Courses
Undergraduate students participating in the "Mexico in Latin American Civilizations" study abroad program in Oaxaca visit Hierve el Agua.
Guide to 2008-09 Latin American Content Courses
Courses numbered 10000-19000 are general education and introductory courses. Courses numbered 20000-29900 are intermediate, advanced, or upper-level courses and are open only to undergraduates. Courses numbered 30000 and above are graduate or professional school courses and are available to undergraduate students only with the consent of the instructor. Undergraduates registered for 30000-level courses will be held to the graduate-level requirements. To register for courses that are cross listed as both undergraduate and graduate (20000/30000), undergraduates must use the undergraduate number (20000).
This is a tentative schedule, as of September 22, 2008. Offerings and times may be modified as additional information becomes available. Students enrolled in the master's or bachelor's program in Latin American Studies must consult with the CLAS program adviser to ensure that courses denoted by an asterisk will be designed to fulfill degree requirements. **
Fall 2008
ANTH 21256 IntsvStdy: Northern Mexico and the Border. As the US-Mexico border has become a focus of national attention, it has often been portrayed as out of control, unsecured, the site of an "invasion," where obscure and threatening forces penetrate the US. We will consider the formation of the border in historical context and ponder its function vis-à-vis US and Mexican national identities, state consolidation, and flows of labor and capitalthough with particular emphasis on changing social forms on the Mexican side. As we read historical and ethnographic (and other) accounts of the border, we will draw on an assortment of classic anthropological and social-theoretical approaches to the nation, the state, domination, identity, and boundaries. We will examine: 1. the formation of the border in the 19th century, 2. bureaucracy and border policing, 3. identity and built environment in today's border cities, and 4. the maquiladora or assembly-plant industry. Reading across these disparate literatures, we will draw connections between them even as we question the coherence of "the border" as a place and attempt to grasp its socially constituted nature. Yeh, Rihan 3:00-4:20 MW
ENGL 22809/42804 Comparative Literature of the Americas. The last decade has seen a dramatic shift away from nation-based approaches to literary studies and a desire to move towards more transnational approaches. But how and more importantly why should we do so? What is to be gained? This course will explore these conceptual questions as we read primary texts from late eighteenth and nineteenth-century Spanish America and the U.S. Raul Coronado. MW 1:30-2:50.
HIST 26404/36404. Cultural History of Modernist Americas. Between circa 1870 and 1930 artistic, literary, scientific, and political ideas, motifs, and style circulated throughout the main urban centers of the Americas (New York, Chicago, Mexico City, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Montevideo). The course is designed to deal with the historiography of such a modernist moment continentally, addressing issues related to art, architecture, urban planning, social science, race theory, economic thought, and political ideas. Tenorio, Mauricio. Tu 9:00-11:50am.
LACS 16100/34600. Introduction to Latin American Civilizations I. May be taken in sequence or individually. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This sequence fulfills the common core requirement in civilization studies by introducing students to the history and cultures of Latin America, including Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands. Autumn quarter examines the origins of civilizations in Latin America with a focus and the political, social, and cultural features of the major pre-Columbian civilizations of the Maya, Inca, and Aztec. The quarter concludes with consideration of the Spanish and Portuguese conquest and the construction of colonial societies in Latin America. Winter quarter addresses the evolution of colonial societies, the wars of independence, and the emergence of Latin American nation-states in the changing international context of the nineteenth century. Spring quarter focuses on the twentieth century, with special emphasis on the challenges of economic, political, and social development in the region. This course is offered every year. Emilio Kourí. Autumn. MWF 1:30-2:20pm
LACS 21304. US Imperialism in Latin America. As the 1990s gave rise to increasing public awareness of "globalization", so have recent years renewed discussion of the United States as an empire. In fact, neither phenomenon is new. Drawing primarily from recent historical scholarship that explores the connections between globalization and empire, this course examines behavior of the United States in Latin America and the ways that various countries in the region have alternately embraced, confronted, and managed a powerful neighbor. From the Spanish-American War of 1898 to the Central American conflicts of the 1980s, we will analyze military, economic, and cultural forms of imperialism. Studying the writings of skeptics, champions, and critics of the term, we will ask what historical analysis and politics have to gain (or lose) through the use of the concept of "imperialism". Patrick Iber, Ignacio Martín Baró Prize Lecturer. TuTh 10:30-11:50.
