AN/LT 364-THE MAKING OF PATAGONIA: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

AN/LT 364-THE MAKING OF PATAGONIA: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

IES Abroad Buenos Aires Syllabus

DESCRIPTION: The aim of this course is to explore representations about Patagonia linking past and present from an interdisciplinary approach that combines Anthropology and Literature. It is composed of two segments taught by an anthropologist and a writer, linked by a trip to the Province of Ro Negro. The courses intention is that students have an immersion in the socio-historical, natural and cultural diversity of the Argentinean Patagonia, opening the possibility for them to develop a comparative perspective that involves their experiences in Buenos Aires, as well as their daily experiences in the U.S.

INSTRUCTORS: Lic. Mara Sonia Cristoff, graduated from Universidad de Buenos Aires. Writer, mscristoff@gmail.comDr. Mariela Eva Rodrguez, graduated from Georgetown University. Professor at Universidad de Buenos Aires and researcher at the National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientficas y Tcnicas, CONICET), marielaeva@gmail.comClass time: Tuesday and Thursday from 3 pm to 4.30 pm

METHOD OF PRESENTATION:

Oriented by an anthropological perspective, the aim of the first section is contrasting representations about the territory and indigenous peoples both from a colonial and a republican perspective (chroniclers, religious and scientists reports) with self-representations by indigenous today (expressed through interviews, writings, films and newspapers), particularly Tehuelche and Mapuche People.The sections topics are about (a) forced incorporation of indigenous people to the nation and land dispossession, (b) discourses that consider Tehuelche People as the true Argentinean Indians who have been extinguished and Mapuche People as Chilean invaders (the so called araucanization process), and (c) appropriation of the indigenous people by the museums (museologizacin) in the context of racist theories. During this anthropological immersion, the students will acquire some ethnographic tools (including participant observation, auto-ethnography and a multi-sited location) through a critical reading of the sources included in the syllabus as well as through a short fieldwork in the city.

The second section of this program will be focused on analyzing cultural constructions on the Patagonian territory as they appear in different literary forms. Among this vast field of constructions, we will concentrate on Patagonia as (1) A territory of political and social tensions, as opposed to the widely spread notion of touristic paradise, (2) A place more than suitable for private and collective utopias of getting a new life. The political conditions behind, (3) A region that, since the very beginnings of Argentine nation, had, and still has, an ambiguous kind of cultural inclusion. How this affects nowadays the production of writers working in Patagonia (called in situ here) and their own inclusion in the Argentine literay canon, mostly based in Buenos Aires, 4) A destiny where recent travel writers have started looking for literary material instead of the factual and strategic information that used to be the goal of traditional travel writers to the region. In parallel, this section will explore the differences between fictional and non fictional narratives, and depict their specific strategies and techniques. The aim of this section is making students aware of the capacity of literature to inspire critical thinking, and to get to know some of its main narrative techniques. Focusing in the creative use of language that characterizes literature, it also expects to broaden the students level of Spanish.

Throughout the course, students will visit one of the museums related with Indigenous People (the Museo Etnogrfico Ambrosetti or the Natural Museum of Social Sciences in La Plata) and, during the trip to Bariloche and surroundings they will visit the primary school located in los Barrios Altos of Bariloche, where both an educational and social work takes place, and the gallery where Toon Maes pictures are exhibited. We will be visited by four guest lecturers: doctoral candidate Celina San Martn, mapuche activist Victorina Mellipan Antieco, Historian Dr. Andrs Levinson, and Writer Hebe Uhart. During their fieldtrip to Ro Negro, their program of activities will include a conference delivered by Historian-Anthropologist Fabiana Nahuelquir, Mapuche activist-artist Andrea Cauqueo, Ethno-Botanic Dra. Ana Ladio and writers Graciela Cros and Guadalupe Muro. The course will be taught entirely in Spanish and students will receive 3 credits.

LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: Spanish

REQUIRED WORK AND FORM OF ASSESSMENT:

Class Participation: students will have to be prepared to make comments and questions related to the materials assigned and should be able to articulate answers and personal points of view on the topics treated in the course. Students are expected to become active readers both of literature and anthropology, which means not only being able to answer properly to the questions they will find in their reading guides but also to take part in creative discussions and provide personal, even bold hypothesis and interpretations. Previous to the visit of our guests, they are expected to prepare five or six substantial questions to interview them. Final grade will increase a third of a letter grade, go down, or remain the same depending on your very good, regular, or deficient participation.Reports: (20%) During the first section, students will write 2 fieldwork reports (3 pages double spaced each) where they reflect about their own experiences and observations (taking into account particularly the everyday life in Argentina and the academic excursions to the museums). They will be able to relate them to the topics and concepts treated in class. During the second section, students will write one Essay in the form of a critical analysis (3 pages double spaced each) in which they will describe and discuss representations of Patagonia on one side and, on the other, the different narrative devices and strategies used by the authors whether they are writing fiction or non fiction. Those Essays that do not fulfill the academic requirements on the first version will have to be written againMid-Term Essay: (35%) essays following the same methodology employed in the fieldwork reports written during the first section (reflections on the narrated experience related to the concepts and information analyzed in class), students should choose one of them (or both) and rewrite it after de trip to Bariloche. The last version will be the Mid-Term Essay (4 to 6 pages double space), which will expose the process of being immersed into the topics.

Final Exam: (35%) students will be required to write an Essay focused on the work of just one of all the authors discussed in class. As an introduction, before going further in the analysis of that piece of either fiction or non fiction, they will have to expose their view on the narrative genre they chose and its capacity to reveal a territory, a culture. Their essay (4 to 6 pages double spaced) will have to articulate a personal opinion that is both aware of the literary representations of Patagonia and the narrative techniques analized during the section. Actual examples from texts analyzed in class are expected as part of the argumentation.

Oral Presentations: (10%) there will be two presentations per student. During the first section, the oral presentation will be a summary of the Mid-Term Essay. Students will be able to show how their perceptions have changed in the meantime. During the second section, each student is expected to make an oral presentation related with the main materials analyzed in class and their possible connection with the requirements of the Final Exam Essay.

The Mid-Term and the Final Exam are not cumulative (35% of final grade each; 70% total). Late assignments or exams will not be accepted unless previously authorized and for valid reasons only (illness, etc.). It is required that students use grammar and spelling check in every essay and review their writings with any Spanish professor in IES. Students in this course will be expected to comply with IESs Policies on Academic Integrity.

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend all classes, unless they are ill. Check for attendance policy guidelines in the IES Student Guidebook. Absent students are responsible for acquiring relevant class notes and handouts from fellow students. Work assigned in a students absence is not to be given a later deadline without prior agreement with the instructor.

Academic integrity:

Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with IES policy of academic integrity and for adhering to it. Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will result in course failure. Student evaluation:

Students will conduct a written evaluation at the end of the semester. They are encouraged to speak early in the semester with faculty about any difficulties they are having in the course. If the difficulties cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of both student and faculty, either is encouraged to meet with the academic director.

Grading Scale

A93-100%

A-90-92.9%

B+87-89.9%

B83-86.9%

B-80-82.9

C+77-79.9%

C73-76.9%

C-70-72.9%

D+67-69.9%

D63-66.9%

D-60-62.9%

Fbelow 60%

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Relate their own experience in Argentina, and particularly in Patagonia, to the materials and key concepts discussed in class.

Develop observations in (auto) ethnographic essays.

Outline some of the main concepts involved in Patagonias cultural construction from the desert to the utopian territory for a new beginning, either personal or collective; from the spur for the imagination to political and social tensions- and analyze how they function in literary narratives.

Discuss the way in which fiction and non fiction imply different techniques and approaches to Patagonia as a topic.

Have developed the ability to read literature and essays not as entertainment but as a specific and enriching means for analyzing cultural phenomena.

Analyze the ambiguous inclusion of the Patagonian region to the nation and thus try to understand Argentinas never fully accomplished project of becoming a federal country. Discuss the idea of regional identity in terms of essences and be able to explain the versions and tensions involved in the construction of a Patagonian or any other- culture.

CONTENT FIRST SECTION

WEEK

TOPICSREADINGS FOR THE CLASS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Week 1

Syllabus presentation

March

19th Writing in class a brief text telling why they chose to do this course and which is their view on Patagonia

Thick description:

a short guideline

March

21st 01-Geertz, Cliford (pp.3-30), 1973.

