BCULTS 589 Topics in Global Cultural Studies

This course will center on the question, how is culture used to articulate resistance? We will look at some of the rich history of political cultural production in Latin America, the Caribbean, and diaspora used by social movement actors as voices of resistance and opposition. Specifically, we will focus on music, murals, graffiti art, popular theater, testimonies, magazines, memory activism, and fictional writing as means of conveying revolutionary activism and committing marginalized voices to the historical archives. We will look at examples from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the diaspora.
Student learning goals
You should see solid improvement in your research and writing skills
You should understand the place of politics in reshaping cultures and vice versa
You should be able to make connections between historical and contemporary events
You should understand the place of culture in articulating political messages
You should be able to link Latin American cultural studies theories and cases to those you have studied or are studying elsewhere in the program
You should make concrete progress on your MACS Portfolio
This class is set up as a seminar. We will discuss the readings as a group with little formal lecturing. The class will be reading and writing intensive. We will use a variety of different types of text including: films, fiction, social science, history, and testimonies. Required reading: Partnoy, Alicia. 1998. The Little School: Tales of Disappearance and Survival. SF, Calif.: Midnight Editions. Shayne, Julie. 2009. They Used to Call Us Witches: Chilean Exiles, Culture, and Feminism. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. And a collection of articles available through online e-reserves and canvas