Gender, Race, and Class in Latin American Literature and Film, 1850 to 1950

Readings and discussion in English. Comparative survey of cultural expression in Latin America, with emphasis on works produced or set in late-19th and early-20th centuries. Historical and social circumstances of women in different Latin American cultural contexts, with particular concentration on how gender, sexuality, race, and class are absorbed and reflected in literature and film. Within this genealogy, examination of how cultural production sustains or interrogates categories used to construct social, political, and cultural hierarchies. Topics include questions of authorship and authority such as women’s participation in formation of national cultures, engagement with artistic movements, and strategies of self-figuration.

P/NP or letter grading.