SPAN 6760 - [Politics of Memory in Latin America]

Fall. Next Offered: 2020-2021. 4 credits. Student option grading.

I. Troconis.

In this course, we will analyze how narratives and practices of memory intersect and give shape to various political and social landscapes in contemporary Latin America. We will critically engage with the different theoretical approached developed around the concept of memory both inside and outside Latin America, as we discuss the particularities of individual, collective, national, and global memories. We will put these critical approaches in dialogue with various forms of cultural and material production (literature, film, performance, graffiti, souvenirs, memorials, etc.) that represent and/or challenge the political realities of countries such as Venezuela, Argentina, Columbia, Chile, Guatemala, Peru and Mexico, among others, from the 1940s to today. Lastly, we will consider the role discourses of memory play in the contemporary global political stage, and how they have actively shaped debates regarding gender, race, class, and the environment.