1st Fieldwork Oral Report (in class)

Week 2

First contact:

The invention of the America

(16th Century)

March

26th 02-Pigafetta (pp.33-51), 1524-502B-Sarmiento de Gamboa (pp. 6-13, 44-50, 102-121)

Easter Holidays March

28th

Week 3

National HolidayApril

2nd

Ro Negros Peculiarities Indigenous People and social geographies in neoliberal times

Mapuche research, theater and performances

April

4th

03-Cauqueo, Kropff, Rodrguez, Vivaldi (130-151), 200504-Fancines de la Campaa de Autoafirmacin Mapuche Wefkvletuyi Estamos Resurgiendo

Week 4

Ro Negros Peculiarities

April

9th

Guest: Historian Andrs Levinson, a lecture on the history of Bariloche

TRIP TO RO NEGRO

April

11th to April 14th

Guests: (a) Mapuche artist Andrea Cauequeo Mapurbe, Campaa de Autoafirmacin Mapuche (b) Mapuche Historian Fabiana Nahuelquir, (c) visit to the local museum. Visit to the primary school Aldea Infantil Bariloche. Interview with the director, who does both an educational and social work, and participation in activities with local students

Visit to the exhibition of the paintings by Toon Maes, the Nazi fugitive who became the most emblematic visual artist in Bariloche

Guests: Writers Graciela Cros and Guadalupe Muro Guest: Ethno-Botanic Dr. Ana Ladio

Week 5Building a Nation:

Araucanization discourse (from 19th Century to the present)

April

16th 05-Lois (pp.107-135), 200706-Moreno (pp. 49-112), 1897Oral Presentation: advance of the Mid-Term Essay

Building a Nation:

Cartographic appropriation of indigenous territories

(19th Century)April 18th 07-Lenton (pp.1-22), 199808-Aranda (48-58), 2010

Week 6

Science and Museologization

April

23rd Visit to a Museum: Ambrosetti (Buenos Aires) or Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (La Plata)

Science and MuseologizationRacial and linguistic classifications (20th Century)

April

25th09-Imbelloni (pp. 5-58), 19492nd Fieldwork Written Report on a visit to a museum (3 pages)

Week 7

IES Mid-semester break

April

30th to May 2nd

Week 8

Mapuche knowledges, experiences and claims

May 7thGuest: Victorina Mellipan Antieco (or 09B-Victorina Spoja). Read her interview before the class (pp. 1-10), 2007.

Grupo Guas (short book of photographs), 2008.

Film: Inacayal: La negacin de nuestra identidad (it should be seen before the class). Dir. Myriam Angueira y Guillermo Glass

Tehuelche recoverings: territories and the aonek o a yen language

May 9th10-Rodrguez and Bilbao Copolque (newspaper interview, pp. 1-9), 2012

Mid-Term Essay due date (4 to 6 pages). This 3rd Fieldwork Written Report is the last version of the ethnographic experience.

Oral Presentation and students evaluation.

SECOND SECTION

Week 9

Literature and Experience: reflecting on the differences and confluences between concepts read in books and first hand experiencesMay 14th 11-Analyzing Textual Attitude in class as defined in Orientalism (pp 122-124) by Edward Said

The Reverse of the Postcard: Patagonia as territory of political and social tensions. Analyzing fiction written in situ

May

16th 12-All arriba, short story by Emilio Di Tata Roitberg

Analyzing the devices of fiction

Week 10

May21st

13-Mosquita muerta, short story by Emilio Di Tata Roitberg

Analyzing the devices of fiction

On the Road:

Patagonia as a glimpse. Analyzing non fiction by a Buenos Aires based writer

May23rd

14-Digresiones sobre la voz narrativa, critical analysis on Hebe Uharts work by Alberto GiordanoDiscussing the protocol of a piece of critical analysis

Week 11

May28th

15-La Patagonia manzanera,

travel writing piece by Hebe Uhart

Analyzing the devices of non fiction

May30th

Guest: Writer Hebe Uhart

Week 12

A Perfect Hideaway: Patagonia as an emblematic place to forget the past and acquire a new identity. The Nazis in the South. Analizing non fiction written in situ

June4thHanding in a critical analysis (3 pages double spaced) reflecting on both narrative devices and the representations of Patagonia as they appear in the fictional and non fictional pieces mentioned above

16-El pintor de la Suiza Argentina,

non fiction narrative by Esteban Buch (chapters 1, 2, 3) +17- Los dos reyes y los dos laberintos, short story by Jorge Luis BorgesAnalyzing the devices of non fiction

June6thHanding in a second version of the critical analysis in those cases considered necessary

18-El pintor de la Suiza Argentina,

non fiction narrative by Esteban Buch (chapters 17 & 18)

Analyzing the devices of non fiction

Debate: your position towards a new exhibition of Maes works

Week 13

June11thPacto de silencio, documentary film by Carlos Echeverra (it should be seen before the class)

