Political Theory in Latin America

Political thought, or political theory, is a
culturally situated practice. The word "theory,"
etymologically, takes us to the idea of "looking
at" or of "having a vision of." To theorize is
thus to reach for the other side of the
visible-for "its" invisible, its meaning. The
political theory coming out of Latin America
springs from the region's multiple and diverse
shared experiences with political and social life.
Our own perspective will distance itself from two
more conventional approaches to this dynamic: the
political theory of Latin America and the
political theory imported by Latin Americans. For
us, "political theory in Latin America" means the
thinking that, while having emerged from Latin
America, it 1) nevertheless was and remains in
dialogue with other global theoretical traditions,
and 2) has impacted on those global traditions in
novel and productive ways. During the semester, we
will center on the two major political events
theorized by Latin American thinkers during the
past few decades. In the first half of the course,
we will deal with the process of democratization,
the human rights violations perpetrated by the
previous military dictatorships, the question of
retroactive justice, and the theorizing of evil.
During the second half of the course, our focus
will move to question of political theology, the
phenomenon of populism, its clash with neoliberal
ideology, and the emergence on a new Latin
American Left. We will explore these major
intellectual debates through the close reading of
a few of the most emblematic and globally
influential Latin American political and social
theorists: Argentine philosopher and legal
theorist Carlos Nino, Mexican social and political
thinker María Pía Lara, Brazilian political
philosopher and cultural theorist Marilena Chauí,
and Argentine political and social theorist
Ernesto Laclau.