Language and Power in Latin America
HIST 373
Spring 2021 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
LAST 373 |
What is a perfect language? Societies across the globe, in different times and places, have sought to answer this question. In the process they have posited a diversity of theories about the relationships among language, individual and group identity, social harmony, religious devotion, and political power. This seminar investigates the ways in which Latin American societies, from the colonial period until the present, grappled with the problem of language and its ability to shape their communities. From indigenous polities, to the imperial monarchies that conquered and colonized the Americas, to the nation-states that emerged in the 19th century, all have had to confront the realities of a diverse and profoundly multilingual region.
The course will be organized around representative case studies. It will draw from a variety of fields (e.g., linguistics, philosophy, history, anthropology, and history of science) to consider how language served as either a resource or an obstacle to be surmounted in the creation of ideal religious, political, and intellectual communities in Latin America. Significant themes include the role of language in conquest and colonization, the development of cultural institutions to regulate and standardize language usage, the prevalence of bilingualism in many regions, the proliferation of literacy campaigns as a hallmark of the revolutionary governments of the mid-20th century, and the emergence of indigenous peoples as social and political actors in contemporary Latin America. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (HIST-MN)(HIST)(LAST) |
Major Readings:
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Anna M. Babel, BETWEEN THE ANDES AND THE AMAZON: LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL MEANING IN BOLIVIA
Andrés Bello, SELECTED WRITINGS
Alan Durston and Bruce Manneheim, INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES, POLITICS, AND AUTHORITY IN LATIN AMERICA
Umberto Eco, THE SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT LANGUAGE
Frank Solomon and Sabine Hyland (eds.), GRAPHIC PLURALISM
Pedro Henríquez Ureña, UTOPIA
Garcilaso de la Vega el Inca, THE ROYAL COMMENTARIES OF THE INCA
Rosina Lozano, AN AMERICAN LANGUAGE: THE HISTORY OF SPANISH IN THE UNITED STATES
Frank Solomon, THE LETTERED MOUNTAIN: A PERUVIAN VILLAGE¿S WAY WITH WRITING
Camilla Townsend, ANNALS OF NATIVE AMERICA: HOW THE NAHUAS OF COLONIAL MEXICO KEPT THEIR HISTORY ALIVE
Angel Rama, THE LETTERED CITY
Gabriela Ramos and Yana Yannakakis (eds.), INDIGENOUS INTELLECTUALS: KNOWLEDGE, POWER, AND COLONIAL CULTURE IN MEXICO AND THE ANDES
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, RECOLLECTIONS OF A PROVINCIAL PAST
Film, MAESTRA
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Examinations and Assignments:
Three one-page response papers will be due throughout the course of the semester. Assignments include: two short papers (4-5 pages) and a final paper (10-12 pages) that will require independent research. Students will share their final-paper research with the class in a final presentation. |
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