Course Descriptions Fall 2008


Latin American Studies 
Latin American Societies and Cultures: an Introduction (3)
361.130 Cervone
This course is designed to introduce the major characteristics of Latin American societies and cultures. Topics include the impacts of Amerindian civilizations, colonization and Afro-descendants in the shaping of contemporary Latin American societies.  May not be taken Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory

Ni de aquí, ni de allá:  An introduction to Latino Culture in the U.S. (3)
361.215 Carrion
Through readings and discussion of texts, viewing of films and performance art, this course studies varied histories of Mexican, Puerto Rican,  Cuban and other Latin American peoples in the U.S. Students will develop a general understanding of major issues facing Latinos/as in the 21st century as well as gain an understanding of the impact Latino culture has on US society and politics.

Protest, Politics, and Democracy in Latin America (3)
361.315 Pugh   
Are protests as characteristic of democracy as elections? This course examines challenges to traditional ideas of democratic participation in Latin America, focusing on nonelectoral contestation such as protest, charismatic populism, and violent insurgencies.

Human Rights in Latin America (3)
361.323 Rojas-Perez  
This course consists of a series of case studies in US decision making related to Cuba from 1959 to the present, everything from the initial decision signed by Eisenhower to launch effors to remove the Castro government (which led to the Bay of Pigs) to President Bush's decision last May to launch new measures to remove the Castro regime.

History of U.S. -Latin American Relations (3) 
361.353 Smith
History of U.S. relations with Latin America, from founding of the U.S. until today.

Independent Study
361.501 Poole

Internship
361.549 Poole

Anthropology
Anthropology of Mental Illness (3)
070.373 Han
How can we understand mental illness from an anthropological perspective?  A study of mental illness brings together a critical analysis of medical and psychiatric discourses, institutions of care, as well as economic inequality.  It also challenges us to consider fundamental questions of how to engage with subjectivity and experience.  In this course, we will work through historical analyses of psychiatric discourse, ethnographic explorations of mental illness and addictions, and social theory on subjectivity and science and technology.

Cultural Property and Politics in Latin America (3)
070.378 Poole   
This course explores the political uses of culture and the idea of cultural property in Latin American indigenous movements, development policies and government programs.

German and Romance Languages
Introduction to Latin America:  The Formative Years (3)
215.456 Castro-Klaren
The course will explore the cultural continuities and fractures in the unfolding of life in the Andes from the appearance of the first urban center on the coastal valleys--2000BC-- to the aftermath of the Spanish conquest at about 1600. Readings will be taken from archeology and anthropology. Andean and Christian myths of origin and theories of state formation will be examined along with the chronicles written by Spanish conquistadores, Indian and Mestizo intellectuals.

History
Colonial Latin America (3)
100.115 Wood
From the Precolumbian period to independence. Special emphasis on the socioeconomic nature of colonialization and the extent to which colonial institutions reflected those of Spain and Portugal.

Society, Politics, and Economics in Latin America (3)
100.441 Knight
Survey of Latin America since 1940 with special attention to politics, economics, and culture.  

Colonial Latin America (3)
100.707 Russell-Wood

Modern Latin America (3)
100.709 Knight
Reading knowledge of Spanish. Graduate Students only
This is a reading seminar, open to graduate students only, that explores selected themes in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean with an emphasis on general problems and methodologies encountered in the field.  Students are required to write a research paper at the end of the semester.

Sociology
Introduction to Latin American Societies (3)
230.203 Von der Heydt
This course is designed as an introduction to Latin America's societies for beginners, providing a survey of Latin America through its historical, economic, social, and political dimensions.  We will analyze the pre-Columbian civilizations and the legacy of colonialism to understand the origins of the multiethnic societies and then focus on the contemporary development.  For the first part of the semester we are going to analyze the process chronologically, the second part the course is organized thematically.  We focus on class structure, race, ethnicity and social movements. This course will offer background information to build a solid foundation for further specialization in a region or a theme.

                                           

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Deborah Poole
Director

Program in
Latin American Studies
404 Macaulay Hall
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218

Phone: 410.516.5488
Fax: 410.516.6080
Email: plas@jhu.edu