Time Schedule:
Julie Shayne
BCULST 589
Bothell Campus
Links a specific area of study, such as hip hop. YouTube, or garbage, to global cultural studies and the methodologies of visual, material, textual, or arts-based research. Offered: AWSpS.
Class description
This course will center on the question: How is culture used to articulate resistance? We will look at the rich history of political cultural production in Latin America, the Caribbean, and diaspora used by social movement actors as voices of resistance and opposition. For example, Salvadoran guerrillas used rebel radio stations to deliver their revolutionary message; Cuban rappers, Chilean New Song musicians, and Salvadoran guerrillas use their lyrics and instruments to convey histories of repression and articulate resistance; Latin American film makers write and produce documentary films to share and archive political histories overlooked by the mainstream; fiction writers use their prose to commit their struggles to the literary archives and give voice to the marginalized.
Student learning goals
You should see solid improvement in your research and writing skills
You should understand the place of politics in reshaping cultures and vice versa
You should be able to make connections between historical and contemporary events
You should understand the place of culture in articulating political messages
You should be able to link Latin American cultural studies theories and cases to those you have studied or are studying elsewhere in the program
You should make concrete progress on your MACS Portfolio
General method of instruction
This class is set up as a seminar. We will discuss the readings as a group with little formal lecturing. The class will be reading and writing intensive. We will use a variety of different types of text including: films, fiction, social science, history, and testimonies. Required reading: Partnoy, Alicia. 1998. The Little School: Tales of Disappearance and Survival. SF, Calif.: Midnight Editions. Shayne, Julie. 2009. They Used to Call Us Witches: Chilean Exiles, Culture, and Feminism. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. And a collection of articles available through online e-reserves
Recommended texts: Cockcroft, Eva Sperling and Holly Barnet-Sánchez, eds. 1993. Signs From the Heart: California Chicano Murals. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. Kunzle, David. 1997. Che Guevara: Icon, Myth, and Message. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History.
Recommended preparation
None but you may contact me in advance for the syllabus: jshayne@u.washington.edu. There will be a blackboard page that you can browse in advance.
Class assignments and grading
This a reading and writing intensive course. Assignments include: 1)Section write ups 2)Research projects geared towards your MACS Capstone Project
Grades will be based on sound analysis, clear writing, informed class participation, and attention to detail.