LACS 27101/37101. Beginners K'iche' Maya 1. K'iche' is a Maya language spoken by about one million people in the central highlands of Guatemala. The K'iche' language has played a central role in the Mayan cultural revitalization movement and has a long literary tradition, including works such as the Popol Wuuj (Popol Vuh) and Rabinal Achi. The Maya cultural revitalization movement and the subsequent rise in bilingual education in Guatemala have resulted in a number of interesting changes in both language structure and use. This course uses newly developed teaching materials, in addition to a revised version of the Stanley Wick and Remigio Cochojil-González textbook written for the late Norman McQuown. Robin Shoaps. MWF 9:30-10:20am. Fall 2008.
LACS 60302. Colloquium: Immigrations and Assimilation in American Life. This course explores the history of immigration in what is now the United States, starting with the colonial origins of Spanish, French, Dutch and English settlements, the importation of African slaves, and the massive waves of immigrants that arrived in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Additionally, we will study the adaptation of these immigrants, exploring the validity of the concept of assimilation, comparing and contrasting the experiences of the "Old" and "New" immigrants based on their race, religion, and class standing. Ramon Gutiérrez. Fall 2008. Tu 1:30-4:20pm
LACS 28304/38304. Topics in Mexican Economic Public Policy. (Prerequisite: ECON 20100 and 20300). This course will examine different economic public policies recently undertaken in Mexico. These include poverty alleviation, fiscal and financial policies, among others. Some comparative cases, such as other Latin American countries, will also be given as a reference. Fausto Hernández Trillo. Fall 2008. MW 3:00-4:20. [Fausto Hernández Trillo is Tinker Visiting Professor in Latin American Studies and the Harris School for Public Policy Studies. He is Professor at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico].
LACS 28604/38604. My Personal History of the "Boom." In this seminar course, Chilean novelist and diplomat Jorge Edwards reflects on his personal experience regarding the genesis of the "boom" period in the Latin American novel with a close view of the authors that Edwards knew during the 1970s (e.g., Donoso, Fuentes, Vargas Llosa, Cortázar, Lezama Lima). We also consider the relationship of the "boom" authors with their major precursors (e.g., Borges, Rulfo, Carpentier, Machado de Assis). We also examining the notorious case of Cuban poet Heberto Padilla in which Edwards was directly involved. Classes conducted in English; texts in English and the original. Jorge Edwards. Fall 2008. TuTh 1:30-2:50.
LACS 29304/39304. Looking for History: Chronicles of Contemporary Latin America. (=ENGL 22907/42807, RLL 29304/39304, HIST 26205/36205). This course will focus substantively on 20th-century Latin American history, but will also give attention to the particular style of literary journalism or "chronicles" characteristic of the instructor's own writings. In other words, this course will explore how chroniclers of contemporary Latin American history produce this particular genre. Texts will give an overview of the contemporary history of Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, with a full course session devoted to chronicles of Che Guevara. This course would be appropriate for students of Latin American history and students of literature. Teaching and texts will be in English. Alma Guillermoprieto. Fall 2008. W 3:00-5:50pm
LACS 29700. Reading and Research in Latin American Studies. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program advisor. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 29801. BA Colloquium. Required of students who are majoring in Latin American Studies. Students must participate in all three quarters but register only in Fall Quarter. This colloquium, which is led by the preceptor and the BA adviser, assists students in formulating approaches to the BA essay and developing their research and writing skills, while providing a forum for group discussion and critiques. Graduating students present their BA essays in a public session of the colloquium during the Spring quarter. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 29900. Preparation of the BA Essay. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Typically taken for a quality grade. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 40100. Reading and Research in Latin American Studies. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program advisor. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 40300. Preparation of the MA Thesis. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program adviser. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 40501. MA Proseminar in Latin American Studies. This course has two main objectives. The first is to introduce students to Latin American Studies, surveying the disciplinary approaches and research foci that fall under this rubric. The course will focus on the central themes, issues, and debates that engage Latin Americanists across disciplinary boundaries, such as the "neocolonial role" many argue the U.S. has played in Latin America's political-economic and socio-cultural development. As part of this objective, the course will introduce students to Latin Americanist faculty at the University of Chicago, who will present their work during several of our class sessions. The second main objective of this course is to help you build the research and writing skills that will allow you to craft your MA thesis. You will develop these skills through a series of exercises due throughout the fall and winter quarters. A crucial element of developing your MA project is learning to workshop and revise your work-therefore, you will share and discuss many of these exercises with your peers. You will also develop your ability to respond and constructively critique the work of other scholars through your responses to the work of the faculty who will present in the Proseminar.
SPAN 21500/31500. Introducción al análisis literario. PQ SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor. Through a variety of representative works of Hispanic literature, this course focuses on the discussion and practical application of different approaches to the critical reading of literary texts. We also study basic concepts and problems of literary theory, as well as strategies for research and academic writing in Spanish. Lisa Voigt. Autumn.
