Latin American Culture and Society

Latin America is a paradise for cultural anthropologists because, with its long history of invasion and cultural hybridization, it is a meeting ground for people from all over the world. This course looks at how the Americas south of the Rio Grande have been symbolized, constructed and contested in debates over national character, the culture of poverty, and dependency on foreign powers. Case material includes peasants, shanty-town dwellers, immigrants to the U.S. and the iconic figures of the Vodoun healer, pop star, druglord and guerrillero. Topics include the polarities of identity along the U.S.-Mexican border, African possession cults of the Caribbean, the requirements of survival for the poor of the Brazilian Northeast, the hegemony of "whiteness" in the mass media, and the frustrated messianic strivings of revolutionary Cuba. This course is primarily for students doing study abroad in the region. 3 hrs. lect./disc., 2 hrs. screen (Anthropology)