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Course Offerings

Course Details

Spring 2011-2012
* LAS 401 / SPA 410 / HIS 409 (HA)   na, npdf

Latin American Studies Seminar - From Colonial to Global: Early Latin American History

Serge M. Gruzinski

For a long time, early Latin American history has been studied from a colonial, national, or eurocentric point of view. This course will introduce other insights, mostly contemporary debates and questions. First, we shall travel through the societies and cultures covered by the Iberian empires in order to define modalities and peculiarities of Iberian globalization. Second, special importance will be given to processes of mestizaje as a crucial dynamic for this globalization. Finally, we'll analyze the historical links between America, Islam, China and Christian Europe in order to open up the study of the New World to its real global context.

Sample reading list:
Serge Gruzinski, The Mestizo Mind
Serge Gruzinski, What Time is it There? America and Islam
Serge Gruzinski, Images at War
Timothy Brook, Vermeer's Hat
J.H. Elliott, Empires of the Atlantic World
See instructor for complete list

Reading/Writing assignments:
There will be approximately 100 pages of reading per week. Written answers (1 page) to a question analyzed in the course will be due each week.

Requirements/Grading:
Paper in lieu of Final - 50%
Papers - 20%
Oral Presentation(s) - 20%
Class/Precept Participation - 10%

Prerequisites and Restrictions:
Some training in history, ethnohistory, and/or anthropology; an interest in movies, art history, music, and museums; and a small knowledge of another language (european or amerindian) such as Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, French, Latin, Nahuatl, or Quechua..

Other information:
This course is open to graduate students and advanced undergraduate students.

Schedule/Classroom assignment:

Class numberSectionTimeDaysRoomEnrollmentStatus
41102 S01 1:30 pm - 4:20 pm T   Aaron Burr Hall   213   Enrolled:7 Limit:25