RACE AND CULTURE IN THE AMERICAS

LACIS/SPANISH 285

Course Description

Examine how the experiences of marginalized groups in the U.S. are profoundly intertwined with hemispheric historical processes. Review the categories that emerged to conceptualize human difference as European colonizers dispossessed indigenous peoples of their lands and inaugurated the forced migration and enslavement of peoples from Africa. Focus on how race was transformed after the revolutions of independence, exploring key concepts such as the one drop rule, mestizaje, racial democracy, and color-blindness. Explore how race intersects with gender, class, and migration, as well as with slavery, anti-colonial struggles, and US expansionism. Examine common assumptions in comparisons of race relations -e.g., the idea of a more more "fluid" understanding of race in Latin American countries, versus the binary models of the U.S.

Prerequisties

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Satisfies

This course does not satisfy any prerequisites.

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