Latin American Culture: Identity, Mythology, and Everyday Life

Content

Objective

This course aims to explore the cultural formation of Latin America from pre-Columbian civilizations to contemporary societies. It examines the region through key cultural dimensions such as mythology, indigenous worldviews, food culture, music, urban life, and artistic production.
The course approaches Latin America not only as a geographical region, but as a complex cultural universe shaped by historical encounters, cultural hybridity, and diverse social practices.

Course Content

This course explores the historical and cultural development of Latin America from pre-Columbian civilizations to contemporary societies. Major topics include Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations; Indigenous cosmologies and belief systems; European conquest and cultural encounters; cultural hybridity (mestizaje); and the formation of new identities. The course also examines food culture, music and dance, urban life, clothing and textile traditions, literature, cinema, and visual arts. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding Latin America's cultural diversity within its historical and social contexts and examining its contributions to global culture.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. understand the historical and cultural formation of Latin America
2. identify the cultural legacy of pre-Columbian civilizations
3. explain the concept of cultural hybridity (mestizaje)
4. recognize cultural traditions related to gastronomy, music, and the arts
5. evaluate the role of Latin American literature in the construction of cultural identities
6. analyze Latin American culture within global cultural dynamics

Teaching and Learning Methods

The course combines lectures, multimedia presentations, question-and-answer sessions, classroom discussions, case studies, and comparative cultural analysis. Selected historical texts, literary excerpts, films, documentaries, music, and visual materials are used to illustrate key concepts and encourage critical engagement. Students are encouraged to examine cultural practices from different historical and social perspectives and to develop their analytical and intercultural understanding.

References

Lecture notes and selected readings prepared by the instructor.

Core Books
Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America.
García Canclini, Néstor. Hybrid Cultures: Strategies for Entering and Leaving Modernity.
King, John (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Modern Latin American Culture.
Rowe, William, and Vivian Schelling. Memory and Modernity in Latin America.
Skidmore, Thomas E., and Peter H. Smith. Modern Latin America.
Galeano, Eduardo. Open Veins of Latin America.

Academic Articles
Coronil, Fernando. “Beyond Occidentalism: Toward Nonimperial Geohistorical Categories.”
García Canclini, Néstor. “Cultural Reconversion.”
Mignolo, Walter. “Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking.”
Quijano, Aníbal. “Coloniality of Power and Eurocentrism in Latin America.”
Grandin, Greg. “The Liberal Traditions in the Americas.”

Films
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
Roma (2018)
Cidade de Deus (2002)
También la lluvia (2010)
Frida (2002)

Documentaries
The Story of Latin America (BBC)
Lost Kingdoms of South America (BBC)
Street Food: Latin America (Netflix)
Buena Vista Social Club
Music and Visual Materials
Buena Vista Social Club
Mercedes Sosa
Astor Piazzolla

Selected films, documentaries, music, and visual materials will be integrated into weekly discussions.

Weekly Contents

Assessment System

ECTS