Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (391-0-20)
Topic
Watching Narcos: History as Entertainment
Instructors
Lina M Britto
Harris Hall 302
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-420: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
Course title: Watching Narcos: History as Entertainment
Watching Narcos: History as Entertainment Crimes, deeds, and spoils of drug traffickers have saturated pop culture for the last decades becoming valuable raw materials for the entertainment industry. This course is designed for students to identify, trace, and analyze audiovisual productions on the so-called narcos in order to understand: (a) the plot devices and aesthetic mechanisms with which cultural producers have commodified history as entertainment; and (b) the effects of these types of narratives and imageries in the creation of historical understandings regarding one of the most challenging problems of our times. We accomplish these objectives by watching films, telenovelas and TV shows; reading selected works of history, sociology, anthropology, and journalism (film criticism in particular); and using the tools and technologies of digital humanities in a series of individual and collaborative projects. The ultimate goal is to produce together an open-access digital repository on drug history as entertainment in the Americas.
Teaching Method
Seminar (includes a few lectures, discussion sessions, student presentations, and library training in digital humanities).
Evaluation Method
Oral presentations, response papers, Canvas discussion forum, final research project.
Class Materials (Required)
Sarah Maza, Thinking about History. ISBN 978-0226109336
Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History. ISBN 0807043109.
Mattias Frey and Cecilia Sayad, eds., Film Criticism in the Digital Age. ISBN 9780813570723.
Marnie Hugues-Warrington, History Goes to the Movies. Studying History on Film. ISBN 9780415328289 Stewart Brewer, Latin American History Goes to the Movies. Understanding Latin American's Past through Film. ISBN 978-0415873512.
O. Hugo Benavides. Drugs, Thugs and Divas. Telenovelas and Narco-Dramas in Latin America. ISBN 9780292782969
Coletta Youngers and Eileen Rosin, eds., Drugs and Democracy in Latin America. the Impact of US Policy. ISBN 978-1-58826-254-7
Paul Gootenberg, ed., Cocaine. Global Histories. ISBN 978-0415220019