Political Science 391LA - S-Latin Am Political Thought

This course is an advanced examination of some of the most influential thinkers and works in the tradition of Latin American political thought from the colonial period to the present. At the heart of our inquiry is an investigation of Latin America as a site of critique and decolonial praxis. Latin America's place in relation to the US and Europe - defined by relations of colonialism, domination, and exploitation - has also yielded a distinctive mode of critique. Meanwhile, Latin America's own internal colonialism in relation to indigenous groups has also greatly influenced its main currents of political thought, critique, and activism. Some of the main themes within these currents include critiques of reason (and who is the subject of reason), postcolonial founding, imperialism, capitalism, and modernity. In this course, we will examine these currents as well as the distinctive modes of political theorizing they have yielded, including important contributions to postcolonial theory, race theory, Marxism, and decolonial theory.