Course Syllabus

This class invites students to think critically about art, violence, memory and social activism in Latin America (or Abiayala), with a particular focus on cultural politics in Peru. Centering what Peruvian scholar Anibal Quijano termed “the coloniality of power”—a conceptual framework to understand the ongoing legacies of European colonialism in Abiayala—we will examine discourses of state authoritarianism, gendered strategies of torture, and the role of race in political violence. Throughout, students will also learn about the politics of struggle, resilience and hope. More specifically, we will explore the role of art in social struggle and in enacting a politics of memory, and read and hear from artists, political activists and other social justice actors. In addition to ethnography and social scientific analysis, we will rely on films, documentaries, historical fiction, plays, and testimonials to interrogate the complexities and intersections of art, memory, and violence in Latin America. You can find the full syllabus here.