Latin American Environmental Cultural Studies

Catalog description

From the diaries of Christopher Columbus to the implementation and maturation of NAFTA-era trade policies, the area of Latin America has consistently been perceived as a type of raw material available for the extraction, production and enrichment of individuals, nations and multinational corporations that are based outside of the region's boundaries and hold positions of economic hegemony. Beginning with the colonial-era European production and consumption of tobacco, chocolate and precious metals and moving through 19th-century industrialization, world's fairs, 20th-century food, drink and film industries and the impact of late 20th-century neoliberal trade policies and tourism, we will explore the impact of external economic exploitation in Latin American contexts through a variety of texts, films, historic and contemporary publicity campaigns and cultural representations.