Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies

Focuses on contemporary Latin American artists working in and out of Latin America: Gabriel Orozco, Guillermo Gomez Peña, Adriana Varejao, Teresa Margolles, Carlos Garaicoa, Betsabeé Romero, Javier Tellez, Nadín Ospina, Tania Bruguera, and Nicolás de Jesus. Students analyze the way these artists address such questions as urban violence, social inequality, pollution, emigration, and national identity.

Credits: 4

A broad look at modern and contemporary Mexican art, using an interdisciplinary and comparative approach. Special emphasis is on the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) and its aftermath throughout the 20th century. Students analyze links between the visual arts (including mural painting, prints, and photography) and the literature, the popular scene and the mainstream, the street art and the gallery art.

Credits: 4

Third cinema was a movement proposed by Latin American directors in the 1960s and further developed by African directors in the 1970s. It addresses important questions about independent national cinemas, colonialism, race, and identity. This course examines the movement and its global influence, with emphasis on the cinemas of Latin America, Africa, black Britain, and American minorities.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: CIN1500 And CIN1510

As a global internet TV network, Netflix produces and distributes fiction films, documentaries and television series in Latin America. By paying close attention to this content, students examine the quickly-evolving media landscape in Latin America, evaluating the ways in which Netflix has impacted production and distribution in the region. Students should have access to Netflix.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: CIN1510

A survey of the history of Mexican cinema from the early 1930s to the present. Students examine popular genres like la comedia ranchera (Mexican cowboy musical), el género cabaretil (dancehall film), and el cine de luchadores (wrestling film) as well as the work of the most prominent Mexican filmmakers (e.g., Arturo Ripstein, Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, Nicolás Echeverría, María Novaro, Guillermo del Toro).

Credits: 4

A study of major developments in French Caribbean literature of the 19th through 21st centuries. This course focuses on questions of language, race, gender, geography, and class, with emphasis on local, regional, and global frames of reference.

Credits: 4

Islands, because of their size and supposed isolation, have been the site of environmental and military experiments. Similarly, writers have used the island to build a textual laboratory in order to test their philosophical and narrative experiments. In this course, students will look at novels (including graphic novels) to examine this scientific, military and narrative instrumentalization of the island.

Credits: 4

An introductory survey of the history of Latin America from colonial times to the present. Topics include geography, indigenous peoples, colonization and nation formation, society, politics, economy and culture of contemporary Latin America, and its place in today’s world.

Credits: 4

Explores major social, cultural, economic, and political developments in Latin America from the period following the Wars of Independence to the present. The historical roots of such problems as racism, persistent poverty, and political repression are examined, focusing on “subaltern” groups (e.g., peasants, workers, women, and people of color).

Credits: 4

An introductory survey of the history of the Spanish and Portuguese conquest and colonization of the Americas from 1450 to 1810, i.e., from the late preconquest period to the Latin American struggle for independence. Lectures, readings, and discussions provide an overview of the economic, political, social, and cultural dimensions of colonization.

Credits: 4

Focuses on the history of Latinos in urban centers across the U.S. and Latin America. Students explore how Latinos established and maintained distinctive social and cultural identities in the Americas. The historical definition of “Latinidad” is also discussed through the study of colonization, immigration, diaspora, globalization, and the history of the racialization of Latin American descendants.

Credits: 4

Explores migration and immigration from 1830 to the present. Major subjects include Native American removal and genocide, the intersection of migration and slavery, immigration exclusion, and race and the making of illegal immigration. Students examine long patterns of U.S. legislative policies alongside on-the-ground experiences and reactions to migration and immigration. The course concludes with an analysis of immigration in the post-9/11 era.

Credits: 4

Covers the history of Brazil from independence to the present. During this period, Brazil has transformed from a colonial, agrarian, slave society to a predominantly urban, industrialized nation and an aspiring world power. Students explore slavery, racism, urban life, immigration and industrialization, changing gender roles, political repression and military rule, carnaval and popular culture.

Credits: 4

Focuses on the relationship between cities, urban life, and form, and the construction of social and political rights in the Americas. The emphasis is on how cities and citizenship are mutually constituted historically, looking at ideas and policies that regulate the city, and how urbanites produce and consume urban space and claim their rights as citizens and urban residents.

Credits: 4

Explore the history of poverty and informality in Latin American cities since the late 19th century to the present. Explore the social, economic, and political circumstances through which cities become spaces of difference. Focus on the history of housing, shantytowns, and slums and popular mobilizations that claimed for citizenship and the right to the city.

Credits: 4

History of U.S.–Latin American relations from the mid-19th century to the present day. It explores how Latin America and the Caribbean became the object of US intervention into the region’s realities and how Latin American societies involved into nationalist, anti-imperialist, class, racial, and gender struggles that shaped policy outcomes in ways unanticipated by the US.

Credits: 4

Examines the new historiography on gender and sexuality in Latin America. It is organized around the themes of changing gender roles and shifting constructions of masculinity, femininity, and honor, with particular attention to issues of sexuality, sexual preferences, constraints, and transgressions.

Credits: 4

Spanish Heritage Speaker students learn skills in the field of oral history to produce histories of the Latinx experience in the U.S. Students study theories and methodologies of oral storytelling and collect family and community histories to contribute to the production of a digital archive on Latinxs lives, developing community identity, history, and memory. Students practice language skills in Spanish.

Credits: 4

Develops students’ interviewing and interpretive skills in the field of oral history. Students learn the theory and methodology and work on a final research project that seeks to bring forward the voices of those frequently excluded from more typical historical sources. Students also learn to produce archival quality interviews, and the final project includes some form of public presentation.

Credits: 4

This hands-on course invites students to transform oral histories into captivating digital projects. From archiving and transcribing interviews to producing video and audio clips, podcasts, and interactive maps, participants will learn the art of narrative production. Students work on uncovering the past and the present by amplifying voices, and creating a lasting legacy through the lens of modern technology.

Credits: 4

We will look at French-language texts from the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Africa. Emphasis will be on transnational conflicts and solidarities. Texts will be read and taught in English, but French majors and minors are encouraged to read the texts in the original French.

Credits: 4

An introduction to the study of linguistics, with a focus on Spanish. Students examine the theoretical aspects of numerous subfields of linguistics—phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax—and begin to apply this knowledge to the fields of dialectology and sociolinguistics. Taught in Spanish.

Credits: 4

Read multi-genre literature and social histories and identify and analyze the distinctions and similarities that have shaped the experiences and the cultural imagination among different Latinx communities. Topics include identity formation and negotiation in terms of language, race, gender, sexuality, and class; discuss diaspora and emigration. Authors include Gloria Anzaldúa and Piri Thomas. Taught in English.

Credits: 4

Analyzing poetry, novels, films and comic series, we consider topics such as colonialism and decolonization, transnationalism and border crossings, and the particular literary and aesthetic sensibilities of island and oceanic literatures. Included are works by Aldous Huxley, Jamaica Kincaid, Aimé Césaire, Patrick Chamoiseau, Maryse Condé, Nathacha Appanah, Shenaz Patel, as well as Hergé’s Tintin and excerpts from X-men.

Credits: 4

“Havana is a city that has been constructed with bricks and words.” In this course, students explore the extent to which Havana has been constructed as a foundational idea of the Cuban Revolution, from 1959 until today. Students study literary, visual, and sonic texts that have contributed to the formulation of this post-revolutionary Havana imaginary.

Credits: 4

Major works of the most celebrated Latin American novelists, such as Cortàzar, García Márquez, Carpentier, and Guiraldes, emphasizing the cultural and social contexts from which these novels spring. Although this is a literature course taught in English, students with competent Spanish language skills are encouraged to read the works in the original and write their papers in Spanish.

Credits: 4

Examine the evolution of American immigration and the related policies that governed, shaped, and restricted immigrant flows, and immigrants’ interactions with key institutions of American life, e.g., labor, education, and politics, along with the impact for the United States. We will discuss the impact of immigration policies on the lives of immigrants and their children on American institutions, e.g., education, labor, social services, and nonprofits and will explore the multiple levels at which immigration and immigrant policies operate. To provide a foundation for the hands-on research project, the theoretical and empirical literatures on immigrant political incorporation broadly speaking, probing the experience of the myriad immigrant and native-born minority groups in New York, will be explored in-depth.

Credits: 4

A study of memoirs by male and female authors, politicians, activists, and ordinary citizens describing childhood, communities, social changes, and revolutions. Works are drawn from South Africa, South America, Asia, Cuba, and the U.S. The rubric is the non-West’s interaction with the West, a north-south divide.

Credits: 4

The course revolves around the international political and economic dynamics that have existed historically between the U.S. and Cuba. Although the course emphasizes the post-1959 era (the Castro years), readings introduce students to the imperial relationship that evolved in the early 20th century. Topics include foreign policy, war, human rights, the U.S. embargo, and the politics of Fidel Castro.