SPAN 34503. Patriotismo criollo y el Barroco de Indias. This course studies the development of Creole patriotism in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Spanish American colonies. We will examine the celebration of American space, culture, and knowledge in a variety of genres - from epic poetry to local histories and festival accounts - and explore how Creole writers adopt and adapt the Baroque aesthetic of the marvelous in order to highlight the very distance and difference represented by American reality. Is Creole patriotism a critical reaction to colonialism or an incipient form of nationalism? Does the Barroco de Indias reveal elite culture's imitation of the metropolis, or is it an autochthonous movement attesting to a unique American identity? In order to address these questions, we will study such authors as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora, Juan Rodríguez Freile, Pedro de Peralta Barnuevo, and Bartolomé Arzáns de Orsúa y Vela. Lisa Voigt. Fall.
Winter 2009
LACS 16200/34700. Introduction to Latin American Civilizations II. May be taken in sequence or individually. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies This sequence fulfills the common core requirement in civilization studies by introducing students to the history and cultures of Latin America, including Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands. Autumn quarter examines the origins of civilizations in Latin America with a focus and the political, social, and cultural features of the major pre-Columbian civilizations of the Maya, Inca, and Aztec. The quarter concludes with consideration of the Spanish and Portuguese conquest and the construction of colonial societies in Latin America. Winter quarter addresses the evolution of colonial societies, the wars of independence, and the emergence of Latin American nation-states in the changing international context of the nineteenth century. Spring quarter focuses on the twentieth century, with special emphasis on the challenges of economic, political, and social development in the region. This course is offered every year. Mauricio Tenorio. Winter. MWF 1:30-2:20pm
LACS 25303/35303. Human Rights: Alien and Citizen. Susan Gzesh. Winter 2009.
LACS 26304/36304. Literature and Society in Brazil. This course surveys the relations between literature and society in Brazil, with an emphasis on the institution of the novel in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The nineteenth-century Brazilian novel, like the Russian novel, was an arena in which intellectuals debated, publicized and perhaps even discovered social questions. We will examine ways in which fiction has been used and misused as a historical document of slavery and the rise of capitalism, of race relations, of patronage and autonomy, and of marriage, sex and love. We will read works in translation by Manuel Antonin de Almeida, Jose de Alencar, Machado de Assis, Aluisio de Azevedo and others. Dain Borges. Winter 2009. Tu 9:00-11:50am
LACS 26500/36500. History of Mexico, 1876 to Present. Mauricio Tenorio and Emilio Kourí. Winter 2009.
LACS 26502/36502. Freedom and Slavery in Brazil. This course will explore social change in Brazil, with a focus on the lived experience of slavery and emancipation in the nineteenth century. It will also introduce methods of historical research. Students will write papers based on a wide variety of primary documents: accounts by foreign travelers; diaries; wills and testaments; deeds of manumission; the 1872 national census and earlier surveys; records of the Atlantic slave trade; writings by abolitionists; art and photographs. Dain Borges. Winter 2009. TuTh 1:30-2:50pm.
LACS 27102/37102. Beginners K'iche' Maya 2. K'iche' is a Maya language spoken by about one million people in the central highlands of Guatemala. The K'iche' language has played a central role in the Mayan cultural revitalization movement and has a long literary tradition, including works such as the Popol Wuuj (Popol Vuh) and Rabinal Achi. The Maya cultural revitalization movement and the subsequent rise in bilingual education in Guatemala have resulted in a number of interesting changes in both language structure and use. This course uses newly developed teaching materials, in addition to a revised version of the Stanley Wick and Remigio Cochojil-González textbook written for the late Norman McQuown. Robin Shoaps. Winter 2009.
LACS 29700. Reading and Research in Latin American Studies. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program advisor. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 29801. BA Colloquium. Required of students who are majoring in Latin American Studies. Students must participate in all three quarters but register only in Fall Quarter. This colloquium, which is led by the preceptor and the BA adviser, assists students in formulating approaches to the BA essay and developing their research and writing skills, while providing a forum for group discussion and critiques. Graduating students present their BA essays in a public session of the colloquium during the Spring quarter. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 29900. Preparation of the BA Essay. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Typically taken for a quality grade. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 40100. Reading and Research in Latin American Studies. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program advisor. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 40300. Preparation of the MA Thesis. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program adviser. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 40501. MA Proseminar in Latin American Studies. This course has two main objectives. The first is to introduce students to Latin American Studies, surveying the disciplinary approaches and research foci that fall under this rubric. The course will focus on the central themes, issues, and debates that engage Latin Americanists across disciplinary boundaries, such as the "neocolonial role" many argue the U.S. has played in Latin America's political-economic and socio-cultural development. As part of this objective, the course will introduce students to Latin Americanist faculty at the University of Chicago, who will present their work during several of our class sessions. The second main objective of this course is to help you build the research and writing skills that will allow you to craft your MA thesis. You will develop these skills through a series of exercises due throughout the fall and winter quarters. A crucial element of developing your MA project is learning to workshop and revise your work-therefore, you will share and discuss many of these exercises with your peers. You will also develop your ability to respond and constructively critique the work of other scholars through your responses to the work of the faculty who will present in the Proseminar.
