2024-2025 Catalog

LACS 10600. Power and Resistance in the Black Atlantic. 100 Units.

Beginning with the arrival of European explorers on the West African coast in the fifteenth century and culminating with the stunning success of radical abolitionist movements across the Americas in the nineteenth century, the formation of the Black Atlantic irrevocably reshaped the modern world. This class will examine large-scale historical processes, including the transatlantic slave trade, the development of plantation economies, and the birth of liberal democracy. Next, we will explore the lives of individual Africans and their American descendants, the communities they built, and the cultures they created. We will consider the diversity of the Black Atlantic by examining the lives of a broad array of individuals, including black intellectuals, statesmen, soldiers, religious leaders, healers, and rebels. We will examine African diasporic subjects as creative rather than reactive historical agents and their unique contributions to Atlantic cultures, societies, and ideas. Within this geographically and temporally expansive history students will explore a key set of animating questions: What is the Black Atlantic? How can we understand both the commonalities and diversity of the experiences of Africans in the Diaspora? What kinds of communities, affinities, and identities did Africans create after being uprooted by the slave trade? What methods do scholars use to understand this history? And finally, what is the historical and political legacy of the Black Atlantic?

Instructor(s): M. Hicks     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Assignments: short and long papers.
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 10600, DEMS 10600, HIST 10600

LACS 11008. Introduction to Latinx Literature. 100 Units.

From the activist literature of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement to contemporary fiction and poetry, this course explores the forms, aesthetics, and political engagements of U.S. Latinx literature in the 20th and 21st centuries. Theoretical readings are drawn from Chicanx Studies, Latinx Studies, American Studies, Latin American Studies, Hemispheric Studies, Indigenous Studies, and Postcolonial Studies, as we explore Latinx literature in the context of current debates about globalization, neoliberalism, and U.S. foreign policy; Latinx literature's response to technological and socio-political changes and its engagement with race, gender, sexuality, class, and labor; and its dialogues with indigenous, Latin American, North American, and European literatures. (Poetry, 1830-1940, Theory)

Instructor(s): Rachel Galvin     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): ENGL 11008, SPAN 21008, CMLT 11008, CRES 11008

LACS 12200. Portuguese For Spanish Speakers. 100 Units.

This course is intended for speakers of Spanish to develop competence quickly in spoken and written Portuguese. In this intermediate-level course, students learn ways to apply their Spanish language skills to mastering Portuguese by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. Students with a placement of 20100 or higher in any of the other Romance Languages are eligible to take PORT 12200 for completion of the College Language Competency Requirement

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10300 or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 12200

LACS 12201. Kreyòl for Speakers of Romance Languages I. 100 Units.

This course is intended for speakers of other Romance Languages to quickly develop competence in spoken and written Kreyol (Kreyòl Ayisyen). In this introductory course, students learn ways to apply their skills in another Romance language to master Kreyol by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. Although familiarity with a Romance language is strongly recommended, students with no prior knowledge of a Romance Languages, and heritage learners, are also welcome.

Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): KREY 12201

LACS 12301. Kreyòl for Speakers of Romance Languages II. 100 Units.

This course is intended for speakers of other Romance Languages, to quickly develop competence in spoken and written Kreyol (Kreyòl Ayisyen). In this intermediate-level course, students learn ways to apply their skills in another Romance language to master Kreyol by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. This course offers a rapid review of the basic patterns of the language and expands on the material presented in KREY 12201. Although familiarity with a Romance language is strongly recommended, students with no prior knowledge of a Romance language, and heritage learners, are also welcome.

Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse      Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): KREY 12201 or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): KREY 12301

LACS 14100. Portuguese for Speakers of Romance Languages. 100 Units.

This course helps students quickly gain skills in spoken and written Portuguese by building on their prior working knowledge of another Romance language (Spanish, French, Catalan or Italian). By relying on the many similarities with other Romance languages, students can focus on mastering the different aspects of Portuguese, allowing them to develop their abilities for further study. This class covers content from PORT 10100 and 10200.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): 20100 in another Romance language or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 14100

LACS 14500. Portuguese for the Professions: Intensive Business Portuguese. 100 Units.

This is an accelerated language course that covers vocabulary and grammar for students interested in working in a business environment where Portuguese is spoken. The focus of this highly interactive class is to develop basic communication skills and cultural awareness through formal classes, readings, discussions, and writings. PORT 14500 satisfies the Language Competency Requirement.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): PORT 10200, SPAN 20100, or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 14500

LACS 16003. Art of Mesoamerica. 100 Units.

This course provides an introduction to the art and architecture of Mesoamerica, a region that encompasses much of modern-day Mexico and northern Central America. We will examine sculpture, painting, architecture, ceramics, and other arts of the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and other Mesoamerican civilizations over a period of three millennia, from ca. 1500 B.C. to the time of the Spanish invasion in 1519. We will study sacred art, courtly art, architecture and urbanism, writing systems and their relation to images, and the interactions between artistic traditions.

Instructor(s): C. Brittenham     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Students must attend first class to confirm enrollment. For nonmajors, any ARTH 14000 through 16999 course meets the general education requirement in the arts.
Equivalent Course(s): ARTH 16003

LACS 16100-16200-16300. Introduction to Latin American Civilization I-II-III.

Taking these courses in sequence is not required. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This sequence is offered every year. This course introduces the history and cultures of Latin America (e.g., Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands).

LACS 16404. Criminal, Police, and Citizen in Latin America. 100 Units.

Crime and policing are intensely debated today around the world, but perhaps nowhere are these debates felt more sharply than in Latin America, the site of both high rates of crime and violence and widespread distrust of the police and criminal justice institutions. This course delves into the history of these issues in the region. In the process, it sheds light on broader themes of Latin American history from the late colonial period to the present day. As the course shows through topics ranging from crimes against honor, to the policing of street vending, to the drug war, crime and policing in Latin America have been crucial spaces for the construction and contestation of social and legal hierarchies, the voicing of political protest and social critique, and the making and unmaking of citizenship. Through the use of diverse readings, including primary sources such as court records, satirical poems, and blockbuster films, students will trace how ideas of crime, and of the role of the state in attempting to define it and respond to it, changed over time with broader social, economic, and political developments. In doing so, they will examine how crime and policing have intersected with class, race, and gender, and how debates over crime and the practices of policing have shaped the boundaries of citizenship.

Instructor(s): K. Boyar     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 16404, RDIN 16404, HIST 16404

LACS 20046. Introduction to Caribbean Studies. 100 Units.

Why have critics, writers, and artists described the Caribbean as "ground zero" of Western modernity? Beginning with the period before European settlement, we will study slavery and emancipation, Asian indentureship, labor and social movements, decolonization, debt and tourism, and today's digital Caribbean. We will survey literary and visual cultures, primary source documents, and thought across the English, French, Spanish, and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. All readings will be available in translation. (Fiction, Theory)

Instructor(s): Kaneesha Parsard     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 22046, CRES 20046, ENGL 20046

LACS 20310. Chicago Habla Español. 100 Units.

