FALL 2005
CORE COURSES
HIST 360– Colonial Latin American History
Susan Socolow
TUTH 11:30am – 12:45pm
MAX: 30
Fulfills LACS Major/Minor Requirement
DESCRIPTION: Introduction to colonial Latin American history with attention to the Iberian, Indian and African backgrounds, the impact of conquest, the structure of society (including race relations and women), the economics of exploitation, the administration of empire, and the rule of cities.
LAS 101 - Introduction to Latin American Studies
Barry Levitt
TUTH 1:00pm - 2:15pm
MAX: 60
Fulfills LACS Major/Minor Requirement
DESCRIPTION: Did the Aztecs really believe that conquering Spaniards were gods on horseback? Was Che Guevara portrayed accurately in the film “The Motorcycle Diaries”? And why would anyone compose a Broadway musical about Evita Perón?
We will tackle all of these questions—and more—in LAS 101. The course is an introduction to Latin America as a region, and to the Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) Program at Emory. Readings and lectures cover a variety of disciplines and perspectives, including history, politics, economics, literature, and cultural studies. The course offers an overview of Latin America’s past, present and future—but focuses primarily on the contemporary period, highlighting important developments in countries such as Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
Lectures and discussions led by the course director will be supplemented by the “LAS 101 Speaker Series,” which will include in-class guest appearances by Emory faculty members as well as by eminent scholars and practitioners from across the country and throughout the hemisphere.
TEXTS : Readings , films, and music TBA.
GRADES: Final grade will be based on a midterm exam (35 %), a final exam (40 %), and a series of short assignments based on readings, films, music, and guest lectures (25 %). Course fulfills College GER Area V-C.
SPAN 300WR - Reading in Spanish: Texts and Contexts
Faculty
MWF Multiple Sessions
MAX: 10 per session
Fulfills LACS Major/Minor Requirement
DESCRIPTION: A course in Hispanic cultural literacy and critical skills that also develops students' reading ability, vocabulary, and ability to express ideas in writing. The course is designed to give students a broad understanding of Hispanic cultures that will prepare them for upper level course work. The primary reading text is Carlos Fuentes' El espejo enterrado. As students read this text, they will learn about the history, geography, values, art, and literature of the Hispanic world, and they will also learn how to critique particular perspectives of these various facets of culture. Supplementary texts are also used.
TEXTS :
Carlos Fuentes. El espejo enterrado, 1992
PREREQUISITES: SPANISH 212 or 215, OFFICIAL SPANISH PLACEMENT from the Dept of Spanish and Portuguese, or permission of the Director of the Language Program.
LAS COURSES
LAS 270 - History and Text: Myths of the Spanish Conquest
(Same as HIST 241)
Agnieszka Czeblakow
MWF 11:45am - 12:35pm
MAX: LAS 5; HIST 15
DESCRIPTION : "In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue. (…) The first American? No, not quite. But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.” Or, was he? In this course, we will examine the myths (fictions held to be partially or absolutely true), misconceptions, and conventional wisdoms about the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Through a careful reading of primary texts (letters, narratives, chronicles, royal decrees) secondary sources, films, and images we will explore the myriad ways the conquerors themselves, indigenous people and historians have portrayed and understood the Conquest throughout centuries. We will also inquire into the nature of history writing and historical objectivity and gain a better and richer understanding of and explanations for a complex historical phenomenon such as conquest.
TEXTS : Readings may include Columbus, Cortes, Bernal Diaz, Cieza de Leon, Sahagun, Duran, Las Casas, Guaman Poma as well as selections from Todorov’s Conquest of America, Prescott’s History of the Conquest of Peru , Clendinnen’s Ambivalent Conquests, Leon-Portilla’s The Broken Spears, Seed’s Ceremonies of Possession , Julien’s Reading Inca History , Crosby’s The Columbian Exchange, Wachtel’s The Vision of the Vanquished among others. Films may include Herzog’s Aguirre: the Wrath of God, Ridley’s 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Shaffer’s The Royal Hunt of the Sun.
PARTICULARS: Requirements include mandatory class attendance and participation in informed and detailed class discussions and presentations. There will be two exams and a number of short writing assignments (including book or film reviews) based on class discussions and readings. This course satisfies area IVa of the General Education Requirements.
LAS 270 - Introduction to Art of Ancient Central and South America
(Same as ARTHIST 226)
Rebecca Stone-Miller
MWF 10:40am - 11:30am
MAX: LAS 5; ARTHIST 25
DESCRIPTION : This introduction covers the art and architecture of pre-Hispanic Central America, principally ancient Costa Rica, and western South America, especially the Central Andes. Architecture, stonework, textiles, metalwork, and ceramics are featured. Works of art from the Carlos Museum collection will be included.
TEXTS :
Rebecca Stone-Miller, Art of the Andes from Chavin to Inca (2002)
Class handouts
GRADES : Midterm and final exams, two short papers and other small assignments.
