Time and Location

SPRING 2024, Hybrid M W (F, asynchronous), Period 6 (12:50 p.m.-1:40 p.m.), Room AND 0019

Description and Goals

This course uses literature, film, art, music, and a variety of historical texts, both written and visual, to examine conflicts regarding the use of natural resources, specifically food production, in México, Central America and the Caribbean, at two key moments: the colonial period and the twentieth century. From Columbus´s initial assessment of the profitability of natural and human resources that he encountered, to contemporary negotiations of trade deals involving agricultural products, conflict and war have shaped the land, the people, and the cultures in the region. We will focus on four products with a bloody history: sugar, bananas, coffee, and corn, to understand the local struggles, foreign interventions, and their aftermaths, including waves of migration.