SPAN 33903. Pablo Neruda y la poesía política. This course will take as its focus the so-called and self-proclaimed political poetry of Pablo Neruda. His active and creative contact with people, politics and aesthetics will frame our discussions of how and why Neruda refashioned his voice of protest and his calls for social change in verse. Kelly Austin. Winter.
SPAN 21903/31903. Literatura hispánica: textos hispanoamericanos, desde la colonia a la independencia. This course examines Spanish American literature through representative texts from the colonial period to the early nineteenth century. Authors to be studies may include Columbus, Cabeza de Vaca, Garcilaso, Sor Juana, Sigüenza y Góngora, Bellow, Bolívar, Sarmiento, and Echeverría. Agnes Lugo-Ortiz. Winter.
SPAN 27401/37401. Literaturas del Caribe Hispánico. Agnes Lugo-Ortiz. Winter.
SPAN 24803/34803. Narrando la conquista de México. This course focuses on narratives of the conquest of Mexico-Tenochtitlan and its surrounding areas written by Spaniards, Nahuas, and their descendants. We will use our readings of these primary sources as well as modern historiography to challenge the notion of a simple opposition between Spanish victors and vanquished Amerindians - by exploring, for example, the role of indigenous groups in the conquest of Tenochtitlan and other regions in alliance with the Spaniards. Authors to be studied include Hernán Cortés, Bernardino de Sahagún, Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Diego Muñoz Camargo, Fernando de Alva, Ixtlilxóchitl. Lisa Voigt. Winter.
Spring 2009
ANTH 21254. Intensive Study of a Culture: Pirates. Pirates, smugglers, and privateers hold a special place in the American cultural imagination, particularly in recent years. But the value of studying piracy and smuggling goes beyond the titillation of popular entertainment in forms such as Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. Many of the questions that arise go to the heart of major anthropological problems. Some of these topics are venerable, others are of more recent vintage, such as: the nature of informal economies, the relationship between criminality and the state, transnationalism, the evolution of capitalism, intellectual property and globalization, political revolutions, counter-culture, and the cultural role of heroic (or anti-heroic) narratives. Each week we will tackle one of these topics, paring a classic anthropological work with specific examples from the historical, archaeological, and/or ethnographic literature. While the pirates and smugglers of the early modern Caribbean (ca. 1492-1820) will serve as our primary case study, we will be comparing this well-known form to examples spanning from ancient ship raiders in the Mediterranean to contemporary software "piracy". Shannon Dawdy. Spring 2009. [pending cross-list approval]
HIST xxxxx. Caudillos, Dictators, Generals: Authoritarian Politics in Latin America. The purpose of this course is to examine the analytical challenges posed by the study of authoritarian regimes throughout Latin American history. We will begin by identifying some core problems in the way authoritarianism was theorized in the "transition to democracy" literature, and look at the implications of those problems for the Latin American case. Then we will survey the lineages and varieties of authoritarianisms in Latin America, from the post-colonial order to the end of the Cold War. We will look at a number of issues about the functioning of different dictatorships in the region: their social basis, economic performance, the extent and limits of their policy agendas, their adjustment to changing contexts, and their internal politics. Then, we will explore three "alternative" approaches to the representation of authoritarianism in Latin America (i.e., novels, films and testimonials) and discuss their contribution for a better understanding of the authoritarian experience in the region. Finally, we will take stock with current "post-transition" developments and consider their relevance in historical perspective. Carlos Bravo Regidor. Spring.
