Latin American Studies

This course discusses human rights from an historical perspective as well as present day in Chile. It explores the search for truth, justice, memory, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition after the restoration of democracy. The course reflects on the causes and social consequences of political violence, both during the dictatorship and in democracy, the difficulties in moving towards a more egalitarian and cohesive society, the challenges of the rule of law and democracy, and the main struggles for social justice in Chile today.

This course explores the various processes of participation and the cultural, economic, political and social contributions that Latinos of African origin in Latin America. Topics include: main theoretical methodological trends; Africans and Afro-descendants in historical perspective; contemporary Afro-descendant peoples and communities; Afro-descendant populations-- social subjects and political actors.

Since January 1993, Ciudad Juárez has stood out for the high number of murdered women. It is at the beginning of this decade and in this city that the term "femicide" is generated: the violent death of women due to machismo or misogyny. Through different texts and media students investigate different aspects of this issue, as well as terminology, machismo, the economy, and drug trafficking in Mexico. 

This course examines the impact of recent developments in the political and economic relations of Latin American countries-- especially Argentina, Peru, and Brazil-- with East Asian countries-- China, Japan, and South Korea.

This course examines the interaction between geography and history through the concepts of geographic space, region, territory, and place that serve to analyze the geographic diversity of Latin America. Topics include: geographic analysis and geographic space with a human focus; society-nature metabolism and biogeographic diversity in pre-Columbian America; the role of the region in shaping the world system.

This course examines the Asian diaspora in Latin America. It explores issues of immigration and cultural hybridity as related to descendants and national identity. This course discusses the intertwined relationships among power, representation, and cultural production. It engages visual culture, popular culture and film, and other media, as a means to underscore the role that cultural production has played in transforming, adapting, and sustaining normative ideas regarding ethnicity, gender, and sexuality in relation to citizenship.

This course provides a study of pre-Hispanic literature, examining the Nahuatl and Mayan cultures and their respective literatures. Topics include: characterization of pre-Hispanic culture (social and political organization, economy, religion, philosophy and art), literary genres, and author style. Texts covered include: Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, HISTORIA GENERAL DE LAS COSAS DE LA NUEVA ESPAÑA; HUEHUETLATOLLI: LIBRO SEXTO DEL CODICE FLORENTINO; Ángel María Garibay Kintana, POESÍA NÁHUATL; CANTARES MEXICANOS; Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, LOS OLMECAS: ESENCIA Y FUNDACIÓN; Miguel León-Portilla, QUINCE POETAS DEL MUNDO AZTECA.