Instructor: Ana P. Lee
This course is a comparative study of the cultures and ethnicities of Latin America, with a focus on Asian migration, settlement, and visual culture. Course readings, in-class mapping workshops, and discussions will examine Asian diasporic artistic production, performance, and visual cultures. We will pair visual and cultural analysis with studies about spatial theory and cultural geography, including the relationship between perception and space to race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender. We will question how visual culture, artistic practice, and performance have interrupted static understandings of ethnicity, race, gender, and sexuality. We will read theories about cultural hybridity, performance, affect, memory, and migration and examine artistic production from Latin America. We will also analyze the symbolic value and socio-economic positions of ethnic neighborhoods like Chinatown in Cuba or Japantown in Brazil. In addition, we will examine representations of Asian-ness in a variety of popular culture and media. Using mapping software, students will create digital media projects that highlight Asian diasporic artistic practices in Latin America.
