Time Schedule:
Julie Shayne
BIS 490
Bothell Campus
Study of special topics in interdisciplinary arts and sciences. Prerequisite: BIS 300.
Class description
"Culture and Resistance in the Americas:" 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 and the diaspora used by social movement actors as voices of resistance and opposition. For example, Central American guerrillas used rebel radio stations and street murals to deliver their revolutionary message; Cuban Hip Hop artists, and Chilean New Song musicians use their lyrics and instruments to convey hidden histories of repression and articulate powerful messages of resistance; Latin American film makers write and direct feature films and documentaries to record and archive political histories typically overlooked by the mainstream, and fiction writers use their prose to commit their personal and political struggles to the literary archives and give voice to the marginalized. This class will examine the fusion of culture, history, and resistance through the aforementioned cases and others.
Student learning goals
You should be a strong and capable writer
You should be a confident and competent researcher
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 understand the place of politics in reshaping cultures
You should produce a thoughtful and reflective senior 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.This class is set up as a seminar. We will have no more than fifteen students and 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 preparation
IAS students must have taken BIS300; non-IAS students must contact me for permission to add the class. Anyone may contact me in advance for a syllabus and there will be a Blackboard page for you to browse. You are not expected to do any reading before the first day of class.
Class assignments and grading
This a writing intensive course. Assignments include: 1) Section write ups 2) Research papers and related sub-assignments
Grades will be based on sound analysis, clear writing, informed class participation, and attention to detail.
