Courses

In addition to the courses we have listed on these pages, other courses that are not considered part of the LACS program (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Atkinson College, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, etc.) but have enough Latin American and/or Caribbean content may be counted for credit in the LACS Program. Students should get permission from the LACS Coordinator to count such courses as credit for their LACS degree.

Anthropology

AP/ANTH 2100 6.0 One World, Many Peoples

The formation and consequences of an increasingly interdependent world amidst widespread diversity of society and culture is the theme of this course. We begin with an historical overview of the creation of this interdependence, looking at European colonial expansion from the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Industrial Revolution. We then go on to examine more closely the processes of 19th and 20th century colonialism that insured the expansion of a capitalist market and that fueled the forces of globalization in our contemporary world.

Once we have gained some theoretical and historical insight into the creation of global economic, political, and cultural interdependence, we will focus on contemporary issues raised by the conditions of this interdependency. In this context we will look at such things as development policies and their consequences at the local level, cultural forms of resistance to internal colonialism, the consequences of globalization for marginalized populations, and the politics of resistance to contemporary global forces.

Projected Enrolment: 150
Course Director: T. Holmes

Economics

AP/ECON3190/ 3199 3.0 Approaches to Global Economics

Explores approaches to the global economy, emphasizing structural and policy-related aspects.

Course credit exclusions: AP/ECON 3190 3.00, AP/POLS 3270 3.00, AP/POLS 3275 3.00, AP/POLS 3700 6.00.
PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/POLS 3700 6.00, AS/ECON 3190 3.00, AS/ECON 3199 3.00, AS/POLS 3270 3.00, AS/POLS 3275 3.00.

Course Director: TBA

AP/ECON 3550 3.0 (WRITING) (Fall) Economic Growth & Development

Studies the economic problems of poor countries and poor communities. Explores the meaning of development by considering the characteristics of economic underdevelopment, poverty, income and wealth distribution, rural versus urban development, population growth, and unemployment and migration. Additional topics include theories of development, growth and technological change, strategies for environmentally sustainable development, education, and health.

Prerequisite: AP/ECON 1000 3.00 and AP/ECON 1010 3.00 or equivalents.
Course Credit Exclusion: GL/ECON/ILST 3920 3.00, AP/ECON 3559 3.00.
PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/ECON 3550 3.00, AS/ECON 3310 3.00.
Course Director: R. Grinspun & A. Kimakova

AP/ECON 3560 3.0/3569 3.0 (Writing) Economic Policy in Developing Countries

FORMERLY AP/ECON 3320 3.0M Development Economics II

Examines policy issues arising from development planning. Topics include agriculture versus industry, international trade, monetary and fiscal policies, foreign investment, foreign aid and self-reliance, and global issues.

Prerequisite: AP/ECON 1000 3.00 and AP/ECON 1010 3.00 or equivalents.
Course Credit Exclusion: AP/ECON 3560 3.00, AP/PPAS 3560 3.00.
PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/ECON 3560 3.00, AP/ECON 3320 3.00, AK/PPAS 3560 3.00.
Course Director: R. Grinspun & A. Kimakova

AP/ECON 4129 3.0 International Trade Policy and Economic Integration

Deals with current policy issues in international trade and economic integration, focusing on specific institutional settings such as NAFTA, the European Union, the World Trade Organization, new policy areas such as trade and the environment, trade, and labour rights.

Prerequisite: AP/ECON 3150 3.00 or equivalent.
Course credit exclusions: None.
PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusion: AS/ECON 4129 3.00.
Course Director: R. Grinspun

English

AP/EN 2240 6.0A INTRODUCTION TO POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURES IN ENGLISH:

AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN, SOUTH ASIAN, AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC

* This course was recently added to the LACS list but it is still pending formal university approval as a LACS course. LACS students who take this course in 2009-10 should notify the LACS office to ensure that it is credited as a LACS course.

This course provides a selective overview of major concepts, problems, contexts, events, and writers in Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia, and the South Pacific, writing in English from the early twentieth-century to today. The collective term used here, "postcolonial literatures," is a controversial one. One argument in favour of its use is that "postcolonial" means "all the culture affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day." In opposition, many critics have asserted that the cultures included in this group are not "post-colonial" but rather still "colonized," in economic and other ways. This has been particularly emphasized by those who identify as "indigenous peoples".

