Latin American Studies 301 - SEM:TOPICS LATIN AMER STUDIES

Topics course. Often referred to as "two wings of the same bird," Puerto Rico and Cuba both have roots in Spanish colonialism, slavery and cultures of the African diaspora. Through migration, trade and shared political pursuits their people were long in contact with each other and participated in a broader pan-Caribbean intellectual and cultural milieu. Cuba and Puerto Rico both have histories of nationalist struggles for independence and complex political and cultural relationships with the United States. This seminar will begin in about 1850 and examine slavery, race, colonialism and independence in both countries. It will then concentrate on the experiences of Puerto Rico and Cuba after 1898, in the "American Century," and explore how one became the only socialist country in the Americas and the other a U.S. territory. Our study will be scaffolded by political and social history, and it will use literature, music, film, and analysis of race and gender to understand these two interrelated stories.

Topic: Puerto Rico and Cuba in the "American Century". Instructor Permission. Not open to first-years, sophomores