CS141-4-AU-CO:
Introduction to Contemporary Latin America
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2020/21
Interdisciplinary Studies Centre (ISC)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 4
Inactive
Thursday 08 October 2020
Friday 18 December 2020
15
18 April 2019
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
CS143
This first-year Spring term module provides an introduction to life in contemporary Latin America, offering insights into major trends and processes that have shaped realities in the region from the second half of the 20th century up to the present day. Taught by academics who are experts in different fields, the module brings Latin America into focus through an interdisciplinary lens. As such, you will gain perspectives and methodologies from a broad range of studies and concepts, drawn from economics, politics, art history, literature, as well as sociology, contemporary history, and human rights.
Each lecture and seminar provides an opportunity to explore and discuss a specific core topic. These topics will span diverse issues, such as the impact of globalisation and neoliberalism; the struggle for democratisation; the shifting trends of migration; conflicts over extraction and the environment; among others. As well as engaging with scholarly texts, we will also examine ways that the rich cultural production of Latin America and the Caribbean addresses the topics explored in the module, by engaging with films, documentaries, literature and artworks, including those held at Essex's unique on campus resource, the Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), which is the largest collection outside Latin America.
You do not need to know anything about Latin America to do this module. All you need is an interest in learning more about recent trends and processes that have shaped contemporary Latin American life.
The aims of this module are:
To introduce students to some of the broad social, cultural, economic, and political processes and trends that have shaped contemporary Latin America;
To introduce students to the ways that artists, writers and film-makers have engaged with these trends and processes;
To foster understanding about the links between micro-and macro processes and the similarities and differences in the ways they are lived in different Latin American countries;
To encourage students to think in an interdisciplinary way, drawing on core concepts from relevant disciplines.
By the end of this module the student should have:
An interdisciplinary understanding of core trends and processes that have shaped contemporary Latin America, as well as knowledge of some recent works of art, literature, and film that cast light on the these;
A preliminary grasp of comparative reasoning and of the links between macro- and micro-processes.
No additional information available.
A weekly lecture
A weekly seminar featuring class discussion of primary and secondary sources
Visits to ESCALA
- (no date) Dominican Republic Has It All (nation brand video).
- Holden, Robert H.; Villars, Rina. (2013) 'What is Latin America?', in Contemporary Latin America, Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell.
- (no date) Gender, Conflict, and Building Sustainable Peace: Recent Lessons from Latin America
Journal InformationPublisher InformationRights & UsageView PreviewView Preview: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
- Darío Indalecio Restrepo Botero and Camilo Andrés Peña Galeano. (no date) Territories in Dispute: Tensions between ‘Extractivism’, Ethnic Rights, Local Governments and the Environment in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru: Brill.
- (no date) VIDEO: Rio 2016 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
- Gonzalez, Mike. (2018-11-20) 'Introduction: Neo-liberalism on the attack', in The Ebb of the Pink Tide: Pluto Press., pp.1-27
- (2020) Borea, Giuliana & Rember Yaharcani, “Amazonian Waterway, Amazonian Water Worlds,” Liquid Ecologies in Latin American and Caribbean Art (London: Routledge, 2020), New York: Routledge.
- Davis, Sujatha Fernandes and Jason Stanyek. (c2007) 'Hip-Hop and Black Public Spheres in Cuba, Venezuela and Brazil', in Beyond Slavery: The Multilayered Legacy of Africans in Latin America and the Caribbean, Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield.
- Bray, R. S. (2011-10-01) 'Teresa Margolles's Crime Scene Aesthetics', in South Atlantic Quarterly. vol. 110 (4) , pp.933-948
- McGuirk, Justin. (2014) 'Torre David : A Pirate Utopia', in Radical Cities: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture, London: Verso.
- Holden, Robert H; Villars, Rina; EBSCOhost ebook collection. (2013) Contemporary Latin America: 1970 to the present, Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, a John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. publication.
- Munck, Ronaldo. (2012) 'Introduction: Settings and Issues', in Contemporary Latin America, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Burdick, John. (c2012) 'Social Movements in Latin America: The Power of Regional and National Networks', in Comparative Perspectives on Afro-Latin America, Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
- Fregoso, Rosa Linda; Bejarano, Cynthia L. (c2010) Terrorizing women: feminicide in the Américas, Durham [NC]: Duke University Press.
