Latin American Critical Theory
SPA4716.01
Course Description
Summary
Oddly, perhaps, theory itself, despite its own premises, its ethical veneer and visceral critical posture, has never quite overcome the traditional, global division of intellectual labor. It is applied, and alterity is nominally, similarly, embraced, thus paradoxically resulting in a cultural neo-imperialism that all the while overtly denies its own imperialist practices. The title of this course, to quote Neil Larsen鈥檚 lengthier plea for an escape from such an awkward impasse, 鈥渟imply means exiting, however momentarily, the hegemonic, secular-poststructuralist terms of a language-game in which 鈥楲atin-America鈥 has come to signify, always already, only one thing 鈥 a thing, that, by constantly evoking the periphery as omni-presently 鈥榦ther,鈥 makes its intellectual experience into something, ironically, always the same.鈥 The content will simply be comprised of readings by critical theorists working within Latin America, an apparently atypical process. Conducted in Spanish. Advanced.Prerequisites
7 terms of Spanish at Bennington, or permission of the instructor (contact jpitcher@bennington.edu).
Please contact the faculty member : jpitcher@bennington.edu