Courses :: Module, LABOUR, CAPITAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA

	Overview
	How does the exploitation of human and natural resources that marked Latin America�s colonization still shape the social and environmental challenges of our contemporaneity? How have local and grassroots forms of resistance responded to the effects of global capital and extractivist economies? This course studies the social, political, and environmental impact that different variants of economic production have had in Latin America since the colonial period until today. We will use cinema as a means of exploring national and regional economies from a renewed angle that conflates questions of (neo)colonialism, gender, race, and class. Each week will be dedicated to examining a fictional film or documentary focused on a specific country and a specific natural or human resource, ranging from rubber in Brazil and sugar plantations in Cuba to financial speculation in Argentina and migrant labour in Mexico. In this way, cinema will invite us to reflect on the potential of art to debate the most pressing issues of our times, such as the displacement of indigenous communities, drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, and the climate crisis.

Overview

How does the exploitation of human and natural resources that marked Latin America�s colonization still shape the social and environmental challenges of our contemporaneity? How have local and grassroots forms of resistance responded to the effects of global capital and extractivist economies? This course studies the social, political, and environmental impact that different variants of economic production have had in Latin America since the colonial period until today. We will use cinema as a means of exploring national and regional economies from a renewed angle that conflates questions of (neo)colonialism, gender, race, and class. Each week will be dedicated to examining a fictional film or documentary focused on a specific country and a specific natural or human resource, ranging from rubber in Brazil and sugar plantations in Cuba to financial speculation in Argentina and migrant labour in Mexico. In this way, cinema will invite us to reflect on the potential of art to debate the most pressing issues of our times, such as the displacement of indigenous communities, drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, and the climate crisis.

	Learning Outcomes
	On successful completion of the module, students should be able to: Identify the decisive social conflicts and environmental effects that have marked Latin America since the colonial period until today. Describe and criticize the specificity of regional economies with regard to the exploitation of key natural and human resources. Evaluate and interpret the position and status of Latin America in the global economic and geopolitical map. Formulate close-reading analyses of depictions of work and natural resources in Latin America cinema. Undertake independent research and write academic essays focused on the interconnection between cultural and economic production. Demonstrate interpersonal and presentation skills through group work and audio-visual projects.

Learning Outcomes

	Autumn Supplementals/Resits
	Are supplemental/resit registrations permitted? Yes

Autumn Supplementals/Resits

	Timetable
	This timetable is not currently available, please contact the Spanish Department.

Timetable

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LABOUR, CAPITAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA