Revolution, Populism and Mourning in 20th Century Latin America

The history of Latin America in the 20th-Century is marked by the experience of revolutions and social movements that built a mythology rooted in popular culture and sedimented in the collective memory of nations. From the Mexican Revolution to the Cuban Revolution, from Peronism and the Varguismo to the Sandinistas and Chavismo, the region's cultural history is incomprehensible without the landmarks and heroes of revolutionary nationalism. The literature, in all genres, has played a central role in the construction of these national narratives. The strength of popular representations in this process has engaged other forms of popular culture, film, corridos, tango, waltz, son, trova, and other Latin American music genres, as well as graphic and street art. The purpose of this course is to reconstruct the processes of grief that accompanied some of these revolutions and social movements of the 20th-Century in Latin America, through literature and other forms of popular culture. Our goal is for students to become familiar with texts and documents from the history of Latin American culture that have helped shape the collective memory of various generations. (1 unit)

This course is cross-listed with Literature.