- To lead students to get acquainted with finely tuned writings on the natural resources of the Amazon region, on some theories and practices, activities and folk beliefs related to the natural environment, human survival, and popular imagination, including his/her possible misconceptions on that diversified region;
- To guide students, through reading of pertinent discourses, in the exploration of areas and subjects related to the Amazon ecosystem, focusing mostly, but not exclusively, in the Brazilian area, by far the largest and most scrutinized among the areas covered by the Amazonian rain forest and rivers.
- To help students to develop a sense of analysis and synthesis on assigned material for class discussions, journals' writing and personal reflections on subjects exposed.
- To encourage students to examine values pertinent to a non-Western society, such as of the Indians, caboclos and other mestizos in the Amazonian Basin.
Latin American Literatures and Societies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Environmental Issues of the Amazon Ecosystem
Fall 1998
Spanish / Portuguese 228 A (cross-listed)
MWF - 2:00 - 2:50 PM (3 Cr)
Room 3203, Jiménez Hall
Instructor: Dr. Regina Igel
Office: Jiménez Hall - Room 2211 - Ext. 5-6457
Office hours: Mo & Tu 12 noon-1:00PM or by apptm;
also you may access E-mail:RI1@umail.umd.edu
Description:
This course focuses on literary discourses and other writings
that provide a concept and a set of cultural values related to the Amazonian
ecosystem encompassing several countries in South America. The coursehas
three main components: 1. it draws insights on the ecology of South American
rain forest, on the relationship and frictions between the natural environment
and human predators, the dominant and subordinate cultures in the region, and
on its diversified population; 2. it approaches students to viewpoints
expressed by US and non-US scientific explorers, historians, travellers,
researchers, adventurers and fictionists, ecofeminists, and Indian advocates;
3. it includes folktales and testimonials of the descendants of the region's
first inhabitants. The course is developed through lectures, class
discussions, and the viewing of videos and films. Basic notions of
anthropology, political and social sciences, South American geography and
history, and of literary approaches are desirable but not required. Course
conducted in English. (Besides this language, papers and other writings can be
submitted in Spanish or Portuguese.)
Goals:
Requirements:
Students are required to take all tests and exams, do the
assignments and participate in class discussions, according to schedule.
Therefore, students' responsibilities include group or individual oral
presentation, the writing of weekly journals on articles read, reports on
topics presented by guest speakers or viewed in movies and videos. Articles
are usually short. Attention: Each journal has to contain a reflective
statement (a final thought), by the student, that is, a conclusive remark
about the readings or the videos seen. A reflective statement is personal,
therefore, even if a journal is composed within a study-group, each student is
expected to write his/her own reflective statement.
A topic for a final paper should be selected by student and submitted to instructor soon after the mid-term examination. Attention: A final paper CAN be replaced by an oral individual presentation, in depth, accompanied either by a slide-show or posters, on any subject previously submitted to instructor. The presentation-display willl have to take place between the mid-term and the last day of class. More informations with instructor. (Not to be confused with the weekly selection of a topic by individuals or group of students.)
Grading method:
Mid-term examination: 20 pts;
final examination: 25 pts.;
two quizzes: 10 pts each;
journals, reports, summaries: 10 pts;
oral presentation,5 pts;
one final paper with a minimum of 10 pages (double space), excluding
bibliography: 20 pts. (Optional replacement : the presentation-display, not to
be confused with the general oral presentation, has to be 40' long, with 10
minutes left for a questions-answers period.)
Final Examination Date: Wednesday, December 16, 10:30-12:30. (Snow date to be announced.)
SYLLABUS
NOTE: Guest-speakers schedules will be announced in advance. The Syllabus will be adjusted accordingly.
Date: Month/ Week /Day Lectures, class discussions, students presentation, videos, guest speakers: Readings & other assignments:
WEEK 1
Monday, Aug 31:
Introduction to course; orientation on writing the
weekly journal. History, geography, economy & cultures; map of the Amazon
Basin. Legends: the Amazon name, "El Dorado"; early explorers; the
rainforest; the rubber boom.
Wednesday, September 2:
Video: The Amazon - explanations on names, types, cultures, habits.
Friday,September 4:
End of video. Main aspects depicted in documentary. Data & map
of Amazon Basin. STONE: Dreams of Amazonia (35-38). Journal due on Wednesday,
September 9.
WEEK 2
Monday, September 7:
LABOR DAY No Class
Wednesday, September 9:
Turn in journal. Showing of Indians' feather art & book on the
Golden Lion Tamarind. Discussion: Dreams of Amazonia. PLACE's Anthology:
Hudson
(2-3) & Eustasio Rivera (3-7). PRICE: The Amazing Amazon (Chpts II & IV)
Friday, September 11:
How to select information in documentary videos through
partial presentation of video by SIVAM and video Ecuador. Showing of
‘piranha'; identification of rivers on the Amazonian map. Journal due on
Wednesday (Sept 16th).