On the Road II:

Patagonia as territory for the imagination. Analyzing fiction by a writer and a film maker, both based in Buenos Aires

June13th19-Agosto, novel by Romina Paula (chapters 1-7)Analyzing the devices of fiction

Week 14

June18th

El aura, movie by Fabin Bielinsky (it should be seen before the class)

June20th

National Holiday

Week 15

The Clash:

Tensions between the Rural and Urban in Patagonia. Analyzing fiction written in situ

June25th

Discussing orally the prompt for the Final Essay

20-Bandolera inglesa, short story by Luisa Peluffo

June

27th Final Exam due date

Students Evaluation

REQUIRED READINGS

Aranda, Daro. 2010. Argentina originaria. Genocidios, saqueos y resistencias. Buenos Aires: Lavacca (pp.48-58).

http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/la-historia-silenciada-de-villa-la-angostura/http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/un-juicio-publico-al-general-roca-que-apunta-a-remover-su-monumento/

http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/huellas-de-la-campana-del-desierto/http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/el-debate-mapuche/http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/la-soja-desembarca-en-la-patagonia/http://www.pagina12.com.ar/imprimir/diario/sociedad/3-163821-2011-03-10.html

Buch, Esteban. 1991. El pintor de la Suiza argentina. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana.

Cauqueo, Kropff, Rodrguez, Vivaldi. Tierras, indios y zonas en Ro Negro. En Cartografas Argentinas. Polticas indigenistas y formaciones provinciales de alteridad (pp.130-151), 2005.

Di Tata Roitberg, Emilio. 2008. Mosquita muerta y otros cuentos. Bariloche: Letras de la Patagonia.

Geertz, Clifford. 1973. Thick description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture". In The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books (pp. 3-30).

Giordano, Alberto. 2010. Digresiones sobre la voz narrativa. De Hebe Uhart a Ins Acevedo, en Actas del Segundo Coloquio Internacional. Escrituras del yo. Rosario: Universidad Nacional de RosarioGuas. 2008. Identificacin y restitucin: Colecciones de restos humanos en el Museo de La Plata, ed. Pepe, Fernando M., Miguel An Surez, Patricio Harrison. La Plata: Grupo Universitario en Antropologa Social.

Lenton, D. 1998. Los araucanos en la Argentina: Un caso de interdiscursividad nacionalista. III Congreso Chileno de Antropologa. Temuco, Chile, 12 de noviembre (pp. 1-22). http://www.ceppas.org/gajat/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=90Lois, Carla. 2007. La Patagonia en el mapa de la Argentina moderna. Poltica y deseo territorial en la cartografa oficial argentina en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. En Paisajes del progreso. La resignificacin de la Patagonia Norte, 1880-1916, ed. P. Navarro Floria. Neuqun: Educo.Moreno, Francisco P. 1999[1897]. Apuntes preliminares sobre una excursin al Neuqun Ro Negro, Chubut y Santa Cruz. Buenos Aires: El elefante blanco (pp. 27-31 y 49-112).

Paula, Romina. 2009. Agosto. Buenos Aires: Entropa

Peluffo, Luisa. 2012. Se llaman valijas. Buenos Aires: Grgola Ediciones

Pigafetta, Antonio. Primer Viaje en Torno al globo. 1922 [1524-25]. Madrid: Calpe (pp.33-51).

Rodrguez, Mariela y Jos Bilbao Copolque. 2012. De objetos de exposicin a sujetos con historia http://galeriabariloche.com/notas/gestion-cultural/561-de-objetos-de-exposicion-a-sujetos-con-historiaSaid, Edward. 1990. Orientalismo. Madrid: Editorial Libertarias

Sarmiento de Gamboa. 1954. Viajes al Estrecho de Magallanes 1579-1584. Buenos Aires: Emec.(pp. 6-13, 44-50, 102-121).

Uhart, Hebe. 2012. Visto y odo. Buenos Aires: Adriana Hidalgo Editora

FILMS

Bielinsky, Fabin. El aura (2005)Echeverra, Carlos. Pacto de silencio (2008)Inacayal. La negacin de nuestra identidad (2011). Dir. Myriam Angueira y Guillermo Glass.

Kay Kay egu Xeg Xeg. Campaa de Autoafirmacin Mapuche Wefkvletuyin. http://hemi.nyu.edu/cuaderno/wefkvletuyin/KayKay.htmPAGE 4www.IESabroad.org Page of 9