590:393 Modern Latin American Art

  • Course Code: 01:590:393

SYNOPSIS:

The region that we know today as Latin America was conceptualized in the nineteenth century once most of the Spanish colonies of the Western hemisphere and the Portuguese colony of Brazil had obtained their independence. As these societies established themselves as independent nations, they struggled to develop autonomous visual languages suitable to their contemporary condition and self-fashioning. This course presents an overview of the origins and development of Latin American art from the post-independence period through the first half of the twentieth century. It emphasizes such themes as the rise of nationalism and autonomous artistic expression, the relationship between “high” art and “low” culture, and parallel developments and divergences in European and U.S. American art. We will also be reading works of art in terms of their social and historical contexts; discussing issues of race, class, and gender in terms of visual images; and framing Latin American art both within the field of art history and interdisciplinary. Topics to be covered include the art and visual culture of independence; traveler artists in the Americas; the impact of French aesthetics, especially neoclassicism; graphic and popular arts; the rise of the avant-garde in Mexico, South America, and Cuba; muralism and social realist tendencies in Mexico and beyond; and surrealism and “fantastic” art in Haiti and the Hispanic Americas.

Prerequisites:

No prerequisites are necessary. Recommended courses: Introduction to Art History (082:105/106) or Latin America: An Introduction (590:101). 

Textbook

Available for purchase at the Rutgers University bookstore:

  1. Dawn Ades, with Guy Brett, Stanton Loomis Catlin, and Rosemary O’Neill. Art in Latin America. The Modern Era, 1820-1980. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. ISBN: 0300045611.

Requirements and Grading

  • Regular attendance and class participation (5%)
  • Map Quiz (10%)
  • Midterm Exam (20%)
  • 2 short papers (40%)
  • Final Exam (25%)

590:101 Latin America: An Introduction

  • Course Code: 01:590:101
  • Semester(s) Offered: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
  • Credits: 3
  • SAS Core Certified: CCD, HST, SCL
  • Course Type: In-Person, Synchronous ONLINE
  • Pre-requisite(s): None

This course offers a multidisciplinary introduction to the study of Latin America, a region of great diversities of people, institutions, and geography, yet sharing common historical, cultural, social, political and economic developmental patterns. It concentrates on major contemporary issues in Latin America such as the impact of globalization, the environment, the indigenous population, enduring poverty and income inequality, the challenges of democracy and economic development, class, gender, race and ethnicity, popular and urban culture, inter-American affairs and the related issues of immigration and drug trafficking. The course features many guest lectures by Rutgers faculty from different departments affiliated with the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). This is a unique opportunity for students to learn about the region from a variety of fields and perspectives and to become familiar with the various areas of expertise of Rutgers faculty who do research in and teach on Latin America.

This course is required for all major and minors in Latin American Studies and satisfies SAS Core Curriculum goals:

  • 21st Century Challenges A: analyze the degree to which forms of human difference shape a person’s experiences of and perspectives on the world.
  • Historical Analysis H, K: understand the bases and development of human and societal endeavors across time and place; explain the development of some aspect of a society or culture over time, including the history of ideas or history of science.
  •  
  • Social analysis M, N: understand different theories about human culture, social identity, economic entities, political systems, and other forms of social organization; apply concepts about human and social behavior to particular questions or situations.

Course Learning Goals:

Upon completion of the course, students will demonstrate:

  • knowledge of major issues and concepts, relevant background, and the deep social, economic, cultural, and political transformations occurring in the region;
  • an understanding of the increasingly important role of contemporary Latin America in world politics and in the world economy;
  •  
  • an appreciation of the nature of the interdependent world we live in and that events in Latin America do have an impact on the U.S.;
  •  
  • the ability to recognize and challenge stereotypes and myths about Latin American culture and Latin American people.

Texbooks: readings in PDF format on course Sakai site.

Evaluation:

Class Grade: 15%

(daily attendance and participation)

2 Exams: 50%

(exams consist of multiple choice questions and short essays; the second exam covers material from the last half of the course)

4 Questionnaires: 20%

(in-group work consisting of answering 10 questions in each questionnaire related to readings, lectures, discussions, and films, potentially appearing on the exams)

Presentation: 15%

(in-group work; students choose a topic discussed in the course, in consultation with the instructor, for further research and presentation to the class at the end of the semester)

Grading Scale: A=90+; B+=87-89; B=80-86; C+=77-79; C=70-76; D=60-69; F=59-

 

590:100 Themes in Latin American Studies Unity in Diversity - A Brief Introduction to Latin America

  • Course Code: 01:590:100
  • Semester(s) Offered: Spring
  • Credits: 1.5
  • Course Type: In-Person
  • Pre-requisite(s): None

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