Contact Zone: Introduction to Amazonian Narratives
SPAN 289
Spring 2024
| Section:
01
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Often, the Amazonian region has been considered a marginal space within the territorial limits of Perú, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil. However, this territory is and has been key for these nations' past, present, and future. Beyond its outstanding biodiversity, the Amazon rainforest has housed for various centuries multiple and diverse native and non-native linguistic and ethnic groups. From the original Yanomami inhabitants to the contemporary European descendant citizens of Iquitos, the Amazonian territory has been a zone of contact where multiple cultural and cosmological views interact. In this class students will engage with a variety of materials, including literary works, travel diaries, films, and photographs that explore the Amazon rainforest: modern odysseys (La Vorágine), shape-shifting ghost stories (Las tres mitades de Ino Moxo), accounts of guerrilla warfare in the jungle (Naturaleza común), and apocalyptic prophecies (A queda do céu). By analyzing the literary and audiovisual archive resulting from multiethnic and multilingual interactions in the region, students will examine the role of the Amazon and its inhabitants in shaping the modern Latin American nations surrounding it. They will acquire a comprehensive understanding of the Amazonian region, its cultural diversity, and the complex issues it faces, such as racial and ethnic clashes, resource extraction, and the existential threat this poses to both human and non-human beings inhabiting it. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (HISP)(HRAD-MN)(RMST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Diijoma, by Fernando Urbina Rangel ; Selections from La vorágine, by José Eustasio Rivera; La muralla verde, movie directed by Armando Robles ; Las tres mitades de Ino Moxo, by César Calvo
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Examinations and Assignments:
Examinations and assignments
2 research workshops (Annotated bibliography and preliminary project), Discussion starter (presentation), Final paper or podcast episode. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
SPAN 289 is intended for students who have completed SPAN 221 with a B- or better. Students who have not done so should consult with the professor before preregistering. Readings, written assignments, and class discussions will be in Spanish. Only COL students may take this course CR/U. |
| Instructor(s): Hernandez,Daniel Times: ..T.R.. 10:20AM-11:40AM; Location: FISK414; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 8 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 2 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 1 | JR non-major: 1 | SO: 2 | FR: 1 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 3 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 1 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 0 |
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