Prof. Jossianna Arroyo-Martínez AFR—372G Fall, 2014 [email protected] Office Hours-W (9-12 or by appointment)
Mediascapes: Spectacle and Performance in Caribbean Cultures
This course focuses on contemporary Caribbean culture and the ways literature and culture in the Spanish Caribbean have incorporated the language of the spectacle to create what I define as “Caribbean mediascapes.” Caribbean mediascapes mixes these uses of media technologies derived from film, television, the Internet and Youtube and the ways they engage, are used and read in the Spanish Caribbean. In this course we will analyze the cultures of production, distribution, exhibition, reception, as well as the texts themselves from several Caribbean authors, from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and their respective U.S. enclaves in the diaspora (New York, Miami). Some of the questions we will discuss are: How is race and the body represented in contemporary visual culture in the Caribbean and the U.S? How “Caribbean diva stardom” influences U.S. media contemporary cultures (Iris Chacón, Rihanna, J.Lo, Nicki Minaj)? What is the link between Iris Chacón and Beyoncé? How are new forms of racialization shaping discourses around “whiteness,” blackness and Latinidad in the Caribbean and the United States? How new performing artists are using self-video platforms such as Youtube? (Maluca, John Skiletz, La Vampy)? What is the role of writers and literary scholars vis à vis these views of spectacle, globalization and transnational contacts? Are there possible forms of agency in these Caribbean mediascapes? The literary, cultural and news platforms will be discussed in class as well as in a blog where students should add their own materials as well as post comments bi-weekly. We will watch some films and documentaries in class. The course will be taught in English.
TEXTBOOKS: Junot Díaz, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Drown, (selections) Nelly Rosario, Song of the Water Saints, and short stories (excerpts) *Edwidge Danticat. Writing Dangerously (excerpts) *Pedro J. Gutiérrez, Tropical Animal (selection of short stories) *Mayra Santos Febres, Urban Oracles (short stories) *Course Pack of Readings (available at PDF)
REQUIREMENTS: Students will write 3 essays from 6-7 pages each (Essay questions will be provided by Prof. Arroyo-Martínez).
CLASS BLOG: Weekly entires on your BLOG will count for a full essay grade (20%)of your final grade. You need to add TWO entries per-week, with one media addition or link (from journals, newspapers etc); and one well-written, edited comment and answer from your peers-previous entries. The entries should be well-written, well-thought and candid at the same time as they will touch on the themes discussed in class: race, sexuality, the body and body politics; mostly, the bodies of Caribbean subjects, women and men as they are “seen” on-line, and in different media sites (television, cinema, Youtube).
This course main theme is the body as it is represented, performed, acted out and twerked in literary and media representations. We will watch, discuss and analyze images with nudity and strong sexual content.
TEACHING ASSISTANT: Omaris Zamora Reyes (M.A.) will be the Assistant for the course assisting Prof. Arroyo with grading, teaching some course sessions as well as the maintenance and monitoring of the blog. She is completing this as a requirement for her Teaching Practicum for her doctoral degree. Please be respectful as you will be with Prof. Arroyo Martínez. She will not hold office hours but she will be available to answer questions about her lectures or our class blog. Her email is [email protected]
GRADE DISTRIBUTION: 3- Essays-(20 each) 60% Blog entries-20% Class participation 20% ————————————— 100%
ABSENCES: Students with more than THREE (3) unexcused absences without a proper medical excuse will be penalized in their final class/participation grade by 10 points less of their final grade (so if you are between an A and a B you will get a B, if you have a B you will get a C).
ACADEMIC HONESTY IS IMPERATIVE! I will refer all cases of academic dishonesty (i.e. cheating and plagiarism) to the Dean of Student’s Office. If you have questions about what constitutes academic dishonesty, visit the University’s official statement: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php
Accommodations For Students With Disabilities In compliance with the UT Austin policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required for students with disabilities. If accommodation are necessary, you are encouraged to this discuss this with me as soon as possible. Requests for academic accommodations are to be made during the first three weeks of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so appropriate arrangements can be made. Students are encouraged to register with Student Disability Services to verify their eligibility for appropriate accommodations.
