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Overview:
International
Languages and Cultures Faculty:
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José R. Ballesteros,
Instructor of Spanish. B.A., M.A., University of Kansas. José
R. Ballesteros was born in Quito, Ecuador. He emigrated to the
United States in 1986. As an undergraduate at the University
of Kansas, José studied Political Science. Almost by
accident José began a Masters degree in Spanish Literature.
While working on this degree, he fell in love with the profession.
He is currently finishing his Ph. D. in the Spanish Department
at the University of Kansas. His dissertation El imperio
desde el centro: representaciones indianas sexualizadas en la
literatura del Siglo de Oro español studies the
portrayal of American themes in XVII century Spanish literature.
José Ballesteros was also a visiting instructor at Universidad
San Francisco de Quito. Currently José is working on
a Spanish literary anthology. He is also active in the field
of contemporary Latin American Poetry as both writer and scholar.
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- Joanna Bartow,
Associate Professor of Spanish (2001).
A.B., Washington University; M.A, M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University.
Dr. Bartow grew up in New York City and exchanged her long-time
ambition to become an architect for her love of Spanish and Spanish
American writing. After receiving her A.B. in Spanish with an
honors thesis on Rosario Castellanos and a minor in German, she
studied for a year at the U. of Cologne, Germany. During her graduate
studies in Spanish she spent a year in Mexico City under a Fulbright
grant at the Interdisciplinary Women's Studies Program at the
Colegio de México. Her dissertation examined Latin American
women's testimonial writing and fiction, and their relation to
critical theory. Prior to joining the faculty of St. Mary's Dr.
Bartow taught for several years at Austin College, Texas, and
did research in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, and Seville. Her
current research focuses on 20th-century Latin American women's
literature and feminist theories, literary responses to dictatorship,
and representations of urban space. She is also passionate about
music, art, and architecture, both Latin American and otherwise.
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Leslie Bayers,
Assistant Professor of Spanish. B.S., M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison;
Ph.D., University of Kansas.
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Jorge R. Rogachevsky,
Professor of Spanish (1987). B.A., Ph.D., State University of
New York at Buffalo. Dr. Jorge Rogachevsky was born in Buenos
Aires, Argentina. He emigrated to the United States in 1964.
In 1975 he received a B.A. in English, and in 1987 a Ph.D. in
Comparative Literature with minors in Literature and Psychology
and Literature and History, both degrees from SUNY Buffalo.
His dissertation, Nicolás Guillén and Heberto
Padilla: The Revolutionary and the Romantic was a study
of two prominent Cuban poets within the context of the Cuban
Revolution. Prior to joining the faculty at St. Mary's College
of Maryland, Dr. Rogachevsky taught at Temple University and
Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. His current research
interests center on Guatemalan literature and culture. In 1993-94
Dr. Rogachevsky spent a year in Guatemala as a Fulbright Scholar.
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- Israel Ruiz-Cumba,
Associate Professor of Spanish (1992). A.B., Universidad de Puerto
Rico; A.M., Ph.D., Brown University. Born in Puerto Rico, he came
to the United States to study Latin American Literature in Hispanic
Studies Department at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
He received his Ph.D. from Brown in 1995. His thesis explores
postmodern representations of Puerto Rican national identity in
the novels and chronicles of Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá.
His research interests include: the literary construction of narrative
authority, the role of the intellectual in society and discourses
of national identity - especially in the 19th and 20th century
Caribbean literature and popular culture. In addition, he is interested
in exploring racial and political issues in the cultural productions
of the many Afro-Caribbean Diasporas in the Unites States. He
has published poetry and scholarly articles on these issues in
newspapers such as Claridad, and in journals such as INTI:
Revista de Literatura Hispánica, Casa de las Américas,
La Torre: Revista de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Finally,
being a published poet himself, he is genuinely interested in
anything related to poetry.
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Faculty outside the department
of International Languages and Cultures who regularly teach courses
in Latin American Studies:
- Adriana Brodsky,
Department of History • homepage
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- Cristin Cash,
Department of Art and Art History • homepage
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Course
catalog: LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES COURSES (ILAS)
- ILAS 200. Democracy in Latin
America (4)
This course is intended as an introduction to the study of Latin
America using the concept of democracy as our optical lens. The
course is concerned with both the object of study, Latin America,
and the context from which the study emanates, the United States.
What has been the experience of democracy within the Latin American
context? What is said and thought in the United States regarding
democracy in Latin America? How do these two traditions interact
with each other? We will be concerned primarily with the post-World
War II historical context and will look at societies in Central
America, the Caribbean and the Southern Cone.