LACS 16300/34800. Introduction to Latin American Civilizations III. May be taken in sequence or individually. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This sequence fulfills the common core requirement in civilization studies by introducing students to the history and cultures of Latin America, including Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands. Autumn quarter examines the origins of civilizations in Latin America with a focus and the political, social, and cultural features of the major pre-Columbian civilizations of the Maya, Inca, and Aztec. The quarter concludes with consideration of the Spanish and Portuguese conquest and the construction of colonial societies in Latin America. Winter quarter addresses the evolution of colonial societies, the wars of independence, and the emergence of Latin American nation-states in the changing international context of the nineteenth century. Spring quarter focuses on the twentieth century, with special emphasis on the challenges of economic, political, and social development in the region. This course is offered every year. Dain Borges. Spring 2009. MWF 1:30-2:20pm
LACS 20902. First Religious Contact in the Americas: Mesoamerica, Mendicants, and "Middle Ground" in the 16th Century. This course will explore the brief history of religious "first encounters" within the early part of the 16th century between indigenous Mesoamericans (namely Aztec and Maya) and Spanish mendicant missionaries (namely Franciscans and Dominicans). As a religious studies course, particular attention will be paid to the differences and correspondence between religious beliefs (such as narratives, formulated ideas or "doctrines") and practices (such as rituals or moral norms). Furthermore, these basic distinctions within religious studies will be explored through close readings of primary sources written by "insiders" from both Mesoamerican and Hispano-mendicant perspectives as well as more recent "outsider" secondary literary. As the course demonstrates an emerging "middle ground" of mutual change by both Hispano-Catholicism and indigenous spirituality, all such concepts and distinctions will become blurred and complicated - illustrating perennial puzzles within the field of religious studies in general. Garry Sparks. Spring.
LACS 24501/34501. Human Rights in Mexico. Susan Gzesh. Spring 2009.
LACS 27103/37103. Beginners K'iche' Maya 3. K'iche' is a Maya language spoken by about one million people in the central highlands of Guatemala. The K'iche' language has played a central role in the Mayan cultural revitalization movement and has a long literary tradition, including works such as the Popol Wuuj (Popol Vuh) and Rabinal Achi. The Maya cultural revitalization movement and the subsequent rise in bilingual education in Guatemala have resulted in a number of interesting changes in both language structure and use. This course uses newly developed teaching materials, in addition to a revised version of the Stanley Wick and Remigio Cochojil-González textbook written for the late Norman McQuown. Robin Shoaps. Spring 2009.
LACS 28104/3xxxx. Critical Frameworks in the Development of Contemporary Latin American Art. Cuauhtémoc Medina. Spring 2009.
LACS 29000/39000. Latin American Religions, New and Old. This course will consider select pre-twentieth-century issues, such as the transformations of Christianity in colonial society and the Catholic Church as a state institution. It will emphasize twentieth-century developments: religious rebellions; conversion to evangelical Protestant churches; Afro-diasporan religions; reformist and revolutionary Catholicism; new and New-Age religions. Dain Borges. Spring 2009. TuTh 9:00-11:50am
LACS 29504. The Concept of the Person in Anthropological Theory. Joao de Pina-Cabral. Spring 2009.
LACS 29700. Reading and Research in Latin American Studies. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program advisor. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 29801. BA Colloquium. Required of students who are majoring in Latin American Studies. Students must participate in all three quarters but register only in Fall Quarter. This colloquium, which is led by the preceptor and the BA adviser, assists students in formulating approaches to the BA essay and developing their research and writing skills, while providing a forum for group discussion and critiques. Graduating students present their BA essays in a public session of the colloquium during the Spring quarter. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 29900. Preparation of the BA Essay. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Typically taken for a quality grade. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 40100. Reading and Research in Latin American Studies. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program advisor. Fall, Winter, Spring.
LACS 40300. Preparation of the MA Thesis. Prerequisite: consent of faculty supervisor and program adviser. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring.
SPAN 22000. Literatura hispánica: textos hispanoamericanos, del modernismo al presente. In this course we will study an array of texts written in Spanish America from the late nineteenth century to the present, including the literature of the Hispanic diasporas. Authors to be studied may include José Martí, Rubén Darío, Mariano Azuela, Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo, Teresa de la Parra, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Rosario Castellanos, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Pedro Pietri, among others. Kelly Austin. Spring.
SPAN 23603/33603. La estética de las fusiones y difusiones de los discursos püblicos y privados en algunas novelas latinoamericanas. This course will examine various examples of aesthetic experimentation in the fusion and diffusion of private and public discourse in 20th-century Latin American novels. Authors to be studies may include: Severo Sarduy, Diamela Eltit, Rafael Humberto Moreno Durán, Angeles Mastretta, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, and/or Gabriel García Márquez. Kelly Austin. Spring.
SPAN 33703. Literatura e Imaginarios Históricos Latinoamericanos: Ficciones Esclavistas del Siglo XX. Agnes Lugo-Ortiz. Spring.
