Salsa Music and the Assembly of a Collective Self

In this course we will experience Salsa music as a socio-cultural phenomenon as well as an instrument for storytelling. We will discuss topics such as migration, race, gender and mourning as leitmotifs for a collective self that sought a space to narrate its shared experiences in Salsa. Likewise, the relationship between the diaspora in New York and Puerto Rico will be examined. Some of the most well known Salsa hits, along with films and documentaries, literary texts, and cultural theories will be read and examined to strengthen the discussion. By understanding Salsa as a melting pot and/or as a guiso, one of the goals of the course is for students to be able to use musical experiences as a social and cultural manifestation that allows us to understand historical and social events. (Two Spanish courses at the 0300 level or above or by permission) (not open to students who have taken SPAN 1352) 3 hrs. lect.