"The Idea of Latin America"
Since Columbus did not discover "Latin America" because he thought he landed in India, how and when did "Latin America" appear on the map? This year and next, several countries are celebrating two hundred years of independence from Spain, and it was only after independence that "Latin" America was born. Paradoxically, after two hundred years of existence, the name of the subcontinent is being contested by Indigenous peoples and those of African descent. Why are they contesting the name? What is in a
Name as the dictum goes?
The seminar is not ABOUT Latin America. We will examine not only the idea of Latin America but the flow of ideas IN Latin America. How and what they think; how they see themselves; how they see the world; and how they see the US. Finally, we will ask questions about the role of Latin Americans in the US. What are the internal debates between "Latin" Americans, Native Americans, and African American leaders and thinkers?
We wlll read some classic texts such as Bartolomé de las Casas, Brevísima Relación de la Destrucción de las Indias; Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Civilización y Barbarie; José Carlos Mariátegui Siete Ensayos de Interpretación de la Realidad Peruana, Rodolfo Kusch, Pensamiento Indígena y Pensamiento Popular en América; Edmundo O' Gorman La invención de América; Franz Fanon, Piel Negra/Máscaras Blancas; Walter Mignolo, La idea de América Latina; Junot Díaz, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
We will watch and discuss two films from the Cold War years: Argentinian Fernando Solana's La hora de los hornos (1968) and Bolivian Javier Sanjinés's Yawar Malku (Sangre de Cóndor), 1969.
We will complement these readings with journalistic articles and essays published in independent media about such topics as constitutionalism in Bolivia and Ecuador, how South and Central Americans see US foreign policy and international relations toward the region and above all, the relevance of growing Sur-Sur connections between South America, Africa and Asia.
Readings will be mostly in Spanish with some in English. Lectures in Spanish and class discussions will be in Spanish or English, depending on students’ linguistic competence.
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