Latin American Studies

By taking a comparative approach, this course examines the role of social, economic, and political factors in the emergence and transformation of modern cities in the United States and selected areas of Latin America. The class considers the city in its dual image: both as a center of progress and as a redoubt of social problems, especially poverty. Special attention is given to spatial processes that have resulted in the aggregation and desegregation of populations differentiated by social class and race. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Painting, sculpture, and architecture in the Spanish-speaking world from 1492 to 1810. The great flowering of Spanish art, as represented by such figures as El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya, in its cultural and historical context, including developments in Latin America. Some attention to the art of Portugal. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 2 distribution requirement. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Introduction to modern Latin American cultural and literary traditions with emphasis on the political uses of writing and art, national identity vis-à-vis popular and indigenous groups, memory and representation, the definition of modernity, and trans-American dialogues. The course may focus on national foundational fictions, the literary and artistic avant-gardes of the 1920s and 1960s, Mexican and Peruvian indigenismo, and memory art and cinema. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: SPA 207 or higher, or instructor's permission. Strongly recommended before 300-level courses.

The course focuses on the social forces that shape design thinking. Its objective is to introduce architectural and urban design issues to build design and critical thinking skills from a multidisciplinary perspective. The studio is team-taught from faculty across disciplines to expose students to the multiple forces within which design operates.

This seminar offers an intensive introduction to the principles and practices of dramaturgical and performance analysis of stage plays as written works, as blueprints for theatrical performance, and as exercises in worldmaking. This seminar also rehearses how the techniques of dramaturgical and performance analysis might be applied to modes of embodied enactment - whether historical or contemporary, whether in art or everyday life - beyond the theatrical frame. In Spring 2025, the course will focus on the life, work, and legacy of the pathbreaking Cuban-American playwright, director, designer, and teacher María Irene Fornés (1930-2018).

This course focuses on the networks, imaginaries, and lives inhabited by Black artists, makers, and subjects from the 18th through 19th centuries, revolving around the Caribbean (particularly the Anglophone Caribbean), North America, and Europe. We will reflect on how pre-20th-century Black artists are written into history or written out of it. We will explore the aesthetic innovation of these artists and the visionary worlds they created and examine their travels, their writings, along with the social worlds and communities they formed. The course incorporates lectures and readings and, if possible, museum visits. AAS Subfield: AACL, GRE

An introduction to the social, political, and economic organization of modern Mexico. The course traces the evolution of Mexico's fundamental institutions from their birth after the Mexican Revolution of 1910, through their flowering during the 1950s and 1960s, to changes in the neoliberal era of the 1980s and 1990s. The course ends with a consideration of Mexico's current position as a partner in the North American Free Trade Agreement. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course acquaints students with the art, architecture, and archaeology of ancient Mexico and Central America. The course considers a wide range of cultures spanning from the first arrival of humans at the end of the Upper Paleolithic period through the 16th century Spanish invasion. Major culture groups to be considered include Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, and Aztec. Precepts will include theoretically-focused discussions, debate regarding contested scholarly interpretations, and hands-on work with objects at the Princeton University Art Museum. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 1 distribution requirement.

This course explores how people of African descent in the Americas have forged social, political, and cultural ties across geopolitical and linguistic boundaries. We will interrogate the transnational dialogue between African Americans and Afro-Latin Americans using case studies from Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. Exploring how Black activists and artists from the US have partnered with people of color in Latin America and the Caribbean to challenge racism and economic inequality, while also considering why efforts to mobilize Afro-descendants across the Americas have often been undermined by mutual misunderstandings. AAS Subfield: GRE

A survey of Latin America from the wars of independence to recent struggles for democracy. The focus will be on state formation in the 19th century, relations with the world economy, and changing patterns of social and political life in the 20th century. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

The principal themes of Iberian imperialism and colonial society from preconquest to the eve of independence. The main issues to be covered will be: Amerindian civilization, the conquest of the Americas, social and cultural change, and evolving economic relations. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Modern Western literature in the perspective of its development since the Industrial Revolution. The peculiarity of "modernist'' style exemplified by various genres. Significant philosophical trends that define the parallel development of modern art and thought. Texts from English, German, French, and other literatures. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

A study of selected topics of current interest in the sociology of Latin America. The specific subject matter will vary from year to year, reflecting the changing interests of both faculty and students. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

An examination of gender as an integral component of socioeconomic development in advanced and less-developed countries, with a focus on the United States and selected areas of Latin America. Special attention will be given to processes of industrial restructuring on a global scale that have increased the participation of women in the formal labor force. An understanding of the relationship between gender inequality and social order will be a central object of inquiry. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Through the analysis of literary texts, films, and music, the course will consider cultural responses to the construction of a Brazilian national identity. Possible topics include the Brazilian modernist tradition; contemporary culture and media; the city and literature; poetry and song. Prerequisites: POR 208 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

Advanced seminar; focus changes from year to year. In general the seminar uses contemporary and classic works of feminist theory to examine ideas about gender that have shaped modern culture. Topics have included feminism and liberalism, literature and ideology, and psychoanalysis and feminism.

