- Racial Politics in Latin America

Catalog description

This course will examine the role of race and politics in Latin America by examining concepts such as mesticagem or racial mixture and how that shapes relationships of power and development in these societies. We will also examine the role of whiteness and blackness and how such concepts are used to ensure hierarchies of privilege and disadvantage. What role does a racialized hierarchy play throughout Latin America when considering who are the haves and have nots and which roles are racialized groups such as indigenous and Afro-descendants in Latin America allowed to play in national development? We will first learn about theories of race, politics, and history in select countries. Second, we will apply the theories we have learned to focus on Latin American countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina.