LATINAM 320 : Latin American Knowledges
Arts
2020 Semester Two (1205) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
Many political and intellectual theories from colonisation to the present have defined Latin America as a socio-historical and cultural region that -as in the economic sphere- far from producing new knowledges, has mainly served to copy and reproduce those imported from the metropolitan Western countries. Alternative approaches outside Latin America have deconstructed these paradigms, such as Post-structuralism, Postmodernism, Post-colonial and Decolonial Studies, Subaltern Studies, and more recently, theories on the Global South. This course challenges colonial as well as post-colonial paradigms of study through what we call “sites of knowledge”, put forward by community groups, indigenous nations, intellectuals and artists, among other civil society actors, and they draw on a longer history (genealogy) that places European colonialism and coloniality within its shorter history.
This course will allow students to comprehend intellectual contributions from Latin America that have influenced the world. We include current epistemological paradigms and socio-political debates through the analysis of knowledges that inform, transform and are made manifest in several spheres, such as education, religion, law, media and government: Andean Knowledges such as ch’ixi and reciprocity; Brazilian definitions of Educación bancaria vs educación libertadora-transformadora; Approaches to Religion such as Teología de la liberación and Pope Francis´s Laudato si on Climate Change; Constituting Knowledge through Suma Qamaña, Sumak Kawsay, or Buen vivir; Chilean and Argentinean thinking on Economía solidaria and horizontalidad; García Márquez´s contribution to democratising world media through the 1980 MacBride report; Neoliberalism as an imposed and challenged model of society and economy; Truth and Reconciliation Commissions; Arts and society: Magic Realism, Brazilian Modernism in architecture and urbanism; academic critique: Theory of Economic Dependency, coloniality of power; and Civil Human Right’s organisations, such as Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.
In studying the creation and dissemination of knowledge, we will ask basic questions such as: What counts as knowledge? How is religion legitimated? What is education for? and will study terms such as freedom, liberation, citizenship, democracy; activism, civil rights, identity politics; theory versus praxis, hegemony versus subaltern positions, socialism; public versus private, the individual, the corporation, civil society, social movements; communication, human rights, and participatory democracy; as these concepts appear in important articles and other forms of cultural expression that have contributed to the creation of Latin America in history and in recent times.
In many instances these epistemological contributions from Latin America have been subalternised by discourses emphasising the instability, corruption and underdevelopment of the region, or they have been appropriated by the hegemonic metropolis, having been generated by Latin Americans in the Diaspora, only to be successfully co-opted and disseminated in the main centres of political and economic power.
Course Requirements
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 2: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 3: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Social and Environmental Responsibilities |
Learning Outcomes
- Understand Latin American knowledge contribution in the areas of re-democratisation processes and Human Rights via civic activism and the creation of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. (Capability 1.3)
- Critically evaluate diverse forms of knowledge production in areas not usually considered, such as arts and culture, as means to transmit information and invite critical thinking about social phenomena. (Capability 2.3)
- Demonstrate an historically, politically and socially informed understanding of the knowledge contribution by Latin American Indigenous peoples for ongoing processes of sustainable social coexistence under new environmental conditions. (Capability 6.3)
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of Latin America's social, ideological and political reality in the context of its own colonial, neo-colonial, and neoliberal context, by studying the origin of social revolutions and other forms to instigate social and institutional change.
- Be able to evaluate Latin America's contribution to defining economics, as well as on implementing new paradigms, and contesting others forcefully imposed (neoliberalism). (Capability 2.1, 2.2 and 3.1)
- Identify contributions from Latin America in the areas of architecture and urban planning, as developed in Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Identify the limits of European Knowledge through indigenous concepts not easily translated because they are embedded in knowledge systems designed for the wellbeing of Indigenous nations, communities and territories. (Capability 1.3 and 2.1)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Tests (2) | 20% | Individual Test |
| Essay 1 | 30% | Individual Coursework |
| Essay 2 | 30% | Individual Coursework |
| Critical Essay Plan (2) | 20% | Individual Coursework |
| 4 types | 100% |
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week on each 15 point course that they are enrolled in, including class time and personal study and assignment preparation.
Digital Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information,
look at this Canvas page (https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894),
which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.