" This course discusses some of the arguments for and against "postcolonial" and the other labels often applied, such as "commonwealth literatures," "world literature," "global literature," "the new literatures," and "other literatures," and considers the effects of such terms. In particular, the course historicizes and problematizes diaspora and indigeneity, or "native-ness," in relation to ideas about nationalism, transnationalism and national literary traditions. Because these literatures comprise an immense and diverse expanse of cultures, voices, styles, positions, geographical differences, and kinds of writing, no single course can possibly represent the fullness of their literary expression. Instead, this course concentrates on only a representative number of texts.

Note that all regions will not be covered in every iteration of the course. The course introduces students to texts from these regions by examining key ideas and modes of expression that have been crucial to the development of the rich literary cultures of these large geographical areas. Since many writers from these regions have relocated to other countries, this course highlights the many transnational affiliations and affinities between and among all national literary traditions. Moreover, those writers who have not relocated grapple with multidirectional flows of literary tendencies within the context of global movements and exchanges.

Organized by area and reflective of the department's expertise in these fields, this course explores key features of cultural and literary expression, including colonial and anti-colonial sentiments, nation-formation, the struggle for ethnic, gender, and sexual equality, human dignity, and freedom of expression. Through emphasizing these features, this course introduces students to poetry, drama and fiction, and situates them in their cultural context.

This course introduces students to the tools and skills necessary for conducting research in and writing criticism of these literatures.

Course Director: V. Alston

AP/EN 3031 6.0A DIASPORA THEORY

FORMERLY AS/EN 3442 6.0 STUDIES IN POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE: DIASPORA LITERATURES IN ENGLISH

This course explores theories of Diaspora, exile, transnationalism, dispossession, and borderlands as lenses for thinking through contemporary literary and cultural movements. This course full integrates academic writing and critical thinking as means of learning complex literary and cultural theories, as well as literary form and content; it attends to the aesthetics as well as the politics of diasporic and transnational writing. Students are expected to produce scholarly research papers that demonstrate substantial engagement with the theoretical material.

Course credit exclusions: None.
PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AS/EN 3442 6.00, AS/EN 4233 6.00 (prior to Fall/Winter 2005-2006).
Reserved Spaces: Third and fourth year LACS students
Projected Enrolment: 35
Course Director: T.B.A.

AP/EN 3410 3.0M (Winter) CARIBBEAN LITERATURE

The course explores how colonialism, post-colonialism and the lived experiences of the Caribbean people have shaped literature: the novel, short story, poetry and drama.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/EN 3110C 3.00 (prior to Fall/Winter 2000-2001), AK/EN 3862 3.00, AS/EN 2370 6.00. Reserved Spaces: Third and fourth year LACS students
Course Director: T.B.A.

AP/EN 4000 3.0M (Winter) STUDIES IN LITERATURE THEORY: CULTURAL STUDIES

FORMERLY AS/EN 4103 3.0 STUDIES IN LITERATURE THEORY: CULTURAL STUDIES- LATIN AMERICAN DIASPORAS

This course was recently added to the LACS list but it is still pending formal university approval as a LACS course. LACS students who take this course in 2009-10 should notify the LACS office to ensure that it is credited as a LACS course.

This course examines cultural and critical production of Latin American diasporas, including novels, poetry, film, performance, and critical theory. There is a vast and exciting body of Latina and Latino works in that can barely fit into customary categories such as national literatures and postcolonialisms. Created with a view to more than one Caribbean, South American, Central American, and North American literature and geography (and sometimes all at once), Latina and Latino cultural expressions expand and challenge critical boundaries. Far from being a unified or unitary ethnic, cultural, or geographic entity, Latina/o literature is in itself a crossroads of many nations, peoples, and narratives.

Our texts and cinematic materials focus variously on U.S.-Mexico borderlands, Central American refugees, Dominican and Puerto Rican immigrants, Chilean and Cuban exiles and performers and much more. We will begin the course with fictional texts and readings about Latina/o history (Juan González, Harvest of Empire), Latina/o identity (Susan Oboler, Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives), and Latina/o literary history (José David Saldívar, Kristen Gruesz et al.) and devote the semester to exploring the varied Latin American diaspora imaginary through issues of empire, conquest, diaspora and migration, race and ethnicity, and literary and social transnational movements and exchanges. We will also read Latina/o cultural studies and critical theory and explore Latina/o critical vocabulary such as mestizaje, "borders," "transculturation," Xicanisma, coloniality of power, and "our América."

Reserved Spaces: Fourth year LACS students
Course Director: D. Kandiyoti

AP/EN 4410 3.0 (FALL) CARIBEAN PERFORMANCE & MEMORY

This course draws on insights from performance studies and theories of social memory to examine Caribbean literary and cultural performances in the post-independence era. Reading and viewing a diverse selection of poetry, drama, fiction, carnival, dance, and film from different countries, we will discuss each performance's contribution to social memory and constructions of community. Each literary or cultural performance will be analyzed against historical circumstances, postcolonial critical interventions, and the rise of metropolitan multiculturalism. Classes will take the form of seminar discussions, screenings, and student presentations.

Reserved Spaces: Fourth year LACS students
Course Credit Exclusion(s): AS/EN 4234 6.0
Course Director: V. Alston

Geography

AP/GEOG 2020 6.0 Geographical Transformation of the Caribbean Islands

FORMERLY AS/GEOG 3020 6.0, AS/GEOG 3020 3.0

This course analyses the geographical changes that have occurred in the islands of the Caribbean since 1492, including changes in population, economy, environmental conditions, social conditions, and political status. Current economic, social and environmental problems are related to a long series of transformations over the past 500 years; transformations which have led to migration, radical changes in the use of land, reshaping of the landscape, and to the development of unique Caribbean cultures. Geographical changes are traced using texts, maps, data, pictures, and video. Lectures, illustrations, and related data are compiled on the course's comprehensive website.

Course Credit Exclusions: AS/GEOG 3020 3.0, AS/GEOG 3020 6.0
Course Director: T.B.A

AP/GEOG 4020 3.0 The Caribbean Islands since 1492

The course examines the extent to which the geographic features (both human and physical) of the Caribbean Islands have changed since prehistoric times, and presents a number of possible explanations for such change - including changing relationships between human activity and the "natural" world. Following a brief but intensive review of our understanding of empirical change in the region, the course focuses on the methods used to gather and assess evidence; and critically analyzes the relevance of alternative theories of change.

Pre-requisites: 54 credits successfully completed, including GEOG. 1400; and GEOG. 1000 or GEOG. 1410. GEOG. 2020 is recommended
Course Director: B. Found

History

AP/HIST 2720 6.0A History of Latin America

This course provides an introduction to the history of Latin America from the Iberian conquests to the present, examining both unifying developments and regional differences. Key themes include the nature and long-term effects of the conquests; differences and relations between groups of African, European, Indigenous, and mixed descent; the development of distinctively Latin American cultures; and the challenges of nation building and economic development.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AS/HIST 3720 6.00 (prior to Fall/Winter 2000-2001), GL/HIST 2200 6.00, AS/HIST 2720 6.0.
Projected Enrolment: 100
Course Directors: A. Durston and A. Rubenstein

AP/HIST 2730 6.0A History of the Caribbean: from Colinization to Independence

This course examines the historical development of the Caribbean. It begins with the period of aboriginal occupation and the arrival and colonization by Europeans and then explores the transformation of the region by the introduction of plantations worked by enslaved Africans. It inquires into the reasons for, and effects of, the abolition of the slave trade and emancipation of enslaved labor. It next assesses the societies' adjustment to emancipation and it evaluates the justification for and the impact of the arrival of Asian indentured immigrant labor to the region.

For the period of enslavement and also in the post-emancipation years, it analyses the different paths of economic development in the region, along with the social and political structures and the cultural characteristics which marked the Caribbean. The course also examines the increased influence of the United States in the region, labor unrest in the twentieth century, the impact of the world wars and the movements towards political independence, as well as attempts at regionalism. It concludes with a discussion of the contemporary challenges facing these relatively small societies given this historical development.

