GEOG 333 - Latin American Geographies

Developing an understanding of the region known as Latin America (i.e., Mexico, which is regionally classified as North America, Central America, South America, and the heterogeneous region of the Caribbean) from a geographic, post-colonial perspective is the objective of the course. Perceptions of the region from the inside, as well as how the region has been socially constructed from the outside, are focal points. Readings on and discussions of the construction of the region called Latin America from a cultural and political-economic perspective, and by following the themes of colonialism, imperialism, development and underdevelopment, globalization, neoliberalism, and the formation of post-neoliberal alternatives in the region are used. The chosen themes overlap; their overlap is examined in specific cases (e.g., how the deterioration of the agricultural sector has spurred large scale rural-to-urban migration; the rise and decline of regional economic alliances; memory practices in the wake of dictatorships; and contemporary student activism across the region). No prerequisites; sophomores, juniors, and seniors only. Fall (Group I) (Diversity)