AUGUST 28— Class Intro: Mediascapes and Spectacle. Read:A. Appadurai, Joan Dayan “Haiti, History and the Gods” Silvio Torres-Saillant, “Tribulations of Blackness”
SEPTEMBER 2—Caribbean Bodies: Race, Colonialism, Slavery
4—Taxonomies of Race in the Caribbean
9—Cultural Transvestisms: Bodies, Freedom and Subjugation Read: Jossianna Arroyo, “Roots”, Deborah Thomas:“Exceptional Violence”
11—Performance, Folklore, Survival Read: Juan Flores, “Diaspora Strikes Back”, Grosfoguel and Georas “Latino Diasporas in NY”
16—Nuyorican, DominicanYork, Cuban-American—REVIEW OF PAPER #1
18—Nuyorican, Dominicanyork, Cuban-American Read: Junot Díaz, “Drown”, “Monstro”
23—Junot Díaz, “Drown” and “Monstro”— PAPER #1 DUE Read: The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
25—Oscar Wao
30—Oscar Wao
2—Oscar Wao
7—Oscar Wao
9—Oscar Wao (Conclusions) Read: Nelly Rosario, short stories, Mayra Santos-Febres, short stories
14—Feminine erotics: writing Caribbean women bodies Deborah Paredez; “On Black Divas”; (on Rihanna) Frances Negrón, “On J.Lo’s Butt”
16—Feminine erotics: Caribbean Divas, J. Lo, Rihanna—REVIEW PAPER #2 Watch: Iris Chacón in David Letterman, “Coolant” Commercial, clip from “El cantante” J.Lo, Rihanna’s hair, dress, Beyonce, twerking videos
21—Twerking, Nudity and Excessive “Caribbeanness” Watch: Maluca, “El tíguere”, John Skilletz, “Shit Spanish Girls Say” and “Selfie-Video”, Irma García, Twerking in the Dominican Republic
23—Twerking, Nudity and Excessive “Caribbeanness”—PAPER #2 DUE Read: Marvette Díaz “Interview with Celia Cruz”, Frances Aparicio, “Celia’s Shoes” Watch: Fania Concert in Zaire, videos from Celia Cruz’s funeral.
28—“La negra tiene tumbao” Reading Celia Cruz Watch: “La Lupe: Queen of Latin Soul”, La Lupe in David Letterman (Youtube) Alexandra Vázquez, “On La Lupe”
30— La Lupe: Excess and Cubanidad Read: Negrón Muntaner, “Ricky’s Hips”, Nadia V. Celis “Shakira and Caribbeanness” Watch: Ricky Martin “La vida loca”, Shakira “Hips don’t Lie”, “Waka, Waka”
4—Moving the Hips, Queerness, Pop and Whiteness Watch: La Vampy de Lajas, “class-less whiteness”, Blackface and humor in the Caribbean: Watch, “Zanky-Panky” clips, “Feo de día, lindo de noche”
6—Reading contemporary Blackface in Comedy Watch: U.S. Blackface? (Key and Peele, Dave Chappelle, Tracy Morgan, Wayan Brothers)
11—U.S. Blackface? Performing Black Caribbean Others Read: Pedro J. Gutiérrez, Tropical Animal, Jafari Allen, Venceremos (excerpts)
14—Sexuality, transexuality: the fetish of Cubanidad
16—Trans, queer sex and agency in Havana—REVIEW PAPER #3 Read: Mark Padilla, Denise Brennan, “What’s love got to do with it”
21—Sexual Tourism and Women, Dominican Republic Read: Manifesto, Asociación de Trabajadoras Sexuales, RD, Watch:Brides Online Site
25—Transnational Links: Performing Love Read: “Women and Capitalism”, (article on Dominican workers in Spain); Danticat, “Reading Dangerously”
27—THANKSGIVING
2—Women, politics and violence—PAPER #3 DUE 4—Women, politics and violence—Mediascapes, Performance and the Violence of the Spectacle