WEEK 3
Monday, September 14:
Discussion of Hudson & Rivera's texts; discussion of Price's
(II, IV). Cont. of identification of rivers on the map. Some terms used by
scholars on the Amazon. PLACE: Phillips, "Peru's Rainforest"
(210-211). Hand-outs: "Gold & diamonds attract adventurers" & "The culture of
the Indian people." For FRIDAY: Oral presentation on Western Amazon (Perú &
Ecuador)
Wednesday, September 16:
Turn in journal. Discussion of Phillips & of hand-outs. PLACE:
"Tourism damages Amazon Region" (Harrington, 213-216); "How a monkey saved the
jungle" (Lipske, 217-226). Journal due on Wednesday, Sept 23rd.
Friday, Sept 18:
Discussion of Harrington and Lipske.
Oral presentation on Western Amazon. MEGGERS: Amazonia ( "Man's arrival"
35-38) & (Chapter 6: 157-168).
For WEDNESDAY (Sept 23rd): Oral presentation on the effects of tourism and
other changes in the Amazonian region.
WEEK 4
Monday, September 21:
Instructor will not be in. No class. VIEWING OF MOVIE
BYE BYE BRAZIL, in the Non-Print Media Lab. Reserved.
Wednesday, Sept 23:
Turn in journal. Discussion of Meggers.
Oral presentation. VIEWING OF MOVIE BYE BYE BRAZIL
Friday, September 25:
Comments on the movie Bye Bye Brazil. Review for Quiz
(Monday).
Study for the QUIZ.
WEEK 5
Monday, September 28:
FIRST QUIZ - Duration: 50 minutes.
Wednesday, September 30:
Instructor will not be in. No class. SEE in the NONPRINT
LAB (Hornbake): In the Ashes of the Forest - Parts I & II (Video)
Friday, Oct 2:
Return of Quiz. Discussion of Smith. Deforestation. The rubber
trade. The role of the rubber-tappers. PLACE: Mendes ("Fight for the forest"
154-157). Selection of group to present aspects of deforestation, political
interferences, for Monday, Oct 5th. Journal due on Friday, Oct 9th.
WEEK 6
Monday, Oct 5:
Discussion of Chico Mendes' struggles and video In the Ashes of
the Forest led by students. SEE in the NONPRINT LAB (Hornbake): Mountain of
Gold and Killing for Land (Parts III & IV).
Wednesday, Oct 7:
Discussion led by students on Mountain of Gold and Killing for
Land. SEE in the NONPRINT LAB: The Killing of Chico Mendes (Part V, final)
Friday, Oct 9th Turn in journal. End of discussions related to Chico Mendes.
WEEK 7
Monday, Oct 12:
REVIEW OF THIS SECTION OF THE SEMESTER FOR THE MID-TERM EXAM.
Wednesday, Oct 14:
MID-TERM EXAMINATION. Class time duration
Friday, Oct 16:
GUEST SPEAKER SEE in the NONPRINT LAB: Fitzcarraldo. Journal
due on Mon Oct 26th
WEEK 8
Monday, Oct 19:
Discussion of Fitzcarraldo & comments on speaker's talk.
Wednesday, Oct 21:
Legends/beliefs. Folk culture. SLATER: "Stories & beliefs about
dolphins ..." (89-117).
Friday, Oct 23th
Video: Macumba, Transe & Spirit Healing. SMITH: "Goblins,
Ghosts ... " (42-62).
WEEK 9
Monday,Oct 26:
Turn in journal. The Amazonian caboclo. PARKER: The Amazon
Caboclo(xvii-xlvi)
Wednesday, Oct 28:
Fictional writing on the Amazon. MALIGO: "The representation
..."
Friday, Oct 30:
Turn in journal. -- Maligo's article.
WEEK 10
Monday, Nov 2:
REVIEW FOR SECOND QUIZ.
Wednesday, Nov 4:
SECOND QUIZ - Duration: 50 minutes.. IN THE LAB: The Yanomami
Indians
Friday, Nov 6:
Comments on video on the Yanomamis. SALAMONE: "The
Yanomamis ..." (75-88). Journal due on Friday Nov 13th.
WEEK 11
Monday, Nov 9:
Quizes returned. Discussion of Salamone. LIZOT:
"Foreword"&"Women lives"
(60-83)
Wednesday, Nov 11:
Discussion of Lizot's articles. WILBERT: Folk Literature:
Yanomamis. - Narratives # 7, 17, 25, 32.
Friday, Nov 13:
Turn in journal. Comments on Yanomamis tales. Students'
selection of topic related to Yanomamis for oral presentation (Friday).
Date: Month/ Week /Day Lectures, class discussions, students presentation,
videos, guest speakers. Readings & other assignments
WEEK 12
Monday, Nov 16:
GUEST SPEAKER. PINEDA: "The Love Queen of the Amazon"- Chapters
I-III.
Wednesday, Nov 18:
Comments on Pineda's "The Love Queen ...".