This course focuses on works that have been key for shaping the literary tradition of the Portuguese language, from colonial to postcolonial times. Discussions will focus on the intersections between literature, social change, identity, and history in Brazil, Portugal, and Lusophone Africa. Prerequisite: POR 208 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

A study of a selected topic such as mysticism, scriptures of the world religions, or of particular religious movements, leaders, and thinkers.

The course follows the major themes and issues surrounding the history of Mexican Americans in the United States. It seeks to explain the historical origins of the continuing debates over land ownership, assimilation expectations, discrimination, immigration regulation, and labor disputes. The course focuses primarily on the US citizens created after the Mexican American War and Mexican immigrants to the US. It looks transnationally at Mexico's history to explain US shifts in public opinion and domestic policies. While the course examines the impact of Mexican Americans in many regions of the country, it will focus on those in the Southwest.

A study of early to mid-20th century fiction, focusing on the question of modernity both as a literary and a historical-philosophical problem. Attention will be given especially to experimentation with literary form and the relation of narrative forms to specific cultural practices. Authors read in the course include Joyce, Woolf, Kafka, Proust, Beckett, Borges. Students will also study essays reflecting the debates of the period (Brecht, Adorno, Lukács, Benjamin). One three-hour seminar.

The course will explore the personal, political, historical and sacred aspects of Latinas/Latinos in the United States from the perspective of a theory of transformation. The course intends to provide Latinas/Latinos as well as students from all backgrounds the opportunity to see a people in their own midst becoming and being political as they move forward to create a new culture and community in this country.

This course focuses on the works of individuals and collectives whose projects challenge traditional notions of women's writing and representation. From renowned authors like Clarice Lispector to contemporary figures such as Txai Suruí and Djaimilia Pereira, we will look at writers and artists with gender identities ranging from cisgender to transgender and non-binary, examining how their interventions reshape the feminist canon. By connecting words, bodies, and voices, and engaging with works from outside the Portuguese-speaking world, we will analyze how feminist ideas move and transform across languages, cultures, and experiences.

This required gateway course will consider how Latinos are transforming the United States even as they embrace a racialized pan-ethnic identity. Readings expose students to the demographic underpinnings of the dramatic growth and historically unprecedented geographic dispersal, the ethical dilemmas posed by undocumented immigration, the historical and contemporary trends in social, economic, and political participation, and the hybrid cultural imprints forged in musical, literary, and artistic work. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Using detailed studies of four major centers (San Antonio, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York), this course will analyze the historical and contemporary experience of several Spanish-speaking populations. Discussion will focus on two questions: (a) Are there common experiences or characteristics that justify the categorization of these varied groups under a single ethnicity? and (b) What racial, class, and gender divisions exist within these groups? Two lectures, one preceptorial.

The development of cultural patterns and literary forms in Spanish America since the late 19th century. Topics may include: the importance of oral traditions and popular music in forging identities; the literary and ideological import of modernismo, travel literature in the 19th century; and the avant-garde movements of the 1920s. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

Latin American and Caribbean thought from 1800 to the present, focusing on the conflicting cultural and ideological assumptions of liberalism and nationalism. Topics might include slavery and literature, the writing of history, the intellectuals and power, or the writings of some major figures such as Bolívar, Hostos, Martí, Mariátegui, Fernando Ortiz, or Paz. Two 90-minute seminars. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

These courses will provide an opportunity to apply the concepts and methods studied in economics core courses and electives to analyze the economic problems confronting particular countries or groups of countries. The choice of the country or region, and of the economic problem, will change from year to year. Prerequisites depend on topic. Two 90-minute lectures.