Course Director: D. Trotman

AP/HIST 3730 6.0 Mexican History

Mexican history from the rise of the Aztec Empire to the Mexican Revolution (1911-1917). The course deals with the processes of imperial expansion and collapse in the indigenous, Spanish and Mexican eras, within a context of increasing globalization.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AS/HIST 3730 6.00, AS/HIST 3730 3.00 (prior to Fall/Winter 2004-2005)
Projected Enrolment: 50 Course Director: T.B.A

AP/HIST 3736 6.0A Colonialism & Nation Building: Andes

This course examines the history of the Andean region of South America; especially Peru, from the conquest of the Inca empire by the Spanish up to the present day. Special attention is given to the situation of the indigenous population and its changing role in processes of empire and nation building that were dominated by white elites.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AS/HIST 3736 6.0
Course Director: A. Durston

AP/HIST 4725 6.0A Topics in Modern Caribbean Histroy

This course examines topics in the development of the Caribbean, 1938-1983, from the labour riots of the thirties to the American intervention in Grenada. It includes a Pan-Caribbean examination of economic, political and socio-cultural developments in this period. Course credit exclusions: None.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusion: AS/HIST 4725 6.0
Course Director: D. Trotman

AP/HIST 4752 6.0A Gender, Sex & Family in Latin American History

This seminar analyzes selected developments in the gender history of Latin America since 1750 (including Latino migrant communities in Anglophone North America and the Spanish-speaking regions of the Caribbean). Changing family configurations, definitions of masculinity and femininity, and ideas about sexuality intersected with economic, cultural, political, and demographic transformations to create the most important historical processes of this time period. So we will read historical studies of divorce, homosexuality, family violence, gender representations in mass media, adoption, prostitution, and related subjects as a way to understand revolutions, urbanization, state formation, economic and cultural modernization, migration and underdevelopment. Seminar papers will reflect students' research on a single time period and region of the student's choosing.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusion: AS/HIST 4752 6.00.
Course Director: A. Rubenstein

Humanities

AP/HUMA 2310 9.0 An Introduction to Caribbean Studies

An introduction to the major cultural characteristics of the Caribbean through study of the scholars, writers, and artists of the region. Themes include colonialism, slavery and indentureship; the quest for national independence; the role of race, ethnicity and gender in the negotiation of individual and collective identities; the tension between elite and popular culture; and the Caribbean Diaspora in North America. Course materials include scholarly and literary works, films and music.

Critical skills taught in this course: critical thinking, analysis of texts, effective writing, oral expression, library and internet research.

Projected Enrolment: 112
Reserved Spaces: Some spaces reserved for Humanities & Latin American and Caribbean Studies & International Development Studies Majors and Minors.
Course Director: P. Taylor

AP/HUMA 3305 3.0A The Calypso as Caribbean Oral Literature

(fall)

The calypso is a musical/poetic form that is part of the wider oral tradition of the Caribbean. This course is an exploration of the development of this art form since 1922 with an emphasis on the post 1962 period in order to delineate changes in its form, function and content over time. Through an examination of the works of selected oral performers (including Atilla the Hun, The Lord Kitchener, The Mighty Sparrow, The Mighty Duke, Black Stalin, Chalkdust, David Rudder) the course interrogates calypso for commentaries on historical vision and nationhood, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality. Since the calypso is essentially a performance art as well as an oral/aural tradition the course utilizes extensive audio/visual material.

Critical listening to calypso performances is as integral to the course as the extensive required readings. The audio/visual aspect of the course is linked to readings drawn from the critical literature on the subject.

NOTE: This is not an introduction to the Caribbean. It is assumed that students would have already completed introductory courses on the Caribbean BEFORE enrolling in this course.

This course will have a WebCT site where the audio and accompanying lyrics as well as other course material will be posted. Students are therefore required to activate and regularly use their WebCT accounts in order to participate in the course.