Chicago is known to have multiple, diverse Spanish-speaking communities. In this course, students will use these communities as their classroom to analyze and debate current issues confronting the LatinX experience in the United States and Midwest. In parallel, class instruction will reinforce and expand students' grammatical and lexical proficiency in a manner that will allow students to engage in real-life activities involving speaking, reading, listening and writing skills. This intermediate-high language course targets the development of writing skills and oral proficiency in Spanish and is designed as an alternative to SPAN 20300. Students will review problematic grammatical structures, write a number of essays, and participate in multiple class conversations using authentic readings and listening segments as linguistic models on which to base their own production. At the end of class, students are expected to produce an individual project.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20200 or placement
Equivalent Course(s): CHST 20310, SPAN 20310

LACS 20401. Ekspresyon ekri: Kreyòl lakay soti Ayiti rive nan dyaspora a. 100 Units.

This course will provide opportunities to promote deeper knowledge of the Haitian culture while emphasizing the development of writing skills in the Kreyòl language through the use of a variety of authentic texts and cultural experiences. Topics covered in the course will include the Haitian revolution, cuisine, and audio-visual and performing arts. Moreover, students will participate in different cultural exploration outings in the city of Chicago, which will provide additional opportunities to interpret cultural artifacts and reflect on the Haitian culture and its influence on the representation and daily lives of Haitians in the diaspora, particularly in Chicago. In this course, we will: 1) analyze different cultural artifacts in the Haitian cultures through primary and secondary texts, 2) examine the influences of these cultural phenomena on the representation of Haitians and the creation of Haitian identity in the diaspora, and 3) and reflect on the importance of cultural identity in a migration context. Those who will take the course for Kreyòl credits will also develop additional syntactic knowledge in the language through creation of diverse essays. This course will be conducted in two weekly sessions: a common lecture session in English and an additional weekly discussion session in English or Kreyòl.

Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse
Prerequisite(s): For those seeking credit in Kreyòl, this course is open to students who have taken KREY 12300 (Kreyòl for Speakers of French II), KREY 12301 (Kreyòl for Speakers of Romance Languages II), or instructor consent. Heritage learners are also welcome.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): CHST 20400, KREY 20400, RDIN 20410

LACS 20500. Cultura do Mundo Lusófono. 100 Units.

In this course students will explore the culture of the Lusophone world through the study of a wide variety of contemporary literary and journalistic texts from Brazil, Portugal, Angola and Mozambique, and unscripted recordings. This advanced language course targets the development of writing skills and oral proficiency in Portuguese. Students will review problematic grammatical structures, write a number of essays, and participate in multiple class debates, using authentic readings and listening segments as linguistic models on which to base their own production.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20100 or consent of the instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 20500

LACS 20600. Composição e Conversação Avançada. 100 Units.

The objective of this course is to help students acquire advanced grammatical knowledge of the Portuguese language through exposure to cultural and literary content with a focus on Brazil. Students develop skills to continue perfecting their oral and written proficiency and comprehension of authentic literary texts and recordings, while also being exposed to relevant sociocultural and political contemporary topics. Students read, analyze, and discuss authentic texts by established writers from the lusophone world; they watch and discuss videos of interviews with writers and other prominent figures to help them acquire the linguistic skills required in academic discourse. Through exposure to written and spoken authentic materials, students learn the grammatical and lexical tools necessary to understand such materials as well as produce their own written analysis, response, and commentary. In addition, they acquire knowledge on major Brazilian authors and works.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20100 or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 20600

LACS 21001. Human Rights: Contemporary Issues. 100 Units.

This course examines basic human rights norms and concepts and selected contemporary human rights problems from across the globe, including human rights implications of the COVID pandemic. Beginning with an overview of the present crises and significant actors on the world stage, we will then examine the political setting for the United Nations' approval of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948. The post-World War 2 period was a period of optimism and fertile ground for the establishment of a universal rights regime, given the defeat of fascism in Europe. International jurists wanted to establish a framework of rights that went beyond the nation-state, taking into consideration the partitions of India-Pakistan and Israel-Palestine - and the rising expectations of African-Americans in the U.S. and colonized peoples across Africa and Asia. But from the beginning, there were basic contradictions in a system of rights promulgated by representatives of nation-states that ruled colonial regimes, maintained de facto and de jure systems of racial discrimination, and imprisoned political dissidents and journalists. Cross-cutting themes of the course include the universalism of human rights, problems of impunity and accountability, notions of "exceptionalism," and the emerging issue of the "shamelessness" of authoritarian regimes. Students will research a human rights topic of their choosing, to be presented as either a final research paper or a group presentation.

Instructor(s): Susan Gzesh, Senior Lecturer, (The College)     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Winter
Equivalent Course(s): DEMS 21001, CHST 21001, HMRT 21001, CRES 21001, HIST 29304, LLSO 21001, SOSC 21001

LACS 21100. Las regiones del español. 100 Units.

This sociolinguistic course expands understanding of the historical development of Spanish and awareness of the great sociocultural diversity within the Spanish-speaking world and its impact on the Spanish language. We emphasize the interrelationship between language and culture as well as ethno-historical transformations within the different regions of the Hispanic world. Special consideration is given to identifying lexical variations and regional expressions exemplifying diverse sociocultural aspects of the Spanish language, and to recognizing phonological differences between dialects. We also examine the impact of indigenous cultures on dialectical aspects. The course includes literary and nonliterary texts, audio-visual materials, and visits by native speakers of a variety of Spanish-speaking regions.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or placement
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 21100

LACS 21101. Lang, Sosyete ak Kilti Ayisyèn I. 100 Units.

This advanced-level course will focus on speaking and writing skills through the study of a wide variety of contemporary texts and audiovisual materials. It will provide students with a better understanding of contemporary Haitian society. Students will review problematic grammatical structures, write a number of essays, and participate in multiple class debates.

Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): KREY 12300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Taught in Kreyòl.
Equivalent Course(s): KREY 21100

LACS 21150. El español en los Estados Unidos. 100 Units.

This sociolinguistic course expands understanding of both the historical and the contemporary development of Spanish in parts of the United States, and awareness of the great sociocultural diversity within the Spanish-speaking communities in the United States and its impact on the Spanish language. This course emphasizes the interrelationship between language and culture as well as ethno-historical transformations within the different regions of the United States. Special consideration is given to identifying lexical variations and regional expressions exemplifying diverse sociocultural aspects of the Spanish language, and to recognizing phonological differences between dialects. We also examine the impact of English on dialectical aspects. The course includes sociolinguistic texts, audio-visual materials, and visits by native speakers of a variety of Spanish-speaking regions in the United States.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 21150

LACS 21200. Lang, Sosyete ak Kilti Ayisyèn II. 100 Units.

This advanced-level course will focus on speaking and writing skills through a wide variety of texts, audiovisual materials, and cultural experiences. We will study a wide range of Haitian cultural manifestations (e.g., visual arts, music, gastronomy). Students will also review advanced grammatical structures, write a number of essays, participate in multiple class debates, and take cultural trips to have a comprehensive learning experience with Haitian language and culture.

Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): KREY 21100 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Kreyòl.
Equivalent Course(s): KREY 21200

LACS 21500. Curso de Aperfeiçoamento. 100 Units.

