Latin American Anthropology (Postgraduate)

The objective of the course is to provide postgraduate students with an advanced understanding of major contemporary debates and key works in the social anthropology of Latin America. The course will have a particular focus on the different ways in which life in the region has been "mediated" through literature, food, film, music, and other kinds of cultural productions. It will also offer a geographically focused examination of race, violence, religion, urbanization, and sexuality. Anthropologists working in Latin America have been at the forefront of the discipline's theorization of racial and economic inequality, the culture of politics, and urban life. Latin America has also been a site for major studies of social change, including civil war, migration, and economic globalization. This course will provide students with an introduction to the major themes and debates in the anthropology of Latin America. Through a close reading and discussion of ethnographic works, films, music, and other media, students in the course will become familiar with the breadth of languages, religions, political formations, and cultural systems of the area. Particular attention will be paid to recent interests among anthropologists in urban life, violence, religious syncretism, environmental politics, sexuality, and social movements. Credit Level: 11 Year taken: Postgraduate