How is the complexity of the Andes imagined or resolved in its literatures? This seminar will study the plurality of narrations and communities that constitute the Andean world, focusing primarily on Peru and two of its major intellectual movements in the 20th century: the indigenismo and the criollo urban literature. Aspects of the Afro-Peruvian narratives will also be studied. Major authors discussed include: Ricardo Palma, Clorinda Matto, González Prada, Mariátegui, Arguedas, Vargas Llosa, Bryce, Ribeyro, Gregorio Martínez. Conducted in Spanish. Two 90-minute seminars. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

A course focusing on elements of Latin American culture that left a strong mark on the history, literature, and arts of the region. Recent topics include the representation of Che Guevara in novels, film, and photography; the literary response to Tango in Argentina; the impact of the invention of radio in avant-garde poetry. The course will emphasize the connections between history, literature, arts, and visual culture of the region. Two 90-minute seminars. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

An intensive course on the pre-European history of Amerind cultures and their environments in the New World tropics. Topics include the people of tropical America; development of hunting/gathering and agricultural economies; neotropical climate and vegetation history; and the art, symbolism, and social organization of native Americans. Daily lectures, field trips, and laboratory experiences and incorporates methods and problems in field archaeology, paleoethnobotany and paleoecology, and archaeozoology. Limited to students in the Tropical Ecology Program in Panama. This course does not count as an EEB departmental. Prerequisite: EEB 321.

This intensive field course, at various sites in Panama, examines the origins, maintenance, and major interactions among elements of the tropical-terrestrial biota. Study topics include identification of common orders and families of neotropical organisms; tropical climate and hydrology; biotic interactions; and contemporary and historical factors in shaping tropical landscapes, with emphasis on the Isthmian Landbridge and subsequent floral and faunal interactions. Two hours of lecture/discussion, six hours of laboratory, and two hours of data analysis daily. Limited to students in the Tropical Ecology Program in Panama. Prerequisite: 321.

A study of the governments and politics of Latin America. The political systems of the Latin American countries will be examined, as well as the common political problems and processes of the area. Special attention will be given to the role of revolution, military rule, and constitutional democracy in Latin American political development. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This seminar investigates the historical experiences of women in the Caribbean from the era of European conquest to the late twentieth century. We will examine how shifting conceptions of gender, sexuality, race, class, and the body have shaped understandings of womanhood and women's rights. We will engage a variety of sources - including archival documents, films, newspaper accounts, feminist blogs, music, and literary works - in addition to historical scholarship and theoretical texts. The course will include readings on the Spanish-, English-, and French-speaking Caribbean as well as the Caribbean diaspora. AAS Subfield: GRE

A comparative study of politics in selected developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Topics include colonialism, nationalism, class and ethic conflict, political instability, military coups, revolutionary change, and development strategies such as land reforms, green revolution, import substitution, and management of external dependencies. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course will explore the major issues that have shaped the Caribbean since 1791, including: colonialism and revolution, slavery and abolition, migration and diaspora, economic inequality, and racial hierarchy. We will examine the Caribbean through a comparative approach--thinking across national and linguistic boundaries--with a focus on Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. While our readings and discussions will foreground the islands of the Greater Antilles, we will also consider relevant examples from the circum-Caribbean and the Caribbean diaspora as points of comparison. AAS Subfield: GRE

The Caribbean is an archipelago made up of islands that both link and separate the Americas - islands that have weathered various waves of colonization, migration, and revolution. How do narratives of the Caribbean represent the collision of political forces and natural environments? Looking to the many abyssal histories of the Caribbean, we will explore questions of indigeneity, colonial contact, iterations of enslavement, and the plantation matrix in literary texts. How do island-writers evoke gender and a poetics of relation that exceeds tourist desire and forceful extraction?

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year.

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year.

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year.

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year.

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year.

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year.

Research and reading on topics related to economic development and political change with attention to specific national contexts, such as authoritarian state and society in Argentina and Brazil; revolution and social change in Mexico, Cuba, and Chile; problems in Latin American foreign relations. One three-hour seminar.

This course will study the interrelation of slavery and capitalism in the francophone Caribbean, from the Haitian Revolution to the present. The course will examine a series of classic works that contest French Caribbean colonialism and slavery, from the perspective of the historical transition from late imperialist feudalism to industrial and post-industrial capitalism. Writers addressed will include CLR James, Karl Marx, Aimé Césaire, Suzanne Césaire, Eric Williams, Edouard Glissant, and Maryse Condé.

Examines the global exchange in art and architecture between and among the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas in the period 1492-1800. The course focuses on the geographical, historical, religious, anthropological, and aesthetic aspects of issues such as cultural encounters, diffusion, transculturation, regionalism, and related topics. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 2 distribution requirement. One three-hour seminar.

The class has pedagogical objectives related to the spatial relations of dimensions and time (sustainability and society). It develops the students' skills in drawing, model making, writing, oral communication, and advanced engineering analysis. The course is focused on a study of one theme that changes every year. Within each theme engineering calculations of designs will be made through advanced analyses. The social context will be studied, a site visit will be made during break week, models of a few significant works will be created and placed on display as part of a small exhibition. Prerequisites: CEE205 and CEE312