This course helps students develop their skills in understanding, summarizing, and producing written and spoken arguments in Portuguese through readings and debates on various issues of relevance in contemporary Luso-Brazilian societies. Special consideration is given to the major differences between continental and Brazilian Portuguese. In addition to reading, analyzing, and commenting on advanced texts (both literary and nonliterary), students practice and extend their writing skills in a series of compositions.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20200, PORT 20600 or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 21500

LACS 21600. Francophone Caribbean Culture and Society: Art, Music, and Cinema. 100 Units.

This course provides an interdisciplinary survey of the contemporary Francophone Caribbean. Students will study a wide range of its cultural manifestations (performing arts like music and dance, literature, cinema, architecture and other visual arts, gastronomy). Attention is also paid to such sociolinguistic issues as the coexistence of French and Kreyòl, and the standardization of Kreyòl.

Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 21600, FREN 21601, GLST 21600, KREY 21600

LACS 21816. A History of Youth in Latin America. 100 Units.

This course will examine the history of youth-as a social category, and as an experience-in Latin America. We will consider histories of childhood, student activism, and youth culture across the region to consider how young people experience everyday life, and how they effect change. Course materials will combine primary sources including film, music, and other visual and performance artworks with scholarship on childhood and youth.

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz-Francisco     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 21816, HIST 26302, GLST 21816

LACS 21900. Latin American Literatures and Cultures: Colonial and 19th-Century. 100 Units.

This course introduces students to the writing produced in Hispanic and Portuguese America during the period marked by the early processes of European colonization in the sixteenth century through the revolutionary movements that, in the nineteenth century, led to the establishment of independent nation-states across the continent. The assigned texts relate to the first encounters between Indigenous, Black, and European populations in the region, to the emergence of distinct ("New World") notions of cultural identity (along with the invention of new racial categories), and to the disputes over the meaning of nationhood that characterized the anti-colonial struggles for independence. Issues covered in this survey include the idea of texts as spaces of cultural and political conflict; the relationships between Christianization, secularization, and practices of racialization; the transatlantic slave trade; the uses of the colonial past in early nationalist projects; and the aesthetic languages through which this production was partly articulated (such as the Barroco de Indias, or "New World baroque," Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Modernismo, among others). In addition to enhancing your knowledge of Latin American cultural history and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.

Instructor(s): Larissa Brewer-Garcia, Carlos Halaburda     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. This course is the equivalent of SPAN 21903.
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 21950, SPAN 21905

LACS 22005. Latin American Literatures and Cultures: 20th and 21st Centuries. 100 Units.

This course will survey some of the main literary and cultural tendencies in Latin America from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. We will pay special attention to their aesthetic dimensions, as well as the socio-historical and political conditions that made them possible, and in which they simultaneously intervened. Questions to be studied might include the innovations of the Modernist and avant-garde movements, fantastic literature, the novel of the so-called "Boom," cultural production associated with revolutionary movements, military dictatorships, and the Cold War, as well as new currents in literary and theatrical practices. Likewise, the course will foreground some of the following concepts relevant to the study of this production: modernity and modernization; development and neoliberalism; neo-colonialism and empire; cultural autonomy and ideas of poetic and cultural renewal; the epic vs. the novel; realism and non-verisimilitude; and performativity, among others. In addition to enhancing your knowledge of Latin American cultural history and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.

Instructor(s): Agnes Lugo-Ortiz, Danielle Roper     Terms Offered: Autumn Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. This course is the equivalent of SPAN 22003.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 22005, CRES 21955

LACS 22424. Between History and Fiction: Race, Modernity, and Revolution in the Hispanic Caribbean. 100 Units.

This course will introduce students to twentieth-century historical fiction from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Reflecting on the ambiguous contours between history and fiction, we will use literature and film to illuminate cultural debates of Hispanic Caribbean modernity. How do literary and filmic representations of a historical past reflect on the present moment? What is fiction's relationship to archives and history? What can these fictional emplotments teach us about the crafting of national narratives? Particular attention will be given to questions of race and revolution - understood for our purposes as the constitutive vectors of Caribbean modernity - in the texts studied. Authors and filmmakers to be discussed may include Alejo Carpentier, Tomás Gutierrez Alea, Humberto Solás, Rita Indiana, Rosario Ferré, José Luis González, and Luis López Nieves, among others.

Instructor(s): Cristina Esteves-Wolff     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): The course, as well as most of the readings, will be in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 22424

LACS 22521. ¿Qué onda, Siri? Ciencia Ficción Latinoamericana. 100 Units.

Intercambio de cartas entre México y la luna, exploradores planetarios argentinos, hackers activistas en Bolivia y viajes en el tiempo para salvar el Caribe. Aunque a lo largo de su historia no haya gozado del mismo prestigio que otros géneros literarios, la ciencia ficción en América Latina tiene ejemplos que datan del siglo XVIII. Sin embargo, no es hasta los 1950s que el género empieza a ganar impulso editorial y, más tarde, académico. Ya en el siglo XXI, autores como Rita Indiana, Pola Oloixarac y Edmundo Paz Soldán han utilizado los variados elementos constitutivos del género y alcanzando incluso reconocimiento internacional. Frente a tal histórico, este curso busca contestar las siguientes preguntas: ¿De qué manera se asemeja y se difiere la ciencia ficción latinoamericana, de país a país, y en comparación al resto del mundo? ¿Cómo se mezclan los elementos tradicionales del género con las culturas nacionales y regionales del subcontinente? ¿Qué particularidades sociales, políticas, económicas, raciales y de género se manifiestan en estos textos que nos ayudan a pensar la realidad de esta región y que la ficción realista históricamente privilegiada no llega a escenificar? Para ello, nos ocuparemos de novelas, cuentos, poemas, películas, series de televisión y performances de América Latina, desde sus principios decimonónicos hasta el presente, enfocándonos en los elementos característicos del género y las representaciones culturales puestas en escena por estos artistas.

Instructor(s): Eduardo Leao
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 22521

LACS 22523. Transpacific Des-orientations: Cultural Relations between Asia & Latin America (16th-21st centuries) 100 Units.

This course offers an overview of the cultural relations between Asia and Latin America from the 16th century to the present day. We will engage with these plural transpacific circulations - individuals, resources, goods, ideas, and sensibilities - through diverse material ranging from maps, poetry, visual arts, films, and essays to music, architecture, textiles, and social media. We will question the local and global implications of these exchanges in a (post)colonial world. A navigation between eras and areas, this course takes transpacific cultural relations as an opportunity to decenter the gaze. What do these early and dynamic circulations tell us about a globalization always centered on the (North) West of the planet? What happens with the old presumed categories of "West" and "East" when the world is lived and conceived from other locations and perspectives? What remains of "Latin" when America is apprehended from the "Pacific Rim"? Drawing on close observations and analysis of representative cultural productions, this course seeks to map the importance and diversity of these transpacific cultural itineraries and to explore alternative ways of thinking about "Latin America" as a central agent of our connected modernities. Besides enhancing your knowledge of Latin American cultural history, this course is designed to help you improve your close reading and critical thinking skills, as well as continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.

Instructor(s): Ysé Bourdon
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): GLST 22523, SPAN 22523

LACS 22550. Speech Play and Verbal Art. 100 Units.

Course Description TBA

Instructor(s): Tulio Bermúdez     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 32550, LING 22550, LING 32550

LACS 22701. Poesía, nación y ciudadanía en el siglo XIX hispanoamericano. 100 Units.