Credits: 4

Although human rights have become a significant theme in international relations, ethnic slaughter and political repression continue to afflict the world. This course examines relevant theoretical issues and practical problems, including: How are human rights viewed from different cultural, political, and religious perspectives? In a multicultural world, can common ground be found to address human rights? What is the relationship between sovereignty and the pursuit of human rights?

Credits: 4

This course explores the cultural, social, and psychological factors that shape Latinx individuals and communities in the United States using contemporary research and theories. Topics include immigration, acculturation, biculturalism, family dynamics, and mental health. Students engage in experiential learning through community-based projects, interviews, and analysis of real-world issues to develop a nuanced understanding of Latinx identity and psychology.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: PSY1530

What does Latin American hip-hop have to do with social change? How do murga dances in Argentina and Uruguay or “theatre of the oppressed” performances in Brazil challenge “social authoritarianism”? Why are Greenpeace campaigns so successful in raising awareness about the Amazon? Why are carnivals in Oruro, Bolivia, or in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, still so lively and engaging? This course explores the relationship between activism and “culture” in different Latin American countries.

Credits: 3

How do groups mobilize to act for social change and against injustice? This course focuses on contemporary movements that emerge within and outside the United States, e.g., in Latin America. Case studies focus on human rights, feminism, environmentalism, landless rural workers, indigenous peoples, and global justice movements, with a particular focus on how these movements emerge, (re)create their identities, and frame injustice. The class analyzes how 21st-century movements are both global and local.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: SOC1500

Incorporates service learning and examines immigration and the U.S. school system. Combining hands-on work within local schools with academic readings that address children of immigrants in schools, this course emphasizes applied sociology. Throughout the course, students analyze how school structures, peer networks, relationships with teachers, and familial interactions influence the incorporation and educational trajectories of first- and second-generation immigrants.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: SOC1500

An examination of the various causes and consequences of international migration on migrants, their sending communities, and their destination countries. Topics include immigration debates, the social structures and economic and social conditions that facilitate labor migration, undocumented migration, refugee migration and forced migration. New York is an amazing place to explore migration, providing firsthand knowledge about migrant communities.

Credits: 4

A global sociological examination of the contemporary debates and studies concerning the social organization of cultures that transcends national boundaries. This course examines the highly debated concept of globalization by studying transnational social organizations and the distinctive dynamics of global political economy and culture. Topics include colonialism and postcolonialism, social movements and social change, social inequality, labor, human rights, democracy, global capitalism, urbanization, and cultural identity.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: SOC1500

An advanced seminar in critical race studies specifically designed for juniors and seniors interested in reading theory, history, and research. Focuses on key works that have defined the field and shaped understandings of race in the 21st century, including those of Du Bois, Wacquant, Fanon, hooks, Crenshaw, Davis, Hall, and Said.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: SOC1500

For native speakers of Spanish who have had little or no formal training in the language. The focus is on expanding each student’s ability to read and write fluently, in preparation for the challenges of upper-level Spanish courses.

Credits: 4

The history of Hispanic poetry is examined through readings of its major poets from the Middle Ages through the modern period. Taught in Spanish

Credits: 4

Students explore the various languages and cultures that exist in Spanish-speaking countries. In general terms, the course is structured in two blocks: (1) Iberian Peninsula, pre- and post-Indo-European invasion; and (2) Latin America, pre- and post-Spanish invasion.

Credits: 4

A study of modern Latin American poetry from Modernismo through the various avant garde movements of the first half of the 20th century. Poets read include Jose Marti, Ruben Dario, Vicente Huidobro, Cesar Vallejo, Nicolas Guillen, Pablo Neruda and Octavio Paz.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: SPA3015 Or SPA3070 Or SPA3260 Or SPA3340

Selected examples drawn from the significant number of Latin American writers who have made some of their most interesting contributions in this short form. Selected works from 19th- and 20th-century writers are read closely. Taught in Spanish.

Credits: 4

This theatrical translation workshop combines literary analysis and creative writing. Students read Latin American plays in Spanish, discuss them in English, and translate scenes, examining not only the words, but also gestural, visual and cultural meanings. For the final project, class collaboratively translates an entire play and stages a reading. Students should comprehend written Spanish. (Contact professor with questions.)

Credits: 4

Begins with a brief presentation of some theoretical aspects of translation, after which students become directly involved in translating both from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English. Literary texts representing a wide variety of styles are selected. Particular attention is given to idiomatic aspects of each language.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: SPA3016

Engaging with a wide variety of plays and performances, students explore U.S. Latino theatre as a site of personal, cultural, and political intervention. Readings reflect the aesthetics, narratives, historical contexts, and systems of theatrical production pertinent to Latino culture in the U.S.

Credits: 4