| Unit name | Indigenous Histories in Latin America |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISP30106 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Jo Crow |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Latin American history is indigenous history. We cannot fully understand contemporary Latin America – race, class, gender, religion, education, language, the environment, conflict and more – without studying the legacies of colonialism and indigenous responses to it. That is what we will be doing in this unit, with a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We will be discussing a variety of different historical documents, such as poetry, photographs, tourism brochures, testimonios, truth commission reports and presidential speeches, most of which have been authored by indigenous people, and trying to grapple with critical questions about power, history-telling, and identity. It is important to do this, because it is a way of getting beyond Eurocentric visions of the past and present, challenging racism, and opening up our thinking about ourselves and how we relate to others.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit, which develops students’ awareness of the histories of indigenous peoples in modern Latin America and the complex political and cultural issues involved in the production of these histories, is central to HiPLA’s and SML’s teaching provision. The multilingual, intercultural and fundamentally transnational histories studied on the unit illustrate the great diversity of the so-called “Hispanic World”. We foreground indigenous protagonists in the making of this world. Indeed, we question the very term “Hispanic World”. Building on the work of key scholars like Marisol de la Cadena, we challenge ourselves to think in terms of multiple worlds, a pluriverse, rather than a universe.
An overview of content
Moving from the early twentieth century through to the present day, and using a variety of source materials (outlined in the previous section), we interrogate key historical developments in modern Latin American history from diverse indigenous perspectives. Those developments include rural-urban migration, state sponsorship of archaeology, the expansion of education, the creation of national tourism industries, agrarian reform, military dictatorships, internal wars, and recent efforts to recognise Latin American states as pluri-national.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will be more confident independent researchers and stronger critical thinkers, who are open to different ways of knowing. They will be able to make connections between what are often seen as “local” (indigenous) histories and broader global histories. They will have developed their academic writing and presentation skills, and be better equipped to debate the complex histories of race, racism and anti-racism in Latin America. They will have gained valuable experience in trying to make such complex histories accessible to the wider world beyond academia.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
1. understand a wide range of indigenous histories in modern Latin America;
2. select and synthesise primary and secondary source materials (in Spanish and English);
3. critically analyse and evaluate a significant body of source materials (in Spanish and English);
4. respond to questions or problems by presenting their findings and independent judgements in an appropriate scholarly style.
The unit is taught via a weekly 2-hour seminar. Seminars will be centred on student-led discussion of primary and secondary sources, including material that students themselves suggest and share. Students are thus able to develop independent research and critical analysis skills on a weekly basis. Verbal feedback on arguments and analysis from peers and from the unit tutor will help students prepare for their summative assessments.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
The unit director will provide informal feedback on contributions to seminars, understanding of the sources set and provided for discussion in class, and engagement with the themes of the unit. In seminars, students will often share their own material (relevant to the theme being discussed) or their commentaries on/ responses to materials provided. Discussion of the materials they find through independent research and commentaries/ responses on provided material will help prepare for the work required in summative assessments. Feedback on students’ research and commentaries/ responses will be provided during class.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Brief for educators teaching Latin American indigenous history in schools, 2000 words (50%) [ILOs 1-3].
Exam, analysing and commenting on historical source materials, 2 hours (50%) [ILOs 1-4]
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HISP30106).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
