Critical Social Inquiry 0110 - Life Stories from Latin Americ

This course explores life stories and what have been called "testimonials" that have emerged from Latin American contexts. The testimonial often surfaces through a politically urgent partnership of the person who tells her story and another person who records and edits the story. In relation to specific Latin American contexts, this course examines the social implications of these textual productions, draws parallels with the production of ethnographic and anthropological texts, and examines issues of power within these endeavors. We focus on cases from Guatemala, Mexico, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Students may take up other cases in their final papers. Depending on the Spanish language capabilities of the students who take this course, part of the course may be conducted in Spanish. Some of the texts will be available in Spanish and students may choose to write their work Spanish.

Power, Community and Social Justice Writing and Research Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives