Cosmología, extractivismo y territorialidad indígena

Catalog description

In 2019, environmental activist Greta Thunberg urged the world to panic. "I don't want your hope," she said, "I want you to act like your house is on fire. Because it is." The consequences of extractive economic systems and colonial histories urge us to rethink how we live, think, and relate to the Earth and to one another. This course engages with Indigenous philosopher Aílton Krenak's concept of ancestral futures to question the promises of development and progress promoted by systems that continue to ravage the planet. To trace the roots of these crises, we will examine cultural and critical perspectives on land, indigeneity, and dispossession throughout the Americas. The course explores a variety of genres and media, including visual art, documentaries, films, short stories, poetry, and essays, to reflect on contemporary forms of colonialism and the ongoing exploitation of natural resources. Rather than offering a single answer to these problems, the works we study present a range of perspectives and forms of resistance. Through these materials, students will develop tools for critical reading and analysis that support further study in college-level courses in literature and culture. We will engage with Indigenous thinkers, artists, community organizers, and writers from Hispanic and Lusophone Latin America.