LACS 8 Politics&Culture in Transnational Central America
This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the transnational histories, politics, and cultures of 20th and 21st century Central America. Using select case studies alongside audiovisual material that reflects the tensions of state and racial formation in the region, we will cover: US imperialism, the “Central American Wars”, environmental crisis, migration and insecurity, narco-trafficking and youth gangs, social movements against extractivism, and key issues around (Afro-) indigeneity and environment. Bringing mixed-method approaches to the study of the people from Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama will allow us to explore the centrality of the isthmian region to the development of hemispheric politics and these nations’ centrality to the formation of Latin American culture.
Instructor
J. Cuellar