Latin American Studies 234 Section 0101
Issues in Latin American Studies I
http://www.history.umd.edu/Faculty/DWilliams/courses/Fall11/LASC234/
http://elms.umd.edu
Fall 2011 |
Tuesdays and Thursdays |
Tydings 0101 |
Description & Organization | Organization | Requirements | Grading | Class Policies | Instructional Materials | Schedule
Dr. Daryle Williams
Department of History
2125 Taliaferro Hall
(301) 405-0061
daryle@umd.edu
http://www.history.umd.edu/Faculty/DWilliams/
Office Hours: Tuesdays
11:00-1:00pm and by appointment
Course
Description and Objectives
LASC 234 is an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of Spanish and Portuguese America. The course modules offer a variety of critical perspectives on the social, cultural, historical, regional, and expressive characteristics of Latin America and Latin Americans.
The primary learning objectives are fourfold:
The course materials are organized around five multiweek modules:
The course meets twice a week for seventy-minutes. The class format will vary between lecture, in-class source and document critique, discussion, video screenings, and podcasts.
All students are expected to participate fully in all aspects of the course.
Latin American Studies Certificate Program
LASC 234 is the first of the two-part core curriculum for the Latin American Studies Certificate Program. Together, LASC 234 and 235 present a variety of disciplinary tools with which Latin American civilization is studied in the setting of North American higher education. For additional information about the LASC Certificate Program, visit: http://www.lasc.umd.edu/InfoStudents/undergraduate_studies.html
Crosslisting and Degree Requirements
LASC 234 is currently crosslisted with SPAN 234 and PORT 234. The course may also be counted towards degree requirements in the Department of History and other majors.
LASC 234 currently fulfills CORE requirements for CORE Humanities (HO) and Diversity (D).
Starting in Fall 2012, LASC 234 will fulfill the History and Social Sciences and Plural Societies General Education requirements.
A pass/fail Map Quiz will be given in at the beginning of class on Tuesday, September 13. The quiz will ask you to locate ten geographic locations, borders, regions, and topographic features of Latin America. Seven or more correct identifications will be considered a pass. You will have up to three opportunities to pass the map quia. A Map Quiz Study Sheet will be made available.
On Tuesday, September 15, the class will meet in McKeldin Library for a hands-on instructional session about University Libraries resources in Latin American Studies. A Search and Citation exercise based upon this session will be due at the beginning of class on Thursday, September 22.
The First Midterm will be held on Tuesday, September 27. The examination will cover Module I. The examination will include an essay question and bonus identifications. A Study Guide will be distributed.
A Second Midterm will be held Tuesday, November 22. The examination will cover Modules II, III and IV. The examination will include an essay question and bonus identifications. A Study Guide will be distributed.
The Paper will be due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, December 13 . The paper will be based upon Module V: Patterns and Problems of Migration and Immigration. A Guide will be distributed.
The Final Examination will be given at 8:00am on Friday, December 16. The two-hour final will be cumulative. A Study Guide will be distributed.
With the exception of the pass/fail map quiz, all assignments will be graded on a 100-point scale, with the scale 100 through 60 corresponding to the standard letter grades of A+ through D-. A failing grade is 59 and lower.
Final grades will be determined by the following percentages:
5% |
Map Quiz |
5% |
Search and Citation Exercise |
30% |
Midterm Examinations (15% each) |
20% |
Paper |
20% |
Final Examination |
20% |
Participation (in-class and periodic online discussions on ELMS)* |
Late papers will be accepted only with the professor's permission. With the exception of legitimate excuses, late papers may be penalized up to one full grade for every day late.
* Regular attendance is a
central component of engaged class participation, but your mere presence in
class alone is not the primary measure of the participation grade. Active and
thoughtful engagement with the assigned material and with one's colleagues is a
central component of participation. A track record of active participation and
engagement will favor students whose final grade falls near a borderline.
Conversely, passive or absent participation can diminish the overall quality of
learning and result in a low participation grade for students who choose not to
engage.