In this course we will explore the relationships between poetry and the constitution of the modern nation-state in nineteenth-century Spanish America. How did poetry partake in the early figuration of national historical imaginaries and in the foundation of their heroic pantheons? Through what languages and aesthetic procedures did it help foster patriotic sentiments and identifications? Was poetry a disciplinary tool for the formation of notions of citizenship and of civic values? Through a series of close textual readings, we will investigate the nature of the entanglement between the poetical and the demands of the political and inquire if there were moments when this relationship proved to be traversed by frictions, if not impossibilities. Authors we may read are José Joaquín Olmedo, Andrés Bello, Esteban Echeverría, José María Heredia, Plácido, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, José Hernández, José Gautier Benítez, Juana Borrero, Juan Zorrilla de San Martín, and Lola Rodríguez de Tió, among others.

Instructor(s): Agnes Lugo-Ortiz
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 22701, LACS 32701, SPAN 22701, SPAN 32701

LACS 22723. Censorship: A View From Literature. 100 Units.

En este curso analizaremos cómo la literatura ha interactuado con las prácticas de censura en las sociedades hispánicas. Nos preguntaremos cómo distintas obras literarias negociaron con las técnicas de control social de su tiempo, y cómo tales técnicas posibilitaron a su vez nuevas formas de expresión artística. Nos concentraremos, principalmente, en textos literarios de España y de América Latina de los siglos XVI y XVII (por ejemplo, Miguel de Cervantes, Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz), y los pondremos en diálogo con obras de ficción más recientes (Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Benedetti, Elsa Bonermann) y con discusiones teóricas en torno al control en la sociedad (Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Roland Barthes). Además de reflexionar sobre los vínculos entre literatura y sociedad en distintos períodos históricos, y de mejorar tus habilidades de lectura y pensamiento crítico, el curso está diseñado para continuar desarrollando tus habilidades lingüísticas y tu competencia en español.

Instructor(s): Matías Spector
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 22723

LACS 22821. Women and Horror in Contemporary Latin America. 100 Units.

In this seminar, students will explore questions relevant to both horror studies in general and contemporary Latin American horror specifically from a feminist perspective. What does horror as a genre contribute to the representation and exploration of women's experiences of terrifying events in Latin American history and politics? How can we understand the gendered dynamics of Latin American culture and politics through horror? What do gendered themes in Latin American horror say about societal attitudes, oppression, and struggles for equality? How does the representation of Latin American women in horror texts contribute to or subvert forms of oppression? This interdisciplinary course will transverse the region as well as genres, covering such texts as the short stories of Amparo Dávila (Mexico) and Mariana Enríquez (Argentina); novellas by Carlos Fuentes (Mexico) and Felisberto Hernández (Uruguay); and films such as As boas maneiras (Brazil, 2017).

Instructor(s): Laura Colaneri     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Discussion will be in Spanish, with readings in both English and Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 22822, SPAN 22821

LACS 22822. Mexico City in Literature, Photography, and Film. 100 Units.

How does one represent the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world? With a sprawling, 600-page novel? With a short-story? A feature film? Street photography or aerial views? Does the urban experience itself give shape to certain narratives or styles? This course will examine portrayals of Mexico City in literature, film, and photography since the 1950s, in order to attempt some answers. Just like Paris or New York, Mexico City has inspired generations of authors who have tried their hand at representing this 500-year-old city of roughly 22 million people. We will trace the city's modern transformations through those cultural products that aim to build an image of the place. How do these artworks shape (or contest) the collective imagination of the city? By examining representations of this Latin American capital, we will articulate questions regarding inequality, overpopulation, modernization, and the foreign gaze. In addition to cultivating critical and historical perspectives on the urban experience, we will also engage creatively with the city that surrounds us, Chicago. Works to be discussed may include the likes of Roberto Bolaño, Carlos Monsiváis, Alfonso Cuarón, Valeria Luiselli, and Juan Villoro, among others. Besides adding to your knowledge of Mexican cultural history, and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.

Instructor(s): Luis Madrigal
Prerequisite(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 22822

LACS 23025. Vidas Infames: Sujetos heterodoxos en el mundo hispánico (1500-1800) 100 Units.

En este curso leeremos y discutiremos las vidas de varias mujeres y hombres comunes perseguidos por la Inquisición hispánica entre 1500 y 1800, aproximadamente, tanto en Europa y el Mediterráneo como en las Américas. La mayoría de estas vidas fueron dichas por los mismos acusados frente a un tribunal eclesiástico. Estas autobiografías orales, producidas en condiciones de máxima dureza y precariedad, revelan la forma en que la vida cotidiana es moldeada e interrumpida por el poder. Leeremos las historias de hombres transgénero, mujeres criptojudías, campesinos moriscos, renegados, profetas y monjas acusadas de sodomía, entre otras; y discutiremos temas como la relación entre poder y subjetividad, heterodoxia y cultura popular, las formas narrativas del yo o la articulación biográfica de la clase, la raza y el género en la primera modernidad. Estas 'vidas ínfimas', a pesar de su concreta individualidad, permiten ofrecer un amplio panorama de la historia cultural y social de España y América en la era de la Inquisición.

Instructor(s): M. Martínez     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 33025, SPAN 33025, SPAN 23025

LACS 23424. Building a Nation: Brazilian Culture from Modernism to the Present. 100 Units.

In this course we will go over the last one hundred years in the cultural history of Brazil, a Latin American country which has dealt with multiple labels throughout the years, ranging from post-racial paradise to the country of the future. We will focus on Brazilian literature, from the 1920s to the present day, but we will also consider cinema and other types of art and how they have shaped artists' perception of their nation as a project. How have writers and filmmakers in the last century dealt with the legacy of colonialism and slavery? How have artists depicted and envisioned such a heterogenous continental country? What are the latest trends in Brazilian literature and arts and how do they engage with or depart from tradition? In this course, which will be taught in English, we will close read and discuss texts and films not only by canonical artists such as Clarice Lispector, Guimarães Rosa and Glauber Rocha but also by other artists who have been shaping the new directions of Brazilian art today.

Instructor(s): Eduardo Leão
Note(s): While all required texts and classroom instruction will be in English, the primary texts will also be available in Portuguese and interested students will have opportunities to practice the language in the classroom. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 23424

LACS 24110. Ecocritical Perspectives in Latin American Literature and Film. 100 Units.

This course provides a survey of of ecocritical studies in Latin America. Through novels, poems, and films, we will examine a range of trends and problems posed by Latin American artists concerning environmental issues, from mid-nineteenth century to contemporary literature and film. Readings also include works of ecocritical criticism and theory that have been shaping the field in the past decades.

Instructor(s): V. Saramago     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 24110, PORT 34110, SPAN 34110, PORT 24110, LACS 34110

LACS 24170. El arte de sobrevivir: la tradición picaresca. 100 Units.

