LACS 20.11 Art and Politics in Modern Latin America
This course offers beginning, intermediate, and advanced students an opportunity to explore works of art produced by artists living in Latin and Latin@ America during the 20th and 21st centuries. We will approach this topic through case studies of some of the major figures and movements in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the U. S. We will examine how national identity, racial formation, class difference, gender inequality, political struggle, and state violence have been addressed by artists from the region and in diaspora. And we will consider the ways that identity and culture are informed by and intervene in the political and economic conditions of these countries. Some themes we will consider are: modernization and class politics, Indigenism and racialization/racism, development/underdevelopment, authoritarianism and state-violence, diaspora and migration, transnationalism and the politics of museum exhibitions, contemporary human rights and social justice movements. Students will have opportunities to develop their own areas of research and to expand the course content in ways that speak to their interests and experiences. This course adheres to the principles of student-centered course design. We will therefore ground our study in the validation of personal experience, the emotional growth and ownership that comes from self-reflection, and the knowledge generated through peer-to-peer learning collectives. No prior knowledge is required for this course. Not open to students who have received credit for LACS 078
Cross Listed Courses
ARTH 40.03