Excused Absences, Religious Observances, and Accommodations for Inclement Weather
All course expectations and requirements will comply with the University's Policy on Medically Necessitated Absences as well as the USM's Policy on Religious Observances.
These policies include accommodations for illness, religious observances, participation in University activities at the request of university authorities, and compelling circumstances beyond the students' control. In requesting an excused absence, students may be required to provide appropriate documentation. Consult the appropriate policy for additional details.
Inclement weather and official University closures may require modification of course expectations and requirements. Details of any change will be posted to the ELMS website as appropriate.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students with a documented disability should speak with the professor at the beginning of the semester to discuss arrangements for the appropriate academic accommodations.
Academic Integrity
Academic honesty is a foundation for learning, as outlined in the Code for Academic Integrity. The Code prohibits students from cheating on exams, the intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise, the facilitation of academic dishonesty, and plagiarism. The suspicion of academic dishonesty may result in referral to the Student Honor Council. Questions and doubts about any the expectations for any course assignment or examination should be directed to the professor.
The Honor Pledge
All students will be asked to write by hand and sign the Honor Pledge on all written assignments and examinations, unless otherwise instructed.
Electronic Devices in the Classroom
A wide variety of electronic devices (e.g., laptop and notebook computers, PDAs, smart phones) play an important role in higher-education classroom instruction. Note-taking, the retrieval of assigned texts and media, consultation with the syllabus, online discussion and debate, and other learning activities conducted via electronic devices are acceptable parts of in-class learning and engagement.
Unacceptable use of electronic devices includes online social networking, texting, instant messaging, tweeting, and voice communication with anyone outside of the classroom during regularly-scheduled class. If you bring an electronic device to the classroom, these capabilities should be disabled during class hours.
And FinallyÉ
This syllabus may be subject
to change. The online syllabus, available via the course ELMS site, will always
be the most up-to-date. Students will be notified in advance of important
changes that could affect grading, assignments, and other course components.
Required Readings
Books
Amado, Jorge. Gabriela, Clove, and Cinnamon. New York: Vintage, [1958] 1992. [ISBN: 978-0-307-27665-0]
Puig, Manuel. Kiss of the Spider Woman. New York: Vintage, 1991. [ISBN: 978-0-6-79724490] NOTE: Some students may prefer the original Spanish-language title, El beso de la mujer ara–a [ISBN: 978-0-6-79755456]
Winn, Peter. Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. Third edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. [ISBN: 978-0-5-2024501-3]
Articles and Book Chapters
Adams, Jacqueline, "When Art Loses Its Sting: The Evolution of Protest Art in Authoritarian Contexts." Sociological Perspectives 48, no. 4 (Winter 2005): 531-558.
Barnett, Daniel. "Remembering the Poor: An Interview with Gustavo GutiŽrrez," America (February 3, 2003). [URL: http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2755]Denevan, William M., "The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492." Annals of the Association of American Geographers vol. 82, no. 3 (September 1992): 369-385.
Holloway, Thomas, "Latin America: What's in a Name?" Introductory essay in A Companion to Latin American History. Waltham, MA: Wiley/Blackwell, 2008.
Documentary Videos, Podcasts, and Feature-Length Motion Pictures
Americas (1992) [F1408.A64 1993 pts. 1-10]
Black in Latin America (PBS, 2010) [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/]
Brazil in Black and White (PBS Wide Angle, 2007) [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/brazil-in-black-and-white/introduction/965/]
"Casta Paintings: Inventing Race Through Art Mexican Art: Genre Reveals 18th-Century Attitudes on Racial Mixing" (NPR The Tavis Smiley Show, 2004) [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3043790]
Los Invisibles (2010) [http://www.youtube.com/user/invisiblesfilms]
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1986) [PN1997.K58 1995]
El Norte/The North (1982) [PN1997.N668 2008]
"Pentecostalists in Central America" (BBC Crossing Continents, 2010) [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00725nm]
Sin Nombre (2009) [PN1997.2 .S576 2009]
Availability of Assigned Instructional MaterialsAssigned materials can be obtained in a variety of ways, described below:
All assigned texts and nonprint media will be available through the University Libraries, the University Book Center, and/or the e-book vendor of your choice. Some texts may also be available through online digitization projects including Google Books. Some documentaries and motion pictures may be available via online services such as Netflix and iTunes.