- MABEL MORAÑA. (2008) 'NEGOTIATING THE LOCAL: THE LATIN AMERICAN "PINK TIDE" OR WHAT'S LEFT FOR THE LEFT?', in Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne des études latino-américaines et caraïbes: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean StudiesTaylor & Francis, Ltd. vol. 33 (66) , pp.31-41
- Marc Becker. (2008) 'Correa, Indigenous Movements, and the Writing of a New Constitution in Ecuador', in Latin American Perspectives: Sage Publications, Inc., pp.47-62
- Gigoux, Carlos. (2017) 'Dispossession in South America', in Indigenous peoples and colonialism: global perspectives, Cambridge: Polity Press.
- Burbach, Roger, Michael Fox, and Federico Fuentes. (2013) 'Globalization, neoliberalism, and the rise of the social movements', in Latin America's turbulent transitions: the future of twenty-first century socialism, London: Zed Books.
- Gigoux, Carlos. (2017) 'Latin America', in Indigenous peoples and colonialism: global perspectives, Cambridge: Polity Press.
- Feitlowitz, Marguerite. (c2011) A lexicon of terror: Argentina and the legacies of torture, New York: Oxford University Press.
- Hillman, Richard S.; D'Agostino, Thomas J. (2011) 'Latin America: A Geographic Preface', in Understanding Contemporary Latin America, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
- Rosa-Linda Fregoso, Cynthia Berjano. (c2010) 'A Cartography of Feminicide in Latin America', in Terrorizing women: feminicide in the Américas, Durham [NC]: Duke University Press.
- Mercedes Olivera and Victoria J. Furio. (2006) 'Violencia Femicida: Violence against Women and Mexico's Structural Crisis', in Latin American Perspectives: Sage Publications, Inc.Sage Publications, Inc. vol. 33 (2) , pp.104-114
- NEWS ARTICLE: Brazil's haircare queen: From shantytown to millionaire - BBC News, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35932532
- Kaiser, Susana. (2002) 'Escraches: demonstrations, communication and political memory in post-dictatorial Argentina.', in Media, Culture & Society.. vol. 24 (4)
- Jelin, Elizabeth. (2007-03-01) 'Public Memorialization in Perspective: Truth, Justice and Memory of Past Repression in the Southern Cone of South America', in International Journal of Transitional Justice. vol. 1 (1) , pp.138-156
- (2014) Cities from scratch: poverty and informality in urban Latin America, Durham: Duke University Press.
- WEBSITE: La Torre de David, http://latorrededavid.blogspot.co.uk/
- Andrews, George Reid. (2004) 'Introduction', in Afro-Latin America, 1800-2000, New York: Oxford University Press.
- Steve Ellner. (2012) 'The Distinguishing Features of Latin America's New Left in Power: The Chávez, Morales, and Correa Governments', in Latin American Perspectives: Sage Publications, Inc. vol. 39 (1) , pp.96-
- Thomas Angotti. (1996) 'Latin American Urbanization and Planning: Inequality and Unsustainability in North and South', in Latin American Perspectives: Sage Publications, Inc.Sage Publications, Inc. vol. 23 (4) , pp.12-34
- Amalia L. Cabezas. (2008) 'Tropical Blues: Tourism and Social Exclusion in the Dominican Republic', in Latin American Perspectives: Sage Publications, Inc. vol. 35 (3) , pp.21-
- Tom Angotti. (2013) 'Introduction: Urban Latin America: Violence, Enclaves, and Struggles for Land', in Latin American Perspectives: Sage Publications, Inc.Sage Publications, Inc. vol. 40 (2) , pp.5-20
- Gigoux, Carlos. (2017) 'Colonial control of indigenous peoples in Latin America', in Indigenous peoples and colonialism: global perspectives, Cambridge: Polity Press.
- ART PROJECT: Ursula Biemann & Paulo Tavares, Forest Law (2014), https://www.geobodies.org/art-and-videos/forest-law
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course. The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students. Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Lisa Blackmore, email: lisa.blackmore@essex.ac.uk.
Taught by lecturers from across Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Interdisciplinary Studies Centre General Office - 6.130; Email: istudies@essex.ac.uk.
Yes
Yes
No
Dr James Scorer
University of Manchester
Senior Lecturer in Latin American Cultural Studies
Available via Moodle
Of 22 hours, 12 (54.5%) hours available to students:
10 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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