16/2 - Introduction to Media and Latin America
23/2 - Importance of Latin America in Today’s World
2/3 - Colombia and Simon Bolivar
9/3 - Ecuador and The Curse of Natural Resources
16/3 - Peru, Bolivia and Audience Diversity
23/3 - Chile, Socialism, Capitalism, Cold War and Transition to Democracy
30/3 - Argentina and its Economy, Paraguay, Uruguay
6/4 - Brazil and Media Monopolies
13/4 - Venezuela and Rise of New Media
20/4 - Cuba and Social Networks in Closed Societies
27/4 - Mexico, First People in Americas and Violence Against Journalists
4/5 - Central America I (CA4: Nicaragua, Guatemala,, Honduras, El Salvador)
11/5 - Central America II (Panama, Costa Rica) & US Influence on the Region
18/5 - Caribbean (Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico)

Description:

Latin America - the continent which about 600 million people call home - is after centuries of abandonment and exploitation on the rise. The majority of the Latin American countries have moved away from brutal dictatorships and war conflicts and are rapidly growing in many areas. Nonetheless in the past decade some Latin American countries faced major setbacks. The prime example of this being Venezuela where the refugee crisis is about to become the largest and most underfunded in modern history. As everywhere in the world also in Latin America the media is undergoing a profound transformation. Any journalist wanting to cover world affairs should have a basic knowledge about the realities of this complex continent.

Course Objectives:

The objective of this course is introduce students to basic historical realities of Latin American countries and to introduce current media landscape of these countries. After completion of this course students will be able to better understand the media scene of the region and current news developments in Latin America.

Organization:

The class consists of theoretical lectures that take place during one week (usually end of May). Discussions based on assigned readings are an integral part of these lectures. Each student will present a mini-lecture on a given topic. The topics will be assigned in February/March, so students will be able to prepare their presentation during the semester. Introductory Q&A session will be organized via video conference where students will be able to ask any questions.

Newsgroup will be setup and students will be asked to actively follow events in the region during the semester (March till May) and comment in the newsgroup on the current news from Latin America in form of weekly comments and observations.

Additionally at least three 30-minute long video chats will take place between March and May (participation of all students will be mandatory in these video calls)

Class Hours: