Course Description
Students develop ethical reasoning skills through the analysis of Latin American literature and film relating to environmental issues, sustainability, animal rights, and human health, among other topics. Taught in English with readings in Portuguese, Spanish, or English translation.
Athena Title
Latin Am Env Ethics
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will understand key topics relating to environmental issues, Latin American social and political ecologies, and Western and Indigenous systems of thought relating to environmental ethics.
- By the end of this course, students will develop the critical thinking skills required for ethical reasoning through the practical analysis of Latin American literature and film dealing with environmental issues.
Topical Outline
- I. Introduction. Environmental Issues and Thought in Latin America.
- II. Overview of Environmental Ethics. Roles of Literature and Film in Promoting Ethical Thinking.
- III-V. Analysis of Literary Representations of Animals; Discussion of Human/Animal Divide.
- VI-VII. Analysis of Literary Representations of Plants; Discussion of Plant Sciences Relating to Plant Cognition, Memory, and Communications.
- VIII-IX. Analysis of Discourses of Nature and the Environment in Historical Context, including European Colonial Perspectives and Indigenous Perspectives on Land and Territoriality.
- X-XI. Analysis of Literary and Filmic Representations of Industrialization and Extractive Industries in Latin America.
- XII-XIII. Intersectional Analysis of Literary and Film Representations of Gender and the Environment.
- XIV-XV. Study of Buen Vivir (Living Well), Sustainable Practices, and Rights of Nature Provisions in Bolivia and Ecuador.