LAS 385 - Global History of Slavery, 1420-1917
(Same as AFS 385; HIST 385 )
David Eltis
TUTH 10:00am - 11:15am
MAX: LAS 5; AFS 10; HIST 15
DESCRIPTION : The course examines the various definitions and explanations of slavery as both a system of labor exploitation and as a device for augmenting and maintaining social groupings. It explores trends in the types of slavery that have existed around the globe over four centuries. Particular attention will be paid to the rise and fall of slavery in the Americas, particularly the Caribbean and Brazil, and the aftermath of slavery's abolition.
LAS 385R– Latin American Revolutions
(Same as POLS 332)
Juan del Aguila
MWF 9:35am -10:25am
MAX : LAS 10; POLS 35
DESCRIPTION: Survey of major theories of revolution and in-depth analysis of Mexican, Nicaraguan and Cuban cases.
TEXTS:
R. Ruiz, The Great RebellionnJ. Goldstone, ed., Revolutions
E. Selbin, Modern Latin American Revolutions
GRADES: midterm 30%, final 40%, paper 30% (one 15-17 page research paper).
LAS 490RSWR – Democracy in Latin America
(Same as POLS 490 )
Juan del Aguila
W 1:00pm - 4:00pm
MAX : LAS 4; POLS 8
DESCRIPTION: This advanced seminar analyses and critically evaluates democracy in Latin America, focusing on institutional development, political culture, elections and political leadership. Course examines the extent to which recent transformations may endure, or become vulnerable to authoritarian reversals. Students are expected to make several presentations to the class based on literature to be read. Individual presentations will be followed by analysis and discussion among class members and the instructor. Course will be run like a graduate seminar, and thus require substantial reading on a weekly basis. Extensive participation is expected because this is not a standard upperdivision lecture course, but rather one where an extensive review of the literature will provide much of the substance.
GRADES: Take-home final exam 40%, research paper 40% (20-25 page research paper) ; class presentations 20%.
PREREQUISITES: Students must be Junior and Senior Majors or Graduate students. Some prior work in Comparative Politics or Latin American and Caribbean Studies is recommended.
LAS 490RSWR - Controversial Lives: Revolutionaries, Dictators, Artists and Pacifists of Modern Latin America
(Same as HIST 489SWR)
Viviana Grieco
W 2:00pm - 4:00pm
MAX: LAS 4; HIST 8
DESCRIPTION: This course explores the lives and deeds of outstanding Latin American figures of the nineteenth and twentieth century such as Emiliano Zapata, Frida Kahlo, Eva Perón, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Fidel Castro and Chico Mendes. These world famous characters serve as focal points for the analysis of the major political, social and ideological issues of their times. This course addresses historiographical and methodological issues. Through the study of biographies and autobiographies, it discusses the relevance of different kinds of sources to historical research and also introduces historiographical debates such as the question of individual agency in history, the relationship between history and individual and collective memory, the authenticity of personal testimonies and the connections between history, narrative and fiction.
TEXTS:This course is based on the reading of historical biographies, autobiographies, testimonies and memoirs of the selected personalities. For historiographical purposes, biographies produced at different times and places will be compared. Films, graffiti, postal stamps, posters and other pictorial sources will be also presented as historical sources produced to “memorialize” these figures.
PARTICULARS:Reading load is on average 200 pages per week. Seminar format requires attendance and class participation. Individual presentations and one-page written assignments will be scheduled fortnightly. Students will have to write a final research paper (20-25 pages) and upon successful completion of the course with a grade of C or better, this course will fulfill the GER post-freshman writing requirement.
LAS 495AWR – Honors Thesis I
LACS Faculty
No set meeting time
Fulfills Emory College Honors Program requirement
DESCRIPTION: First semester of Honors Program thesis writing for those students participating in the College Honors Program
PREREQUISITES: Enrollment limited to program majors who qualify to participate in the Honors Program.
LAS 495BWR – Honors Thesis II
LACS Faculty
No set meeting time
Fulfills Emory College Honors Program requirement
DESCRIPTION: Second semester of Honors Program thesis writing for those students participating in the College Honors Program.
PREREQUISISTES: Must have completed LAS495AWR.
LAS 497R – Independent Research in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
LACS Faculty
No set meeting time
COURSES OF INTEREST
FREN 391 - Francophone Studies
Valérie Loichot
TUTH 10:00am -11:15pm
Max: 18
DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of literary and cultural creations from the Francophone world, with a special emphasis on Africa, the Caribbean, and South East Asia. Special attention will be paid to the cultural and historical context in which the texts and films were produced.
TEXTS : May include texts and films by Maryse Condé, Édouard Glissant, Ousmane Sembène, Calixthe Beyala, Assia Djebar, Kim Lefèvre.
GRADES: Two papers, one oral presentation, one midterm examination.
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