POPULAR AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION IN LATIN AMERICA
- Time: Winter 1998
- Faculty: Anne Fischel and Jorge Gilbert
- Enrolment: 50 students
- Requirements: Faculty signature
- Special Expenses: Field School to Chile during the Spring quarter.
- Credits: 16 (some equivalencies depend on student projects)
With
the toppling of the Berlin wall and the dismantling of the former Soviet
Union the last fashion in the economic world and the academia is to talk
about neoliberalism and the free market. Rich and industrialized countries
from the North are optimistic and they talk about democratization, transition,
and growing opportunities, mainly in Latin America. Countries from the
region such as Chile and Costa Rica, are portrayed like examples for the
entire region which have successfully convened economic liberalism with
political democracy. However, these views ignore the fact that the implementation
of this model was possible after the armed forces overthrew nationalist
and populist governments mainly from South America.
The
aim of this program is to analyze Latin American since the Cuban Revolution
until today to study the different stages that followed the achievement
of neoliberalism in the region. Thus, the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution
and the end of the populist experiment of the 1960s, the development of
the military state until the end of the 1980s and the neoliberal state
will be studied. In this program special emphasis will also be paid to
social and political forms of organizations developed by the popular movements
of the region to return to democracy. In this context, the role of popular
and alternative communication, understood as "a mechanism created
by the people for the people" to challenge the authoritarian regimes
and their model of society will be extensively analyzed.
Within
the above context, the Chilean social formation will be particularly studied
considering two aspects: a] popular and alternative communication as a
form of resistance expressed through many artistic expressions and the
intensive use of video. These elements played a fundamental role in forcing
the armed forces to return to their barracks; b] the neoliberal model left
in place by the military before the civilians took control which international
agencies and the USA portray like the solution for the Third World.
Finally, this program will prepare students who will travel to Chile during the spring quarter of 1998 to participate in the research and production of several documentaries about the topics studied in this program. For more details about this Field School to Chile see the college catalog.