UG: General Education in the Arts and Humanities
Latin America and the World: Native Latin America (Freshman-Seniors, IAH-I)
Course Description
This course examines major issues of the indigenous cultures from the territories that were found by Europeans in 1492, became Spanish America for 300 years and were later called “Latin America.” In this course we explore the development of native societies of Latin America prior to 1492 and what happens with these societies in the next 500 years. Readings and discussions focus mainly on indigenous narratives. This learning experience includes a reflection on discourses that perpetrate stereotypes of the indigenous societies of these territories, such as lack of alphabetic script, their “easy fall” to European powers and the romantic exoticism of the Incas and Aztecs.
Prerequisite: Freshman Writing.
Learning Goals
By semester’s end, the student should be able to demonstrate the following:
1. General knowledge of Native Latin America from the Colonial period to present day
2. Capacity to analyze literary texts within a specific historical context
3. Understanding of the present in relation to the historical occurrences of the past
4. Writing research essays by demonstrating critical thinking
5. Ability to incorporate and explain learned material in relation to a specific topic
Required Materials
• Miguel León Portilla. The Broken Spears
• Apocalypto. Film, Dir. Mel Gibson, 2006
• The Royal Hunt of the Sun. (dir. I. Lerner,) 1969
• Titu Cusi Yupanqui. An Inca Account of the Conquest of Perú
• Ricardo Valderrama & Carmen Escalante. Andean Lives (1972)
Rocío Quispe-Agnoli 