Why does contemporary Latin America look the way that it does? How should we interpret ongoing political developments, elections, crises, and social transformations occurring right now from El Salvador to Haiti to Mexico? How has capitalism, imperialism and colonialism shaped its history? How have people fought back? To learn this history we will draw on documentary film, literature, and art to develop our understanding of Latin America in its global setting. Topics include: Latin American Independence Movements, Mexican Revolution, the current immigration crisis, CIA-funded coups and dictatorships, Banana Republics, "Free" Trade, Radical Revolutionary Movements, Latin American Literature, Amazon defense, imperialism and the environment, gender violence, race, narco-trafficking and more. Topics courses are 2 or 4 credit, in-depth, thematic courses that may be repeated for credit under a different theme. May be repeated up to two times for a maximum of 12 credits.
- Teacher: Cris Culton