Popular Culture in Argentina

This course will examine Latin American Culture and History through the lens of popular culture. The focus will be on cultural identity, Nation Building , and social and political conflicts and class struggle. We will examine issues such as democracy, myths, public festivals, religion, sports, music, food, fashion, print media, television and film, paying particular attention to the art and politics that have influenced (and continue to influence) the lives of ordinary people in Argentina. We will discuss how popular culture contributes to a multi-faceted and continuously evolving sense of national identity. We will cover a wide range of topics from the myths of Eva Perón and Che Guevara to soccer and Maradona´s "hand of God"; from Tango to Rock and Roll. We will explore popular iconography related to figures such as the singer Gilda and the popular folk saint Gauchito Gil, as well as issues relating to politics and the media (movies, comics and TV shows). Course materials will include Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig, Santa Evita by Tomás Eloy Martínez, shorts stories by Cortázar, Perlongher and Borges, comics such as Héctor Oesterheld The Eternaut, Quino´s Mafalda and Maitena Burundarena´s famous comic strip Maitena, Women on the Edge, videos, songs and excerpts from movies and TV shows.

The University of Belgrano utilizes a 45-minute contact hour whereas the United States higher education system utilizes a 50-minute contact hour. All University of Belgrano courses represent the 45 contact hour amount and an estimated US credit calculation based on the contact hours. Each University of Belgrano transcript will include the number of hours per week and the weeks in the semester, so US universities may calculate the appropriate number of US credits for students.