La picaresca es un género de ficción en prosa con una tradición multisecular en las literaturas en español y con gran influencia en la historia de la novela moderna. La pobreza y la marginalidad convierte a los pícaros y las pícaras que protagonizan estas historias en astutos maestros en el arte de sobrevivir, en héroes plebeyos que luchan contra las determinaciones de la fortuna en una sociedad dinámica, pero sólidamente jerarquizada. Leeremos, por una parte, el "Lazarillo de Tormes," algunas "Novelas ejemplares" de Cervantes, fragmentos de "La pícara Justina" y del "Guzmán." Por otra, exploraremos los usos del género en algunas novelas modernas escritas en España y Latinoamérica, terminando con ejemplos de ficción televisiva contemporánea. Las estéticas del realismo y la novela moderna, la literatura y la economía, el humor y el lenguaje, el género y la sexualidad, la voz autobiográfica, las subjetividades de la marginalidad, o la relación entre el género picaresco y la historia nacional son algunos de los temas que guiarán nuestras lecturas y discusiones.

Instructor(s): M. Martínez     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 34170, SPAN 34170, SPAN 24170

LACS 24255. Postcolumbian: The Ancient Americas in Modern and Contemporary Art. 100 Units.

In this seminar we will examine the varied ways in which modern and contemporary artists have engaged with the art of Aztec, Maya, Inca, and other ancient American Indigenous art traditions. We will examine modernist appropriations, later Chicano and Chicana movements, and contemporary re-inventions of Precolumbian art as new forms of Latin American and Latinx expression, commentary, and critique. Artists include Frank Lloyd Wright, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Henry Moore, Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Enrique Chagoya, Yolanda López, Yreina D. Cervántez, Guadalupe Maravilla, Mariana Castillo Deball, Ana de Obregoso, Kukuli Velarde, among others. We will consider the ways artists have used forms of the past in a range of political, social, and aesthetic contexts, and ask what agency iconic forms of the past may have exerted, and continue to exert, on the present. Readings on modern and contemporary episodes in this "Post-Columbian" history will be paired with discussions of ancient art and visual culture, as we entwine understandings of early artworks with later histories.

Instructor(s): C. Brittenham     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 34255, ARTH 24255, ARTH 34255

LACS 24801. Literatura y crimen. 100 Units.

The production of crime fiction in the Hispanic literary world has a long tradition that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and has recently gained critical attention as postmodern literary theories focus on fictional forms that are both popular and self-conscious. This course studies the historical development of the genre in Hispanic letters, as well as its formal and ideological foundations. Authors likely to be discussed include Emilia Pardo Bazán, Jorge Luis Borges, Maria Antònia Oliver, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Luisa Valenzuela, Mario Vargas Llosa, Marina Mayoral, Gabriel García Márquez, and Ricardo Piglia.

Instructor(s): M. Santana     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 34800, LACS 34801, SPAN 24801

LACS 24901. Trade, Development and Poverty in Mexico. 100 Units.

With a focus on the past two decades, this interdisciplinary course explores the impact of economic integration, urbanization, and migration on Mexico and, to a lesser extent, on the United States-in particular, working class communities of the Midwestern Rust Belt. The course will examine work and life in the borderland production centers; agriculture, poverty, and indigenous populations in rural Mexico; evolving trade and transnational ties (especially in people, food products and labor, and drugs) between the U.S. and Mexico; and trade, trade adjustment, and immigration policy.

Instructor(s): C. Broughton     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PBPL 24901, SOCI 20251

LACS 25005. The Amazon: Literature, Culture, Environment. 100 Units.

From colonial travelers to contemporary popular culture, the Amazonian forest has been a source of endless fascination, greed and, more recently, ecological concern. The numerous actors that have been shaping the region, including artists, writers, scientists, anthropologists, indigenous peoples, and the extractive industry, among others, bring a multifaceted view of this region that has been described as the paradise on earth as much as a green hell. This course offers an overview of Amazonian history, cultures, and environmental issues that spans from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century. What are the major topics, works, and polemics surrounding the ways the Amazon has been depicted and imagined? How can the region's history help us understand the state of environmental policies and indigenous rights today? What can we learn about the Amazon from literature and film? What is the future of the Amazon in the context of Brazil's current political climate? From an interdisciplinary perspective, we will cover topics such as indigenous cultures and epistemologies, deforestation, travel writing, modern and contemporary literature, music, photography, and film, among others. Authors may include Claudia Andujar, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Euclides da Cunha, Susanna Hecht, Davi Kopenawa, the project Video in the Villages, among others.

Instructor(s): Victoria Saramago     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English. Materials available in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 25000, SPAN 35555, ENST 25000, CEGU 25000, SIGN 26059, PORT 35000, SPAN 25555, LACS 35005

LACS 25135. The Economic History of Latin America. 100 Units.

The course explores Latin America's historical evolution, analyzing the factors that have promoted or limited its economic development from the 16th century to the present. It seeks to familiarize students with the main debates on the economic history of the region, including the most recent literature. Despite its diversity, Latin American countries share several common traits, linked to its past, that have resulted in lower levels of income and greater poverty than the Global North, and very high inequality by international standards. This course aims to acquaint students with Latin America's diversity and, at the same time, identify its common characteristics. The course will delve into the following traits, that although unevenly distributed through the region, have shaped Latin America's economic development: indigenous legacies, colonial extraction, slavery, European migration, political fragmentation and instability, integration into the global economy through commodities' exports, low educational levels, poor innovation and financial development, limited industrialization, and frequent macroeconomic crises.

Instructor(s): Aurora Gómez Galvarriato     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35135

LACS 25136. Democratic Erosion. 100 Units.

Until recently, democracies died dramatic deaths. Tanks rolled out, politicians were arrested, a free press was suddenly closed. In recent years, the coup d'état is being replaced by slower and less easily identified challenges to democratic governance. The attacks often arise from within, as elected leaders chip away at democratic institutions and norms. What are the causes of the erosion of democracy? What are the early warning signs, and can it be reversed?

Instructor(s): Cristobal Bellolio     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35136

LACS 25137. Writing the unspeakable. History, Memory, and Reflection through Literature. 100 Units.

This workshop will focus on literature as a tool to explore tragic and traumatic events in history, such as wars, genocides, and natural disasters, among others. Through different examples, we will review different poetic and narrative forms that delve into historical and personal memory, remembering, reflecting, and analyzing events that have marked the lives of individuals, communities, and nations. We will discuss how writing can be an effective way of coping with the painful burden of history, helping to heal the wounds of the past, as well as to reflect on the ways in which literature can serve as a way of preserving the memory of the victims of these tragic events, allowing their stories to be told, remembered and honored in order to bring us a little closer to reparation and justice.

Instructor(s): Carlos Soto Román     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35137

LACS 25138. Introduction to Demographic Methods: an application to Latin America. 100 Units.

The objective of the course is to introduce key demographic concepts and measures to analyze population size, composition, and distribution, as well as the three demographic components: fertility, mortality, and migration. The course discusses the main demographic techniques for period and longitudinal data, most frequently used in demographic analyses. The course aims at developing basic skills for population analysis, such as understanding and applying the Lexis diagram; identifying period, cohort, and age measures; calculating and interpreting main demographic indicators, to build and critically analyze life tables, and properly using standardization and decomposition methods to compare populations. The course has a strong focus on the application of demographic techniques to census data from different Latin American countries at different points in time, which enhances comprehension over the course of the demographic transition in place in the region, and the applicability of these measures to understand recent demographic trends. Applications with be conducted using software Excel and R.

Instructor(s): Luciana Soares Luz do Amaral     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35138

LACS 25322. A History of Public Spaces in Mexico, 1520-2020. 100 Units.

