Latin American thinking: socio-economic, political and cultural ideas

The history of ideas in Latin America is related to the power structures which have characterized the region since the encounter between the European and indigenous civilizations. The course focuses on the ideas and theories attempting to explain this basic and difficult coexistence between different social groups within a societal hierarchy marked by immense inequalities in terms of class, race, ethnicity and gender, as well as the also conflictive relationship between the continent and the international powers. The course takes up some of the main contributions of Latin American thinkers in areas such as politics, sociology, economy and pedagogy, as well as the local adaptations of imported ideas in these areas. The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of the ideas which have historically prevailed in Latin America as well as of the social, economic and political context which have nurtured them.