This course is an overview of Latin American culture from an anthropological perspective. Beginning with a brief review of the region’s history, the course moves into a consideration of contemporary issues such as ethnicity and identity politics, social movements, the pluralistic nature of religious expression, and environmental concerns in both rural and urban areas. Some attention will also be given to economic and cultural globalization from the Latin American point of view and the shape of democracy in the wake of war and attempts to reconstruct civil society in several nations living in post-conflict situations. The case studies built into the course deal with Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico, but your instructor’s experience in the broader culture region known as Mesoamerica will be used to give special emphasis to the interaction between Native and Spanish culture in both Central and South America.