Streets and plazas have been sites in which much of Mexican history has been fought, forged, and even performed. This course examines the history of public spaces in Mexico since the Spanish Conquest. By gauging the degree to which these sites were truly open to the public, it addresses questions of social exclusion, resistance, and adaptability. The course traces more than the role and evolution of built sites. It also considers the individuals and groups that helped to define these places. This allows us to read street vendors, prostitutes, students, rioters, and the "prole" as central historical actors. Through case studies and primary sources, we will examine palpable examples of how European colonization, various forms of state building, and more recent neoliberal reforms have transformed ordinary Mexicans and their public spaces.

Instructor(s): C. Rocha     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 26322, HIST 26322, ARCH 26322

LACS 25560. Race, Religion, and the Formation of the Latinx Identity. 100 Units.

In this class, we will focus on the conditions of possibility, development, and problems surrounding the formation of the Latinx identity. We will pay special attention to how such an identity is expressed through and informed by religious experience, and to how religious experience is theoretically articulated in Latinx theology and religious thought. To pursue this task, we will devote the first part of the class to the examination of the conditions of possibility of latinidad by focusing on the formation of the Latinx self. What makes Latines, Latines? Is this a forcefully assigned identity or one that can be claimed and embraced with pride? Is there such a thing as a unified Latinx self or shall we favor approaches that stress hybridity or multiplicity? In the second part of the class, we will shift from self-formation to community-formation by examining the experience of mestizaje (racial mixing) and its theoretical articulation in Latinx theology. Is this concept useful to describe the Latinx experience or does it romanticize the violence of European colonialism? Lastly, we will return to the formation of Latinx identity considering the ambiguities of religious ethnic identity through the examples of tensions between Catholic and Evangelical Latinos, and those emerging from the experiences of Latinos converting to non-Christian religions. No prerequisites.

Instructor(s): Raul Zegarra     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 25560, CRES 25560, KNOW 25560, RLST 25560

LACS 25640. Language as Resistance. 100 Units.

Course Description TBA

Instructor(s): Tulio Bermudez     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35640, LING 35640, CRES 25640, LING 25640

LACS 25660. US Imperialism and Cultural Practice in Latin America. 100 Units.

This course examines the ways histories of US intervention in Latin America have been engaged in cultural practice. We assess the history of US intervention by reading primary documents alongside cultural artifacts including film, performance and visual art, song, music, and poetry. The course begins with the Cuban revolution and ends with the ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico.

Instructor(s): D. Roper     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 25660, LACS 35660, SPAN 35660

LACS 25731. Gender Before Gender: Constructing Bodies in Ancient American Art. 100 Units.

In this course, we will seek to test the possibilities and limits of understanding gender and sex in premodernity through an inquiry into the artistic traditions of the ancient Americas. Works of art constitute a primary means by which we can access ideas about what we call gender and sex. Based on what we can reconstruct from visual, textual, and archaeological sources, these cultures conceptualized and represented gender in ways that might seem unfamiliar, in the process putting into question our own preconceptions. Indeed, pre-modern works of art might not have served to simply record conventions of gender but also helped construct the very idea of a sexed body within a given cultural context. As we discover commonalities and divergences between these Indigenous American traditions, we will learn to think across cultural contexts and disciplinary divides, putting into question some of our own assumptions. We will see that gender is not an immutable construct but something actively brought into being in different ways in different times and places.

Instructor(s): C. Brittenham     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor required; email Professor Brittenham a paragraph-long description about what you bring and what you hope to get out of this seminar.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35731, ARTH 35731, GNSE 20138, ARTH 25731, GNSE 30138

LACS 26106. Tropical Commodities in Latin America. 100 Units.

This colloquium explores selected aspects of the social, economic, environmental, and cultural history of tropical export commodities from Latin America-- e.g., coffee, bananas, sugar, tobacco, henequen, rubber, vanilla, and cocaine. Topics include land, labor, capital, markets, transport, geopolitics, power, taste, and consumption.

Instructor(s): E. Kourí     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 36106, CEGU 26106, HIST 36106, HIST 26106

LACS 26212. Witches, Sinners, and Saints. 100 Units.

This course examines representations of women's bodies and sexualities in early modern Iberian and colonial Latin American writings. We will study the body through a variety of lenses: the anatomical body as a site of construction of sexual difference, the witch's body as a site of sexual excess, the mystic's body as a double of the possessed body, the tortured body as a site of knowledge production, and the racialized bodies of women as sites to govern sexuality, spirituality, labor, and property in the reaches of the Spanish Empire.

Instructor(s): Larissa Brewer-García     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): For undergrads: SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 36210, CRES 26220, GNSE 26210, LACS 36212, SPAN 36210, SPAN 26210, CRES 36220

LACS 26220. Brazil: Another American History. 100 Units.

Brazil is in many ways a mirror image of the United States: an almost continental democracy, rich in natural resources, populated by the descendants of three continents, shaped by colonialism, slavery, and sui generis liberal capitalism. Why, then, has Brazil's historical path been so distinct? To explore this question, this course will focus on the history of economic development, race, citizenship, urbanization, the environment, popular culture, violence, and the challenge of democracy. Assignments: Weekly reading, participation in discussions, weekly journal posts, and a final paper.

Instructor(s): B. Fischer     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Some background in Latin American or Brazilian studies useful.
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 36220, LACS 36220, HIST 26220

LACS 26330. Making the Maya World. 100 Units.

What do we know about the ancient Maya? Pyramids, palaces, and temples are found from Mexico to Honduras, texts in hieroglyphic script record the histories of kings and queens who ruled those cities, and painted murals, carved stone stelae, and ceramic vessels provide a glimpse of complex geopolitical dynamics and social hierarchies. Decades of archaeological research have expanded that view beyond the rulers and elites to explore the daily lives of the Maya people, networks of trade and market exchange, and agricultural and ritual practices. Present-day Maya communities attest to the dynamism and vitality of languages and traditions, often entangled in the politics of archaeological heritage and tourism. This course is a wide-ranging exploration of ancient Maya civilization and of the various ways archaeologists, anthropologists, linguists, historians, and indigenous communities have examined and manipulated the Maya past. From tropes of long-hidden mysteries rescued from the jungle to New Age appropriations of pre-Columbian rituals, from the thrill of decipherment to painstaking and technical artifact studies, we will examine how models drawn from astrology, ethnography, classical archaeology and philology, political science, and popular culture have shaped current understandings of the ancient Maya world, and also how the Maya world has, at times, resisted easy appropriation and defied expectations.

Instructor(s): Sarah Newman     Terms Offered: TBD
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 36330, CEGU 26330, ANTH 26330, LACS 36330

LACS 26380. Indigenous Politics in Latin America. 100 Units.

This course examines the history of Indigenous policies and politics in Latin America from the first encounters with European empires through the 21st Century. Course readings and discussions will consider several key historical moments across the region: European encounters/colonization; the rise of liberalism and capitalist expansion in the 19th century; 20th-century integration policies; and pan-Indigenous and transnational social movements in recent decades. Students will engage with primary and secondary texts that offer interpretations and perspectives both within and across imperial and national boundaries.

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz Francisco     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 23077, CRES 26380, RDIN 26380, LACS 36380, HIPS 26380, GLST 26380, HIST 26318, RDIN 36380

LACS 26381. Water in Latin America. 100 Units.