Course Director: D. Trotman

AP/HUMA 3320 3.0A Caribbean Thought: A Post-Colonial Perspective

This course focuses on the work of major Caribbean thinkers and writers who explore what it means to be human in the context of a Caribbean experience marked by colonialism, slavery, indentureship and racism. The course covers the early generation of anti-colonial, nationalist intellectuals in the Anglophone, Francophone and Hispanic Caribbean, and the contemporary generation of postcolonial thinkers and writers.

Themes to be studied include: race and representation; cultures of resistance; nationalism and national culture; ethnicity, identity and cultural hybridity; gender and sexuality; diasporic culture and cosmopolitanism. Students will study a range of texts including theoretical, historical and literary works.

Course Director: P. Taylor

AP/HUMA 4300 6.0A Aspects of Modern Latin American & Caribbean Studies:

Myth, History and Caribbean Imagination

SAME AS AS/SOSC 4450 6.0A

This course draws on oral history, novels, and some of the most accessible and entertaining social scientific studies to explore some of the central themes of both Latin American and Caribbean history and contemporary life, including revolution and resistance, race relations, economic development and politics.

Projected Enrolment: 20
Course Director: J. Hellman

Social Science

AP/SOSC 2460 9.0A Contemporary Latin America

This course introduces students to the basic features of contemporary Latin America. It focuses on phenomena common to the region as a whole while touching on regional differences to highlight the diversity of the experience of Latin Americans. It begins with an historical overview of the forces and events that have shaped Latin America since the Iberian conquest. Taking into account broader global transformations, the course traces the main social, political and economic changes that occurred in the region over the past century.

The course examines the social and economic impact of free-market economic development by focusing on recent transformations in rural and urban life, growing social inequalities, new forms of work, changes in community and family relations, and transformations in gender, class and race/ethnic relations. It also explores various political experiences including dictatorship, democracy and revolution, and highlights the creative responses of Latin Americans in their efforts to overcome inequalities and underdevelopment.

The course concludes with an examination of popular culture and cultural resistance by focusing on the role of music and sports in the region. This course is part of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies General Education Program and focuses on improving student's reading, writing and research skills while challenging them to apply these skills to the field of Latin American studies.

Course Credit Exclusions: AS/SOSC 2450 6.0 /HUMA 2300 6.0
Maximum Enrolment: 112
Course Director: T.B.A.

AP/SOSC 4450 6.0 Aspects of Modern Latin America & Caribbean Studies

(WINTER)

SAME AS HUMA 4300 6.0

Projected Enrolment: 20
Course Director: J. Hellman

AP/SOSC 4452 3.0M State & Civil Society in Latin America:

Social Movements & Community Development in the 21st Century (Winter)

This course examines the newly emerging relationship between civil society, social movements, and the state that resulted from neoliberal restructuring in Latin America. The course reviews how various development discourses define the relationship between state, civil society and the market, and assesses the implications of these definitions for democracy, equality, and social justice in the region. The main aim of the course is to develop an understanding of the changing roles and functions of community organizations, social movements, and NGOs in Latin America today.

Many grass-root organizations and social movements in the region have recently entered into partnerships with governments and international development institutions to promote community participation in the design, monitoring, and management of local development programs. Proponents of these initiatives argue that they enhance citizen participation, local democracy, and community empowerment.

Their critics, however, suggest that they "pacify" grass-root organizations by turning them into service providers and/or managers of local development projects and as a result, avoid the need for more radical politics. The course reviews these debates in order to analyze the actual and potential role of civil society and community-based initiatives in Latin America. This is achieved through an in-depth analysis of selected case studies and a systematic review of theories of social movements and grass-root development.

Maximum enrolment: 25
Course Director: T.B.A.

Sociology

AP/SOCI 4230 6.0 Sociology of Ethnic Groups: Indo-Caribbean in Canada

This course examines negotiations about culture, politics and social organization that stem from the shared experience of migration between members of racialized groups and/or ethnic communities. Through consideration of texts by and about Indo-Caribbean peoples, this course engages post-colonial theory to explore questions about belonging/exclusion, social justice and the production of culture. In their major essay, students will investigate the constitution of "Indo-Caribbean-ness" or Indo-Caribbean identity(ies) in Canada, paying particular attention to how discourses of 'race', gender and sexuality are mediated in their production.

Course Director: T.B.A.