SPAN 466: Latin American Civilization and Culture
SPAN 466-DL1: Latin American Civilizations and Cultures
(Spring 2023)
Online
Section Information for Spring 2023
This class begins with two questions that we will revisit over the course of the semester: What is identity? and what is culture? We then use a transdisciplinary and intersectional approach —with a focus on equality, social justice and human rights— to study the global patterns of migration and cultural interpenetration of diverse communities —including Amerindian, African and European populations— that have contributed to the formation of contemporary Latin America through an exploration and analysis of its literature, art, music, and film. The course is organized along thematic rather than chronological or geographical lines, though each identity and cultural production —Mayan, Zapotecan, Chatina, Aztec, Andean and Afro-Latina, among others— is studied in its unique context. This approach allows us to make new and unexpected cultural connections across temporal and spatial boundaries. Our main goal is to provide students with a solid foundation for the analysis of Latin American cultures not only for academic purposes but also for possible implementations in their everyday lives. For this reason, there will be an emphasis on our perspectives—being residents of the United States—on key developments, icons, and cultural products in Latin America. Additionally, by focusing on teamwork, debate and argumentation, this course will allow students to develop basic collaborative skills that are much needed in today’s working environments. Main objectives of this course include fostering comparative critical thinking, transdisciplinary research, and ethical commitment in the study of migration and social justice with an emphasis on creativity and imagination.
This course fulfills the Mason Core Requirement in Global Understanding, and is conducted in Spanish. All oral and written assignments must be in Spanish.
Online Asynchronous course
SPAN 466-DL1 is a distance education section.
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Course Information from the University Catalog
Credits: 3
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.
