, and economic underdevelopment
provide an understanding of the problems presently facing the region. Also
listed as African-American Studies 231. Prerequisite: Anthropology 112.
Four credit hours.
With permission of LAS director and course instructor.
234 Cocaine Cultures: From Production to Consumption As a commodity, cocaine connects the lives of millions of people across nations and continents. The study of the cocaine trade can be useful in addressing issues associated with processes of development and globalization. An analysis of the intersection of global economic and political forces with local conditions. Focuses on topics such as development and agricultural producers in Latin America, the formation of trafficking networks, middle class patterns of consumption, and U.S. foreign policy. Formerly offered as Anthropology 298. Prerequisite: Anthropology 112. Four credit hours.
235 Latin American Culture and Society
An examination of the culture and political economy of rural Latin American
societies, assessing the extent to which a historical approach that focuses
on systems of values and institutions promoting social integration best
explains these societies. Prerequisite: Anthropology 112. Four credit hours.
ECONOMICS
214 Economic Policy and Performance in Contemporary Latin America
Analysis of macroeconomic stabilization policies and microeconomic issues
such as regional trade, agriculture, the transnational narcotics industry,
the environment, and labor markets in contemporary Latin America. Prerequisite:
Economics 133 and 134. Four credit hours.
435 Seminar: Latin American Economic Development Can Latin America compete in a globalized economy while providing opportunities for a sustainable increase in the quality of life for its citizens? Seminar explores economic constraints and opportunities for growth, including financial flows, human capital, inequality, trade, social entrepreneurship, and environment in Latin America. Prerequisite: Senior standing as an economics, Latin American studies, or international studies major and one of the following: Economics 214, 277, 278, 335, or 373. Four credit hours.
GOVERNMENT
253 Latin American Politics
An introduction to major political institutions, actors, and processes
in the region as well as some key concepts and controversies affecting
discussions of Latin America today. Specifically, an effort to find answers
to the following questions: 1) What are the sources of political instability
in Latin America? 2) What are the basic patterns of state-society interaction
in the region? 3) Is it possible to "make democracy work" in Latin America?
Prerequisite: Government 151. Four credit hours.
254 Latin American Politics in Film
The study of Latin American politics approached from a fresh and creative
perspective. An introduction to major political topics in Latin America
through the interrelated analysis of feature films and readings. Films
are in English or Spanish/Portuguese with subtitles. Topics include human
rights, social movements, discrimination, and political violence. Three
credit hours.
335 United States-Latin American Relations
The evolving relationship between Latin America and the United States from
the 1790s to the present. Analysis will focus on the continuities and changes
in U.S. policy toward Latin America as well as Latin American perceptions
and policies towards the United States; special attention to U.S. policy
in Central America during the Cold War. Post-Cold War issues such as hemispheric
economic integration, drug trafficking, and immigration. Prerequisite:
Government 151 or 253. Four credit hours.
450 Seminar: Democratization in Latin America
Understanding key problems such as the transition from authoritarianism
to democracy, the role of various actors in this process, and the challenges
for the consolidation of democracy. A theoretical analysis of these issues
will be combined with an in-depth study of specific cases to understand
how democracy re-emerged and how it works in Latin America. Prerequisite:
Government 151 or 253. Four credit hours.
HISTORY
For 173 and 174 see LAS below.
272 History of Law, Society, and Rebellion in Mexico Looking beyond the clichéd image of the Mexican bandit, a consideration of the complex economic, social, and political problems behind ruptures in the legal order from Aztec times to the present. Focusing on revolts, the social origins and political construction of crime, and state regulation of popular culture, the course both traces the outlines of the history of Mexico and considers how notions of legality vary across time and cultures. Four credit hours.
274 Race, Religion and Frontiers in Iberian-American Colonization Topics include the medieval roots of Iberian expansion and the importance of religion and race in the Conquest; the institutional and social construction of colonial society, including Iberians' cultural baggage--notions of racial purity and piety and related ideas such as honor and hierarchy; decolonization, focusing on the struggle over abolition; and the persistence of Iberian notions of race and colonization in the Americas. Four credit hours.
275j Strongmen and Populism in Modern Spain and Latin America A cross-disciplinary study of the historical factors behind the creation of Trujillo's dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, the rise of Getulio Vargas's Estado Novo in Brazil, the role of Zapata as an agrarian warlord in the Mexican Revolution, the failure of the Spanish Republic and the emergence of Franco's regime, and the crises that have brought populist regimes and caudillos, or charismatic strong leaders, to power. Three credit hours.
277 History of the Maya from 200 B.C.
A multidisciplinary survey (archaeology, anthropology, sociology, literature,
and history) of the trajectory of the Mayan peoples from the writing of
the first known Maya glyphs (c. 200 B.C.) to the current conflicts in Chiapas
and Guatemala. Four credit hours.
473 Research Seminar: Roots of Political and Ethnic Conflict in Modern Latin America Why have modern Latin American states consistently faced resistance and rebellion from peasants and indigenous peoples? An interdisciplinary examination of Latin America's colonial legacy, followed by analysis of conflicts spurred by 19th-century liberalism and 20th-century social revolutions in the Andes, Central America, and Mexico. Special attention to ethnicity, political violence, and different theoretical perspectives on how states are (un)made. Prerequisite: A previous course on Latin America and permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.
LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
173 History of Latin America Latin America's search for political stability and economic development from the origins of the indigenous American civilizations to the present. Major themes include the Aztec and Inca imperial conquests of the 14th century, Spanish and Portuguese colonization, the Bourbon and Pombaline rationalization of the 18th century, the independence wars and national civil wars of the 19th century, and right- and left-wing dictatorships. Four credit hours.
174 Introduction to Latin American Studies An intensive, cross-disciplinary introduction to Latin American society and culture. Elite and popular search for identity through writings and art (music, painting, murals). Institutions and structures found across Latin America such as frontiers, the landed estate, urban shantytown, religious syncretism. Four credit hours.
483f, 484js Senior Honors Thesis
A year-long research project for senior majors, resulting in a written
thesis to be publicly presented and defended. Students may register either
for two credits in the fall, January, and spring terms or for three credits
in the fall and spring terms. Prerequisite: a 3.3 or higher major average
at the end of the junior year and permission of the Latin American Studies
Advisory Committee. Two or three credit hours.
491f, 492s Independent Study
An independent study project devoted to a topic chosen by the student with
the approval of an advisor. Only independent studies taken with a Colby
faculty member and approved by the director of the Latin American Studies
Program may count toward fulfilling major requirements. One to four credit
hours.
SPANISH
231 Advanced Spanish A
review of Spanish grammar at the advanced level. Prerequisite: Spanish
131. Four credit hours.
264 U.S. Latina/o Literature: "New" American Identities Premised on the notion that U.S. Latinas/os have always been part of the American experience and cultural identity, a survey of Latina/o cultural productions in the United States. Focusing on issues of race, class, sexuality, gender, and cultural position, we explore the ways in which Latina/o identities are constructed. Readings and class are in English. Prerequisite: Spanish 135 or permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.
273 Contemporary Spanish-American Short Story A study
of the contemporary Spanish-American short story through close readings
of representative texts by authors such as Reinaldo Arenas, Jorge Luis
Borges, Julio Cortázar, José Donoso, Rosario Ferré,
Gabriel García Márquez, Juan Rulfo, and Ana Lydia Vega.
Four credit hours.
276 U.S. Latina/Chicana Women Writers An examination
of a selection of novels, short stories, poetry, theater, and non-fiction
by United States Latina and Chicana women writers. Interdisciplinary
in approach, the course will focus on the relationship beween the texts
read and several important issues. Topics include feminism, the social
and cultural construction of race and ethnicity, immigration, cultural
nationalism, and identity formation. Readings are in English.
Four credit hours.
298A Creating Latinidad: Latino Identity in Expressive Cultures The significant population growth of Latinos in the United States underscores both their historical importance and contribution to U.S. cultural production. Latinos have used expressive cultures to mark identity and difference within U.S. society. An exploration of the ways in which Latino identities are forged through cultural texts such as literature, performance, and music, with a focus on questions of identity articulated through language, gender, and transnationalism. Prerequisite: Spanish 135. Four credit hours.
334 Women in Hispanic Texts Works by both male and female Hispanic authors are included in a study of the portrayal of women in Hispanic poetry and fiction. Readings reflect both traditional and nontraditional portrayals of women in what has been a particularly male-oriented culture. Fulfills the post-1800 Spanish-American literature requirement only. Prerequisite: A 200-level literature course. Four credit hours.
354 Detectives and Spies: Forms of Popular Culture in Spanish-American Fiction A consideration of how the classic detective story has permeated the realm of high or respectable art, and, in particular, how writers such as Bioy Casares, Borges, García Márquez, Leñero, Padura Fuentes, Puig, Sábato, Valenzuela, and Vargas Llosa have simultaneously appropriated and subverted the genre. While focused on the function of parody and intertextual relations, and on the distinction between the mimetic and the reflexive modes, the course will provide a framework to address questions of ideology, community, gender, sex, and sexuality. Previously offered as Spanish 398. Prerequisite: A 200-level literature course in Spanish. Four credit hours.
371 The Colonial Experience: European and Amerindian Responses to the Cultural Encounter An exploration of texts and iconography produced to report, understand, legislate, and record the various dimensions of the cultural encounter during the 16th and 17th centuries. Emphasizes the efforts by Europeans and Amerindians to control the memory of events and to position themselves in colonial society. Close readings of representative primary documents from all parts of the colonial Spanish world. Prerequisite: A 200-level literature course. Four credit hours.
398A Imagining America: Narratives of the Colonial Encounter An examination of representative authors from the literature of the conquest and the colonial period. Of principal interest will be the ways in which this selected colonial textual production "imagines" the individual, collective, political, cultural, and historical experiences in the shaping of New World identities. These different topoi will have a long-lasting presence in Europe and Latin America. Prerequisite: A 200-level literature course. Four credit hours.
493B Seminar: Family, Nation, and Sexuality in Reinaldo Arenas Arguably the most important writer to come out of Revolutionary Cuba, Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990) was ostracized in his native country for his political views and gay sexuality. In 1980 he settled in the United States, where, after struggling with AIDS, he committed suicide 10 years later. While focused on close readings of Arenas's works, the seminar will provide a framework for discussing familial relations, sexual practices, gender performances, national identities, cultural politics, and the dynamics of exile and migration. Prerequisite: Senior standing and a 300-level literature course. Four credit hours. |
