Mestizajes: Latin Am. & Latino/a USA

This is a cross-disciplinary course exploring
various histories and cultures in Latin America,
focussing on diverse intersections between
history, politics, social struggles, popular
cultural practices and the arts, The course
fosters awareness of the diversity of Latin
American cultures and identities and the interface
with the arts and expressions these have produced,
including narrative, music, film, visual arts,
hybrid religions and popular performance elements
from Brazilian carnival to Cuban santeria to the
growing Mexican Santa Muerte cult and on to film,
music and narrative. We also ask how signify for
U.S. Latinos. The key terms implicit in "Latin
American" are complex. The term"Hispanic" is used
differently in Latin America and the U.S., and
covers a great diversity of identity threads ?
Latino/a/@/x, Chicano/a, Central American and
speakers of indigenous Amerindian languages from
Mexico and Central America. The complexity of the
idea of "Latin America" is suggested by possibly
surprising features, for example: (i) the
Caribbean is a separate zone of colonial and
post-colonial intersections; (ii) the Aztecs are
emblematic of Mexican pre-Columbian civilization
but are actually a late factor in the seminal
cultural history of Meso-America; (iii) the
situation of women varies vastly per region and
situation; (iv) the term "Latino," while
considered more progressive and racially eclectic
than "Hispanic," is probably just as Eurocentric;
etc. In short. the details of cultural history
usually belie the standard concepts. The course
has three phases. We begin with the historical
background (basic politics and economics),
languages, climates and demographics, then examine
various social currents and meanings through
traditional popular artistic expression, then
modern artistic expression including pop music,
cinema and "magical realism," then consider the
circulation of ethnically self-aware identities in
"Latino USA" with particular attention to
Californian veins including drama, cartoons. music
and critical writings on contemporary Latino art
and identity.