War, Technology and Race in Latin American Transpacific Encounters
SPAN 245
Spring 2027
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01
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This course examines how cultural and political exchanges between Latin America and Asia reshaped ideas about race, technology, war, and modernity from the late nineteenth century to the present by examining how transpacific encounters challenged Eurocentric models of modernization and opened new ways of imagining the modern world. Through conflicts such as the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), the Second World War (1939-45), and the Korean War (1950-53), we will examine how Latin American writers, artists, and intellectuals responded to major geopolitical transformations that shaped both regions and their relations. Rather than treating these wars as distant events, the course asks how they influenced debates about racial hierarchies, technological progress, imperialism, and social change across Latin America-debates whose relevance remains strikingly contemporary. As new technologies and global conflicts reshaped everyday life, figures such as the samurai, the scientist, the soldier, the battleship, and weapons of mass destruction became part of Latin American cultural production and visions of the future. Drawing on literature, photography, cartoons, and other visual materials, students will investigate the political, cultural, social, and historical dimensions of transpacific exchange and explore how Asia became a key point of reference in the making of modern Latin America. |
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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: (Hispanic Literatures and Cultures)(Latin American Studies) |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
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Open Access Materials: Diario de una caraqueña por el Lejano Oriente by Teresa de la Parra, El camino de los dioses by Manuel Ugarte, La caída del Águila by Carlos Gagini; Viaje de Nueva Granada a China by Nicolás Tanco Armero, and a selection of short texts of José Juan Tablada, Enrique Gómez Carrillo, Rubén Darío, Marcela del Río, Pablo Neruda.
Archive materials provided by professor
Non-Open Access: Cementerios de Neón by Andrés Felipe Solano.
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Examinations and Assignments:
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Two quizzes (30%)
Class participation (20%)
Two response papers to events (10%)
Oral presentation about class material (10%)
Final Project Proposal (10%)
Students will submit a proposal outlining either their academic essay or creative project.
Final Project (20%)
Students will submit either a research essay or an original creative work accompanied by a critical reflection. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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Span 245 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. Students are expected to be active/informed participants in class discussions, further developing their spoken Spanish skills. |
| Instructor(s): Diaz Martinez,Sebastian Times: .M.W... 10:50AM-12:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 8 | JR major: 2 | | |
| | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 1 | JR non-major: 1 | SO: 1 | FR: 1 |
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