It is commonplace to group people by their different relations to knowledge, education, and culture. This class considers the changing role of these areas, known collectively as Letras, in modern Latin America, and with comparisons to the contemporary U.S.

Some questions we will consider include whether, and when a culture is a tool of the dominant, literate class, or conversely, it serves as a means of resistance to domination; when culture is regarded as a mirror of collective identity, how are things that are not included in the image acknowledged?; is popular culture merely an object to be consumed?; and finally, does “high” culture (e.g., literature) have any relevance for today’s world? Readings will include canonical texts from Latin American intellectual history, critical essays on the role of culture in society, and cultural texts that try to push beyond the opposition between “high” and “low” culture.

This class counts toward the Spanish major and as literature credit toward the Spanish minor.