Imagining Spanish America as Eden and sublime force, colonial environmental aesthetics inaugurated American "disponibilité," figuring environment in the colonial matrix of power as the non-place outside of European time and space. The image of the garden evoked by this aesthetics corresponded to the desired, secular transformation of…

The central argument of this article is that post-colonial states operate--and have always operated, due to their roots in colonialism and capitalism--according to an "ethos of privatization," through which state agents derive private benefit from positions ostensibly responsible for providing public services. The article offers a…

In Spanish language curricula, it is essential that we teach about "afrodescendientes" in Latin America and the Caribbean to present an inclusive representation of the diverse people, practices, and cultural products. Their perspectives and cultural products must be integrated in the curricula of Spanish undergraduate programs beyond the…

By reclaiming the power of self-definition and the use of the term "travesti" to designate their unique experience within the Latin American cultural, economic, and political context, "travesti" intellectuals have fought the dehumanization of their personhood. In her novel "Las malas," the Argentine author Camila Sosa…

The poem "Ritmos negros del Perú" by Afro-Peruvian writer Nicomedes Santa Cruz recovers Afro-Peruvian history and agency through the retelling of the journey of a mythical grandmother. Through the retelling of her story, the poet claims blackness and African roots as pillars of Peruvian culture. In so doing, Santa Cruz opens the door not…

This article interrogates the North-South directionality of knowledge production in the field of comparative and international education. Building on theoretical frameworks developed in the South, it describes changes taking place in Latin American countries affirming the cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity and mixture ("mestizaje")…

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is always keen on presenting to the people the various facets of their history. His literary language acts as effective means for describing the critical historical aspects of Latin America because the legacy of colonialism had destroyed so many important traces of the native culture of that area. This has led him to search…

Long-posed questions about art therapy's artistic and psychological polarity are revisited when the profession is introduced into a new country. In a symposium dedicated to the process of advancing the profession in Colombia, attendees who were unfamiliar with art therapy raised questions that resonated with the historical polarity of art versus…

The concept of spirituality is influenced by culture and the values and mores of Brazil, and though not directly linked to religion it actually grows from the same roots. This paper examines spirituality in education from the perspective of a humanistic psychology framework expressed as an ideal of the adequate personality or healthy personality.…

Linguists are an increasing presence not only in graduate programs but at undergraduate institutions as well, and this could lead to positive interdisciplinary changes in curricula. Literary/cultural texts contain masterful examples of how linguistic features are used to communicate meaning, and learners need to notice these features in order to…

Districts nationwide are challenged with how best to address the needs of an increasing number of non-English or limited-English speaking students. These young people are similarly challenged as they face new environs, unfamiliar cultural settings, and significant communication issues. Findings have indicated that an arts-rich education can assist…

I discuss my journey in the construction, pedagogy, and philosophy of the dance technique CaribFunk™. CaribFunk fuses Afro-Caribbean (traditional and social dance), classical ballet, modern, and fitness elements. It also encourages exploration of self while investigating identity, citizenship, and culture through a kinesthetic expression of the…

The documentary "Favela Rising" (2005) and its companion narrative, "Culture is Our Weapon" (2010), depict the AfroReggae cultural movement as a break with the past, a means of creating citizenship for Brazilian "favelas." A leitmotif of the film is struggling to end the communities' "paralysis" caused by…

Alberto Fuguet, one of the leaders of the McOndo writers who seek cultural direction from the United States and exploit mass-media formulas, is a polarizing figure in contemporary Latin American culture. His most recent full-length novel, the semi-autobiographical "Las peliculas de mi vida" (2003), has led many to conclude that Fuguet is simply a…

Through a combination of practical applications and theoretical underpinnings, this article explores the question of how to approach the teaching of Latin American Literature in the current period of globalization. Many theorists argue that we need new epistemologies in which to ground our pedagogy for the 21st century. Understanding the effects…