The course will explore how water shapes-and is shaped by-humans in Latin America. Drawing from case studies from the pre-Columbian era to the present, the course will consider struggles over aquatic resources, dam building, and hydraulic development, as well as the social life of water in the region. Some background in Latin American history or politics is helpful but not required.

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz-Francisco     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): CEGU 26381, HIST 26306

LACS 26382. Development and Environment in Latin America. 100 Units.

Description: This course will consider the relationship between development and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean. We will consider the social, political, and economic effects of natural resource extraction, the quest to improve places and peoples, and attendant ecological transformations, from the onset of European colonialism in the fifteenth century, to state- and private-led improvement policies in the twentieth. Some questions we will consider are: How have policies affected the sustainability of land use in the last five centuries? In what ways has the modern impetus for development, beginning in the nineteenth century and reaching its current intensity in the mid-twentieth, shifted ideas and practices of sustainability in both environmental and social terms? And, more broadly, to what extent does the notion of development help us explain the historical relationship between humans and the environment?

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz Francisco     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): HIPS 26382, HIST 36317, LACS 36382, ENST 26382, GEOG 26382, GLST 26382, HIST 26317, ANTH 23094, CEGU 26382

LACS 26384. Art and the Archive in Greater Latin America. 100 Units.

How and why do artists engage records of the past in their work? What are the politics of both creating archives and culling from them to visually render or represent the past? Focusing on artists, art-making, and archives in Greater Latin America (including the United States), this course will consider the process of collecting and creating in artistic production from the perspectives of both theory and practice. Students in the course will work directly with archival materials in Chicago and collaborate on contemporary artistic projects that consider issues of relevance to people and places of the Western Hemisphere.

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz-Francisco     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 26319, RDIN 26384, CHST 26384, ARTH 26384, ARTV 20017

LACS 26386. Greater Latin America. 100 Units.

What is "Latin America," who are "Latin Americans" and what is the relationship among and between places and people of the region we call Latin America, on the one hand, and the greater Latinx diaspora in the US on the other? This course explores the history of Latin America as an idea, and the cultural, social, political and economic connections among peoples on both sides of the southern and eastern borders of the United States. Students will engage multiple disciplinary perspectives in course readings and assignments and will explore Chicago as a crucial node in the geography of Greater Latin America. Some topics we will consider are: the origin of the concept of "Latin" America, Inter-Americanism and Pan-Americanism, transnational social movements and intellectual exchanges, migration, and racial and ethnic politics.

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz Francisco     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 23003, RDIN 36386, LACS 36386, HIST 26321, SPAN 26386, CRES 26386, SPAN 36386, RDIN 26386

LACS 26388. Food Justice and Biodiversity in Latin America. 100 Units.

This course asks how the relationships between food production and consumption, economic justice, and biodiversity have changed over the last century in Latin America and the Caribbean. As a region known both for its ecological diversity and as a producer of tropical foods regularly consumed in the United States, plantation-style agriculture has often undermined its celebrated biodiversity. In centering the role of workers and consumers, this course considers the layered relationships- ecological, social, political, economic and cultural-between the production and consumption of food from Latin America and the Caribbean. In Autumn 2022, the course will also engage questions of food justice and biodiversity in the Chicagoland area and in particular among Latine/x com

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz Francisco     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25
Note(s): Preferred: some background in Latin American history, geography and/or contemporary issues
Equivalent Course(s): GLST 26388, ENST 26388, HIST 26323

LACS 26390. Science and Society in Latin America. 100 Units.

How have ideas about and practices of science shaped life and society in Latin America? This course explores the interconnected social and political realities of scientific theory and practice in modern Latin America. Taking a historical approach, it will focus on the scientific management of social and political life, including the construction of categories such as sex and race; the production, consumption, and policing of drugs; and public health. In this discussion-based course, students will develop their own research project that historicizes a contemporary question related to scientific knowledge and/or practice in the region.

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz Francisco     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): HIPS 26390, HIST 26390

LACS 26500. History of Mexico, 1876 to Present. 100 Units.

From the Porfiriato and the Revolution to the present, this course is a survey of Mexican society and politics, with emphasis on the connections between economic developments, social justice, and political organization. Topics include fin de siècle modernization and the agrarian problem; causes and consequences of the Revolution of 1910; the making of the modern Mexican state; relations with the United States; industrialism and land reform; urbanization and migration; ethnicity, culture, and nationalism; economic crises, neoliberalism, and social inequality; political reforms and electoral democracy; violence and narco-trafficking; the end of PRI rule; and AMLO's new government.

Instructor(s): E. Kourí     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Assignments: two essays
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 26500, HIST 26500, HIST 36500, LACS 36500

LACS 26510. Cities from Scratch: The History of Urban Latin America. 100 Units.

Latin America is one of the world's most urbanized regions and its urban heritage long predates European conquest. Yet the region's urban experience has generally been understood through North Atlantic models, which often treat Latin American cities as disjunctive, distorted knockoffs of idealized US or European cities. This class interrogates and expands those North Atlantic visions by emphasizing the history of vital urban issues such as informality, inequality, intimacy, race, gender, violence, plural regulatory regimes, the urban environment, and rights to the city. Interdisciplinary course materials include anthropology, sociology, history, fiction, film, photography, and journalism produced from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first centuries.

Instructor(s): B. Fischer     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Some coursework in Latin American studies, urban studies, and/or history
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 26511, HIST 26511, LACS 36510, HIST 36511, ARCH 26511, CEGU 26511

LACS 26722. Literatura y escuela. 100 Units.

Today, institutions of education have become one of the most intense sites of the so-called "culture wars," both in Latin America and the United States. This situation, of course, is part of a longer history. In this course, we will explore the complex relations between literature and institutions of learning in twentieth-century Latin America in order to understand (or try to understand) the institutional, cultural and political present we now face. On the one hand, we will read essays on the subject by important Latin American pedagogues, who were most times in charge of developing their countries' educational systems. On the other, we will read works of fiction (short stories, novels, memoirs) that formulate concrete images of the 'school experience.' We'll pay attention to the ways in which the school distributed cultural capital (knowledges, skills, tastes) and produced cultural difference (nationality, gender, race, class) amongst subjects. In this sense, the objective of the class is to provide students with historical, linguistic and analytic tools they can use to understand and shape their institutional present.

Instructor(s): Enrique Macari
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 26722

LACS 27401. Literaturas del Caribe Hispanico en el siglo XX. 100 Units.

En este curso se estudiarán algunos ejemplos salientes de las literaturas producidas en el Caribe hispánico insular (Cuba, Puerto Rico y Santo Domingo) durante el siglo XX y a principios del XXI. Entre los asuntos a discutir tendrán un lugar principal los modos en que esta producción se ha constituído como respuesta y elaboración estética de las historias de esclavitud, violencia racial y colonialismo, de militarización y desplazamientos territoriales migratorios, que han marcado a la región en su carácter de frontera imperial desde el siglo XVI. En el curso también se abordará la condición simbólica del Caribe como espacio de utopías y catástrofes, escenario previlegiado tanto de las aspiraciones revolucionarias propias de la modernidad (e.g. la Revolución Haitiana del 1791 y la Revolución Cubana del 1959) como de los terrores de la destrucción ecológica (con su experiencia cruel de huracanes y terremotos).