The course ELMS site will have links to all articles, book chapters, and online materials placed on reserves. If the link in ELMS is not available or non-operational, full-text journal articles can be accessed, read, and downloaded free-of-charge through the University Libraries' ResearchPort.
The Reserves Desk at McKeldin Library will hold at least one copy of the Winn textbook and the two assigned novels on two-hour reserves. Other copies may be available for check-out from other libraries of the University System of Maryland.
There is no expectation that any student purchase all of the assigned materials. What is required is close familiarity with the content of the assignments.
Accessing Instructional Materials on ELMS:
Introduction |
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Sept. 1 |
Course Overview |
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Module I: Why Study Latin America? |
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Sept. 6 |
In-Class Discussion: Winn, Americas, "A View from the South" |
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Sept. 8 |
Lecture and Discussion: Physical and Human
Geographies |
|
Sept. 13 |
In-Class Discussion: Holloway, "Latin America: What's in a Name?" |
MAP QUIZ |
Sept. 15 |
Library Session |
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Sept. 20 |
In-Class Critique: Nicol‡s GuillŽn, "Problems of Underdevelopment and José Martí, "Our America" |
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Sept. 22 |
In-Class Discussion: Winn, Americas, "Legacies of Empire" |
SEARCH AND CITATION EXERCISE DUE |
Sept. 27 |
FIRST MIDTERM |
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Module II: Caste, Race, and Color |
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Sept. 29 |
Screening: Black
in Latin America Part 1: Haiti
& the Dominican Republic: An Island Divided? |
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Oct. 4 |
Lecture: Pintura
de Castas |
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Oct. 6 |
In-class screening: Brazil
in Black and White [also available in ELMS Media Reserves] |
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Oct. 11 |
Follow-up to Brazil
in Black and White |
|
Oct. 13 |
Read for Discussion: Gabriela, Cinnamon and Clove |
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Oct. 18 |
Discussion: Gabriela, Cinnamon and Clove (all) |
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Module III: Religion, Faith, and Belief Systems |
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Oct. 20 |
Read
for Discussion: Winn, Americas,
"The Power and the Glory” |
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Oct. 25 |
In-Class
Critique: Readings on Liberation Theology |
|
Oct. 27 |
Discussion:
Podcast: Pentecostalists in Central America |
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Module IV: Gender and Sexuality |
||
Nov. 1 |
Read
for Discussion: Winn, Americas,
"In Women's Hands" |
|
Nov. 3 |
In-Class
Discussion: Excerpts from Marjorie Agos’n, Scraps of Life (1987) |
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Nov. 8 |
In-Class Discussion:
LASC Arpilleras Exhibit [details to be distributed in class] |
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Nov. 10 |
Lecture: Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman |
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Nov. 15 |
Reading and Discussion: Kiss of the Spider Woman |
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Nov. 17 |
Reading
and Discussion: Kiss of the Spider
Woman |
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Nov. 21 |
Second Midterm Study Session KEY 1117 |
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Nov. 22 |
SECOND MIDTERM |
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Nov. 24 |
Thanksgiving |
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Module V: Patterns and Problems of Migration |
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| Nov. 29 | Read for Discussion: Winn, Americas, "Continent on the Move" and "North of the Border" | |
Nov. 29 |
Screening of Sin Nombre |
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| Dec. 1 | No morning class | |
Dec. 1 |
Screening of El Norte |
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Dec. 6 |
No class (complete film screenings; work on thesis paragraph for final paper) |
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Dec. 8 |
Discussion of Sin Nombre, El Norte, and Los Invisibles |
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Dec. 13 |
Final Exam Review |
PAPER DUE |
Dec. 16 |
Final Examination |
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