- ILAS 206. Latin American
Literature in Translation (4)
This course introduces literary expression in 19th- and 20th-century
Latin America and is meant for students not necessarily familiar
with the region or its languages. While incorporating film, essays,
art, and basic historical backgoround the course focuses on short
stories, poems, plays and novels from various countries, including
the United States, in order to familiarize students with a variety
of genres and periods. Since the course is in English, we will
also address issues of translation. The course may offer a particular
focus of particular relevance to the region, depending on the
professor. Topics covered may include national identity; gender
and sexuality; experimental representations of reality; ethnicity
and social class; religion; memory; and history. This course satisfies
the General Education requirement in literature.
- ILAS 310. The Latino/a Experience
in the United States (4)
There has been a long and sometimes conflict-laden relationship
between the United States and its Spanish-speaking neighbors to
the south. This relationship has become even more important as
the world has become more global and multi-cultural in nature.
According to the last USA census, the Latino/a population in the
United States is the largest "minority group" in the
country. This is by no means a minor social event in the history
of the American continent. This course is an inter-disciplinary
introduction to the study of Americans of Latino descent in the
United States across time and space. The course concentrates on
two main issues: 1) the past and current social situation and
cultural expressions of these groups within U.S. Society and:
2) the constructuion of the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino/a"
as labels used to represent a diverse ethnic/cultural constituency.
The course uses an array of interdisciplinary readings and other
materials from the fields of history, political science, anthropology,
sociology, literature, and cultural studies.
- ILAS 340. Social Change and
Musical Expression in Latin America
(4)
This course focuses on the relationship between social change
and musical expression in Latin America. Special importance will
be given to how music either resists or contributes to the formation
of local and national identities within various developing democracies.
Specific examples of Latin American social and political cultures
will be studied with a focus on the production and interpretation
of music during crucial historical moments. Various styles, genres,
and artists will be analyzed with an emphasis on their cultural
significance during moments of political, social and cultural
trnasition in Latin America.
- ILAS 350. Latin American Cinema
(4)
This course will analyze various contemporary Latin American films
with an emphasis on how each one reflects or rejects its particular
social, political, and cutlural context. Special attention will
be paid to how each work engages the balance between what may
be perceived as the "traditional" characteristics of
a particular local identity and the changes of that identity due
to economic, political, and cultural fluctuations. The representation
of gender, race, class and identity in each film will be emphasized.
- ILAS 370. Guatemalan History
(4)
In this course we will study Guatemalan history from pre-Columbian
times until the present. Although Guatemala reproduces many of
the conditions typical of Latin America during the past 500 years,
it is also different because of its Mayan population. Despite
the Spanish conquest, Maya culture never disappeared. Today the
majority of Guatemalans are Maya: they speak their own languages,
they worship deities maintaining links with 4,000 years of Maya
cultural tradition, and in many different ways they define themselves
as a unique culture. Approximately half of the course will deal
with Guatemalan history before the 20th century, and the other
half will focus on the 20th century. This course is cross-listed
with HIST 370.
- ILAS 493/494. St. Mary's Project
(8E)
A student-initiated and student-executed project of eight semester-hours
is the senior capstone experience. While the thesis can be written
in English, a significant Spanish language component is expected.
The project may be a research project in literary or cultural
studies, a creative-expressive project involving arts, or a pedagogical
project involving teaching applications. Also, depending on the
focus of the student's interests, the project can be single or
multi-disciplinary based. Whatever the nature of the project,
students must demonstrate in it: 1) linguistic competence equal
to the task, 2) a method of approach and execution appropriate
to the task, 3) adequate knowledge of the particular area of research
or endeavor, 4) an ability to analyze and reflect upon this knowledge
in order to integrate it with knowledge in other areas of inquiry
or performance, and 5) the readiness to critically discuss and
publicly share the results of the project. Prerequisites: ILCT
393; approval of a faculty project mentor; approval of the department
chair. NOTE: Students whose projects are to be based on material
collected "in the field" while studying abroad during their junior
year or while engaged in off-campus apprenticeships or internships
should discuss their plans with a faculty adviser as early as
the second semester of their sophomore year. This course is repeatable
for up to eight semester hours.
- ILAS 199, 299, 399, 499. Independent
Study (1-4E)
This course consists of an independent creative or research project
designed by the student and supervised by a foreign language faculty
member. The nature of the project, the schedule for accomplishment,
and the means of evaluation must be formalized in a learning contract
prior to registration. (See "Independent Study" under
"Academic Policies" section.)
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Study
abroad:
For students of Latin American Studies,
St. Mary's sponsors an exchange
program with the Institute
for Central American Development Studies (ICADS) (see a Spanish/Latin
American Studies faculty member).
For more details concerning study abroad options, click
here.
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