Gender and Sexuality in the Cold War Americas

Catalog description

Counter to its name, the Cold War represented a period of heated conflicts throughout the Americas. Intense ideological clashes in the U.S. paralleled the wave of authoritarian regimes, armed struggles, and revolutions in Latin America. While each country had to contend with its own history and particularities, from the Lavender Scare to the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo notions and anxieties about gender and sexuality appear as a connecting thread of regional conflict. In this course, we will examine how ideas about gender were a central battleground for the political transformation of the region. We will consider how states and institutions employed conservative gender ideologies as avenues of political and individual control, while shifting ideas about gender also served as avenues for the activation of new political subjects. Extensive knowledge of Latin American or U.S. history is not required.