Societal Cultures Of The Americas

Catalog description

This course intends to answer the question: "What are the Americas today?" Addressing that question, the course takes an interdisciplinary approach in the study of the divergent postcolonial experiences in the Americas. This approach will include an analysis of decolonization, economical "imperialism" as well as the emergence of current transnational and racial identities and values. The study of cultural changes as a result of migrations, hybridizations and techno-econo0mical dependency is a main focus in this course. Being by definition part of an inclusive program, this course contrasts the experiences of Native, French, Anglo, Spanish, and Lusophone speaking populations in the Americas. Students will lay out the historical antecedents for the techno-economical dependency that has marked the transnational relation in the Americas. Students will discuss in a short paper (5 pages) the issue of cultural colonialism and its consequences in the uneven or failed development in some regions of the Americas. Based on the study of political and economical migrations, the students will create their own assessment of transnational and racial identities in the Americas. Based on the previous work and their biographical research, students will write a final paper developing a proposal for a socio-cultural definition of the Americas today.