Race in Latin America: Race in Latin America

In this course, we will examine historical, scholarly and community narratives about race and racialized communities in Latin America. Course texts and discussions will center Black and Indigenous histories and contemporary identities across the region. Our journey this semester will span from the pre-Columbian era to the present day, and will cover multiple Latin American geographies: the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. While we will focus most closely on the Spanish-speaking populations, we will also incorporate texts and discussion about populations speaking other languages in the region (Portuguese, French, Quechua, Kreyól, and English, for example). Finally, the diasporas of Latin America, particularly in the United States, will also figure in the discussions as sites of Latin American convergence, community and interaction in which race functions in various ways. As such, we will engage with a wide range of texts including books, articles (scholarly and popular), video, primary sources, and interviews.