Ethnography of Latin America | SPAN2014 | University of Southampton

Module overview

This module uses ethnographic approaches to understand the diversity of Latin America’s peoples and cultures. Emphasizing the emergence within Latin American anthropology of focuses on everyday life through topics such as kinship and family, ritual and religion, illness and healing, and race and gender, we examine how micro-processes entwine with macro-processes of globalization, social transformation and inequality. We therefore integrate details about particular peoples and cultures with analyses of the wider historical and social themes that are central to critically understanding the complexities of Latin America. Module materials are centred on ethnography as both research process and scholarly product. Ethnography is supplemented with literature, film (both documentary and non-documentary), and journalism.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

To engage with subject matter and opinion in both breadth and depth
To formulate, analyse and discuss critical questions
Formulate and defend personal judgements clearly and persuasively on the basis of evidence;
Define, present and exemplify concepts related to the anthropology of Latin America and to specific country contexts

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

Cultural patterns of specific Latin American regions and ethnographic methods used to analyse them
Several Latin American cultures and societies, and the similarities and dissimilarities between them.
One or more aspects of the cultures, linguistic contexts, history, politics, geography, social and economic structures of Latin American countries and regions.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

To plan and organise your learning through self-management
To adhere to guidelines and deadlines
To set and monitor goals, reflecting on your own learning, and learning from feedback

Syllabus

Topics covered in this module are likely to include:

Anthropology and Latin America
Conquest and colonialism
Ritual and religion
Kinship and family
Gender, race and ethnicity
Illness and health
The State, civil strife and social movements
Neoliberalism and migration
Transnational Communities in the U.S.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Lecture and discussion

Study time
Type	Hours
Preparation for scheduled sessions	50
Completion of assessment task	40
Wider reading or practice	36
Seminar	24
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Internet Resources

Daniel R. Reichman, The Broken Village: Coffee, Migration and Globalization in Honduras.

Donna Goldstein, Laughter Out of Place: Race, Class, Violence and Sexuality in a Rio Shantytown.

Assessment

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Essay

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Discussion Questions	10%
Class participation	10%
Essay	40%
Essay	40%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Discussion Questions	10%
Class participation	10%
Essay	80%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Discussion Questions	10%
Essay	80%
Class participation	10%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External