Latin America: Studies in Culture and Society (361-0-1)

Topic

Imagining Repair: Art, Memory, and Justice in the

Instructors

Sofia Sanchez

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-430: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

Who shapes collective memory, and why does it matter? In an era of fake news, artificial intelligence, and deep political divisions, this course asks not only what we remember about the past, but how those memories are produced, circulated, and contested. We will explore how artists, activists, and communities in Chicago and across Latin America use art and storytelling to respond to histories of violence, inequality, and injustice.

Through performances, photography, literature, and film, we will study creative responses to issues such as police violence, dictatorship, and social inequality. Materials approach these topics from both institutional perspectives (such as museums, memorials, and official narratives) and community-based forms of memory-making grounded in lived experience and collective action. The course pays special attention to how cultural work imagines reparations not only as legal or financial solutions, but also as ethical, emotional, and creative ways of repairing harm. We will also spend time thinking about public space as a site where memory is debated and reimagined, inviting students to reflect on how history and memory shape their everyday surroundings.

Classes are discussion-based and include weekly journal responses, short group presentations, and a final project. For the final project, students will explore an issue affecting a community of their choice and develop a creative idea for reparation.

Assignments and Evaluation
All assignment instructions and deadlines will be shared on Canvas. This course values active participation and creative thinking. No prior experience with theory or art-making is required; what matters most is your engagement with the course and your willingness to reflect, experiment, and take intellectual risks.

Participation and in-class engagement (30%)

This course is built around conversation and collective learning. Students are expected to come to class prepared, participate actively in discussions and activities, and contribute respectfully to the learning community.

As part of this component, one or two students per class will prepare a short presentation (5-7 minutes) that introduces key context for the day's topic. These presentations should include:

-brief social, historical, and geographical background related to the theme of the class;
-key ideas or questions from the assigned readings or materials;
-2-3 open-ended questions designed to spark conversation and discussion.

Weekly handwritten journal responses (bitácora) (25%)

Each week, students will write a short response (approximately 350-500 words) by hand in a personal journal or bitácora. Entries may include reflections, questions, personal connections, sketches, images, or notes inspired by the readings and class discussions. The goal is exploration, not perfection.
Students will upload a photo of their journal entry to Canvas each week.

Final project: Memory and Repair Proposal (45%)

For the final project, students will create a proposal focused on memory and repair for a community of their choice. The community and its challenges may be local, personal, or connected to the student's own background, interests, or lived experience.

Students will identify:

-what stories, histories, or experiences need to be remembered or repaired;
-why these issues matter for the chosen community;
-how memory and repair could take creative form.

The proposal may take one or more of the following formats:

- a photography or visual storytelling project,
- a museum or exhibition concept,
- a monument or counter-monument,
- a pedagogical or community-based initiative.

The project will be accompanied by a 1,000-word curatorial text, written in clear and accessible language, in Spanish, explaining the project idea, the community it responds to, and how course concepts and readings inform the proposal. Students will share and discuss their projects with the class during the final weeks of the quarter.

Registration Requirements

Prerequisite: 1 course from SPANISH 250-0, SPANISH 251-0, SPANISH 260-0, or SPANISH 261-0.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, you will:
1. Distinguish between history and memory and articulate how this distinction shapes the ways the past is understood and represented in the Americas.
2. Examine how artistic and cultural forms engage with histories of violence and harm, shaping collective memory and opening possibilities for social transformation.
3. Analyze how memory is produced and contested in everyday spaces, connecting course materials to the places and environments students inhabit.
4. Develop a context-sensitive proposal that links course concepts to a specific community or issue through creative or cultural approaches to memory and repair.

Class Materials (Required)

All required readings, texts, films, and visual materials will be provided by the instructor through Canvas in scanned or digital format.
Students are expected to have:
• Regular access to Canvas and the internet.
• A personal notebook or journal (bitácora) for weekly handwritten responses.
No textbooks are required for purchase.

Class Materials (Suggested)

No additional materials are required beyond those provided by the instructor. Students may find it helpful to have personal writing or art supplies (such as colored pens or markers) for optional creative work in their journals.

Class Notes

This course is conducted primarily in Spanish and is intended for students with prior coursework in Spanish. Students are expected to actively participate in discussion and complete readings and written work in Spanish.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration for Majors and Minors in either Spanish or Portuguese until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisite. Prerequisite: 1 course from SPANISH 220-0, SPANISH 250-0, SPANISH 251-0, SPANISH 260-0, or SPANISH 261-0.