Friday, Nov 20:
End on Pineda's chaptrs & Student's presentation. GLOTFELTY:
Meeker "The comic mode."
WEEK 13
Monday, Nov 23:
Introduction to the comic mode in Souza's The Emperor of the
Amazon. Reading of SOUZA's The Emperor of the Amazon.
Wednesday, Nov 25:
The Emperor of the Amazon
Friday, Nov 27:
THANSKGIVING DAY - NO CLASS
WEEK 14
Monday, Nov 30:
The Emperor of the Amazon.
Wednesday, Dec 2:
Presentation of Darcy Ribeiro (1922-1997), a Brazilian Indian's
Advocate Ribeiro's Maíra: Chapter 1-2.
Friday, Dec 4:
Comments on Ribeiro's Maíra.
WEEK 15
Mon - Friday, Dec 7-11:
ALL WEEK: REVIEW FOR FINAL EXAMINATION.
Bibliography
Articles: [In brackets, the alphabetical location of articles assigned in the Syllabus - most articles are very short, hence the accumulation of two or three for the same class. All books and articles are on Reserve at McKeldin Library, unless otherwise indicated]:
[GLOTFELTY] Glotfelty, Cheryll & Fromm, Harold, eds., The Ecocriticism Reader, Landmarks in Literary Theory. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1996.
[LIZOT] Lizot, Jacques. Tales of the Yanomami - Daily Life in the Venezuelan forest. (Trans. by Ernest Simon). Cambridge University Press, 1985.
[MALIGO] Maligo, Pedro., "The Representation of Amazonia in Brazilian Literature", The Centennial Review. East Lansing: Vol 35, no. 2, Spring 1991, pp. 229-48.
[MEGGERS] Meggers, Bettty J., Amazonia, Man & Culture in a Counterfeit Paradise (rev. ed.). Washington: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1996.
[PARKER] Parker, Eugene P., guest editor, The Amazon Caboclo: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives , in Studies in Third World Societies. Williamsburg: College of William and Mary, 1985.
[PLACE] Place, Susan E., ed., Tropical Rainforests, Latin American Nature and Society in Transition. Delaware: Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1993.
[PRICE] Price, Willard, The Amazing Amazon. New York: The John Day Co, 1952.
[SALAMONE] Salamone, Frank A., The Yanomami and Their Interpreters - Fierce People or Fierce Interpreters? Lanham: University Press of America, Inc., 1997.
[SLATER] Slater, Candace, Dance of the Dolphin, Transformations and Disenchantment in the Amazonian Imagination. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
[SMITH] Smith, Nigel J. H., The Enchanted Amazon Rain Forest, Stories from a Vanishing World. Florida: University of Florida Press, 1996.
[STONE] Stone, Roger D., Dreams of Amazonia. New York: Penguin Books, 1985.
Optional reading: Warren, K. "Feminism & Ecology: Making Connections." Environment Ethics 9 (1: 1987) 3-20.
Excerpts of Fiction/Folktales:
[PINEDA] Pineda, Cecile. The Love Queen of the Amazon. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1992. On the margins of the Peruvian Amazon river, a girl raised in an convent, and turns into a ‘madam' in the area's prostitution racket.
[RIBEIRO] Ribeiro, Darcy. Maíra. New York: Vintage Books, 1984. Life among Indians, as experienced by an Indian who returns to his nation after a period of time lived among whites.
[SOUZA] Souza, Márcio. The Emperor of the Amazon. Narrative dipped in irony and humor on struggles between Brazilian patriots and an American diplomat representing his country and other foreign interests in claiming part of the Amazon territory to neighboring Bolivia by the end of last century.
[WILBERT] Wilbert, J. & Simoneau, K., eds. Folkliterature of the Yanomami Indians. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center Publications, 1990. Selected folktales recorded by anthropologists among the Yanomami Indians in the frontier region between Venezuela and Brazil, expressing their beliefs, way of life, social and ethic values.
Videos will be seen in class and in the Non-print Media Library; films will be seen in the Non-print Library (in reserve at the Hornbake Non-print Media Library).
Videos: The Amazon, Ecuador, SIVAM; Chico Mendes; Macumba, Transe & Spirit Healing; The Yanomanis; The Decade of Destruction (4).
Films: 1. Bye bye, Brazil, directed by Rui Guerra. - A wandering circus crosses the Amazon through the newly inaugurated highway and faces the remaining of the Indian civilization, almost totally submerged by the white's culture and influence. Allegory of a farewell to part of a genuine Brazil. 102'. PN 1997. B9 (1994) 2. Fitzcarraldo, dir. by Warner Herzog. - A man living in the Amazon jungle struggles to realize his dream to build his own personal opera house in the forest. 157'. PN 1997. F58 (1982)
Optional: The Emerald Forest, dir. John Boorman. - A young American white boy is kidnapped by Indians while his parents were working in the forest; he is raised by the Indians and acquires their culture as his own. 114' . PN1997
