In recent decades, Latin America has become well known beyond its borders for compelling, politically urgent, and aesthetically vibrant literary works. Contemporary writings by Latin American women, increasingly available in English translation, challenge preconceptions about gender and sexuality in the region while also addressing critical issues of politically motivated violence, collective memory, intersecting oppressions, language, spirituality, democratization, and social change. This program seeks to foster greater understanding of the region and its diverse peoples and perspectives.
We will read novels, poetry, short stories, and testimonials by Latin American (indigenous, mestiza, Afro-Latina) women writers, focusing on legacies of colonialism, authoritarianism, and neoliberalism, as well as projects for contesting recent histories including street art and performance. We will situate our cultural analysis within the historical and political events that shape Latin American women’s cultural production and examine their critique of masculinist narratives that justify domination and exclude women’s voices. We will also explore women's, feminist, and queer movements in the region. Students will write literary analyses and some creative work and will do a small project on a writer of their choice. Through this study, students will consider the impact of political, economic, and cultural forces on Latin American women's lives and literary production while also examining literary and film representations as potential sites of resistance. (Spoiler alert: We will question the categories in the program's title! Who counts, and to whom, as "Latin American," "women," or "writers"?)
16 credit students will engage in the 12-credit program core plus the 4-credit Latin American Cinema Series (first-year students enrolled for 14 will do half of this module for 2 credits). The cinema module will engage with films by and about women, thematically connected to each week's material in the overall program. Instead of the cinema module, students with significant Spanish skills can opt into a 4-credit Advanced Intermediate/Advanced Spanish module, which will engage with materials in Spanish coordinated thematically with program themes.
This program is coordinated with Greener Foundations for first-year students. Greener Foundations is Evergreen’s in-person introductory student success course, which provides first-year students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive at Evergreen. Students expected to take Greener Foundations should use CRN 10202 to register for a 2-credit Greener Foundations course in addition to this program for 14-credits. When using this CRN students will take additional steps to complete their registration, more information can be found at the Greener Foundations Registration Help Wiki.
First-year students who are not expected to take Greener Foundations or have been granted an exemption should use CRN 10201 to register for this program for 16-credits. Find more details about who isn't expected to take Greener Foundations on the Greener Foundations website.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:
4 - Multicultural Literature: Latin American Women Writers
4 - Intersectional Feminist Studies
4 - Analytical and Creative Writing
4 - Latin American Cinema OR Advanced Intermediate/Advanced Spanish
Registration
Course Reference Numbers
Academic Details
cross-cultural work, international studies, writing, and education.
$75 for required field trip expenses