Instructor(s): A. Lugo-Ortiz     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): At least one of the following courses: SPAN 21500, 21703, 21803, 21903, or 22003.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 37401, SPAN 27401, SPAN 37401, CRES 27401, LACS 37401

LACS 27511. Literatura y música en el gran Caribe hispanohablante. 100 Units.

Uno de los aspectos más notables de las culturas del Caribe hispanohablante, tanto insular como continental, a todo lo largo del siglo XX, y hasta el presente, ha sido el diálogo sostenido entre la textualidad literaria y la música. En este curso nos interesa trazar las distintas maneras en que la literatura ha invocado la inefabilidad aural de lo musical y reflexionar sobre sus posibles sentidos. Desde la forma del son en la poesía afroantillana, pasando por la estructura de las variaciones y fugas barrocas en la obra de Alejo Carpentier, hasta la incesante invocación al bolero y a la salsa en la narrativa más reciente, la escritura literaria en el Caribe más que decir parecería querer sonar y cantar. ¿Qué da cuenta de ello? ¿Cómo entender su particularidad? ¿Qué efectos produce? En el curso haremos una introducción básica al repertorio de formas musicales activados por ese decir literario, en ambos sus dimensiones estéticas e históricas, y examinaremos los sentidos de su apropiación y transformación por el hecho textual. Entre las posibles obras a estudiar se encuentran "Elogio de la plena" de Tomás Blanco, "El acoso" y Concierto barroco de Alejo Carpentier, La guaracha del Macho Camacho de Luis Rafael Sánchez, ¡Qué viva la música! de Andrés Caicedo, Maldito amor de Rosa Ferré, El entierro de Cortijo de Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá, Sólo cenizas hallarás de Pedro Vergés y Sabor a mí de Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, entre otras.

Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 37510, SPAN 27510, LACS 37511

LACS 27660. Chilean Art and Literature During the Dictatorship. 100 Units.

On September 11, 1973, a US-backed military coup in Chile brought down the government of Salvador Allender, the first democratically elected Marxist president in Latin America. The military dictatorship that governed over the course of the following two decades brought about radical transformation to the macro- and micropolitical dynamics of Chile. This course is a survey of the art and literature produced during the years of dictatorship. We study the work of some of the most consequential literary and artistic figures active during the years of the dictatorship. The unprecedented level of experimentation in the arts and literature of this period will be studied vis-a-vis the radically shifted social and affective coordinates faced by those living in Chile during the dictatorship. Works by Catalina Parra, Diamela Eltit, Lotty Rosenfeld, Nelly Richard, Adriana Valdés, José Donoso, Raúl Zurita, and others.

Instructor(s): Sergio Delgado Moya     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 37660, SPAN 27660, SPAN 37660

LACS 28400. Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology: Approaches to the Past. 100 Units.

This course is intended to provide students with a thorough understanding of bioanthropological, osteological and forensic methods used in the interpretation of past and present behavior by introducing osteological methods and anthropological theory. In particular, lab instruction stresses hands-on experience in analyzing human remains, whereas seminar classes integrate bioanthropological theory and its application to specific archaeological and forensic cases throughout the world. At the end of this course, students will be able to identify, document, and interpret human remains from archaeological and forensic contexts. Lab and seminar-format classes each meet weekly.

Note(s): This course qualifies as a Methodology selection for Anthropology majors.
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 38800, BIOS 23247, ANTH 28400, LACS 38400

LACS 28922. Literary "Selfies": Autobiographical Discourses in Contemporary Latin America. 100 Units.

Have you ever written a diary? Have you ever asked "what for"? Why tell a life, and why not? Can every life story be told? How? All these questions bundle behind a more general one: why is the "self" such a hot topic in contemporary literature? How has literature reacted to this interest in subjectivity? In this course we will look into --and challenge-- a series of terms that tend to be confused: autobiography, autobiographical novel, memoir, diary, autofiction, correspondence. Are these distinctions helpful? What kind of "truth" do they look up to? Are all lives worth their telling? How has that changed with time? We will read contemporary authors that engage with these different genres. We will read about splendid and "minor" lives. We will study maniac authors that simply can't interrupt their production. (The instructor is one of these rare creatures!) We will delve into the main critical discussions of the field and use them to think of the different types of autobiographical works that will be covered in the program. Also, once a week (myself included) we will write a short reading diary entry as a hands-on "autobiographical" practice.

Instructor(s): Pablo Ottonello     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 28922

LACS 29117. Theater and Performance in Latin America. 100 Units.

What is performance? How has it been used in Latin America and the Caribbean? This course is an introduction to theatre and performance in Latin America and the Caribbean that will examine the intersection of performance and social life. While we will place particular emphasis on performance art, we will examine some theatrical works. We ask: how have embodied practice, theatre and visual art been used to negotiate ideologies of race, gender and sexuality? What is the role of performance in relation to systems of power? How has it negotiated dictatorship, military rule, and social memory? Ultimately, the aim of this course is to give students an overview of Latin American performance including blackface performance, indigenous performance, as well as performance and activism.

Instructor(s): Danielle Roper     Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates must be in their third or fourth year.
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 38479, SPAN 39117, RDIN 29117, SPAN 29117, TAPS 28479, LACS 39117, GNSE 29117, GNSE 39117, RDIN 39117

LACS 29299. Language Identity and Power in French-Creolophone Contexts. 100 Units.

This course examines the concept of language identity (i.e., the language[s] people employ to represent themselves) in multilingual Creolophone communities, particularly in Haiti. This course also examines the relationships between language identity, learning, language use, and literacy development in these societies. By the end of the course, students will be able to explain: 1) what language identity in multilingual Creolophone community reveal about speakers and their language attitudes; 2) how context and mode of communication can impact language identity and language use; 3) literacy acquisition and achievement in Creole communities; and 4) how Creolophones' learning and literacy development are affected by language policies and ideologies. A final project will require students to design and conduct a preliminary sociolinguistic study based on students' interests in the French-Creolophone world.

Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Knowledge of French and Kreyòl will be helpful, but not required.
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 29301, KREY 29300

LACS 29700. Reading and Research in Latin American Studies. 100 Units.

Students and instructors can arrange a Reading and Research course in Latin American Studies when the material being studied goes beyond the scope of a particular course, when students are working on material not covered in an existing course or when students would like to receive academic credit for independent research.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Summer Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate thesis/project adviser required
Note(s): College students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Must be taken for a quality grade.

LACS 29801. BA Colloquium I. 100 Units.

This colloquium, which is led by the LACS BA Program Adviser, assists students in formulating approaches to the BA capstone project and developing their research and writing skills, while providing a forum for group discussion and critiques. Graduating students present their BA projects in a public session of the colloquium during the spring quarter.

Instructor(s): Diana Schwartz Francisco     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): For fourth year (graduating) students majoring in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
Note(s): Required of students who are majoring in Latin American Studies. Students must participate in all three quarters but register in Autumn and in Winter (LACS 29802) only.

LACS 29900. Preparation of the BA Essay. 100 Units.

Independent study course intended to be used by 4th year BA students who are writing the BA thesis.

Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Summer Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate thesis/project adviser required
Note(s): Typically taken for a quality grade.