Contested Archives: Power and Memory in Latin American Archival Practices
SPAN 241
Spring 2026
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01
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This course explores the histories and politics of archiving in Latin America, from colonial record-keeping and imperial control to contemporary community-led, feminist, and dissident archival projects. What counts as an archive? Who decides what is preserved and erased? How are bodies, languages, and stories made (in)visible through archival dynamics? What alternative archival imaginaries emerge from Latin America's colonial and postcolonial contexts? We will analyze how archives have functioned both as instruments of domination and as tools of resistance, central to the construction of national histories, racial hierarchies, and cultural identities, but also capable of challenging erasure and reclaiming marginalized memories. Through an interdisciplinary and decolonial lens, we will engage with both historical texts and cultural and artistic interventions that challenge dominant archival logics, including literary works, films, visual art, performance, and digital media that interrogate, fictionalize, or subvert archival practices. We will examine a variety of materials, including state archives, ecclesiastical records, truth commissions, community memory projects, and speculative/fictional texts based on archival material. By reading across genres and media, the course highlights how cultural production can both expose and reimagine the power of the archive. Works include texts by Diamela Eltit, Horacio Castellanos Moya, Cristina Rivera Garza, Patricio Guzmán, Diana Taylor, Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, Aníbal Quijano, installation and performatic art by Regina José Galindo and diverse materials from archives and memory projects throughout Latin America. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Hispanic Literatures and Cultures)(Latin American Studies) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
texts by Diamela Eltit, Horacio Castellanos Moya, Cristina Rivera Garza, Patricio Guzmán, Diana Taylor, Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, Aníbal Quijano; installation and performatic art by Regina José Galindo, and diverse materials from archives and memory projects throughout Latin America.
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Examinations and Assignments:
TBD |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This class fulfills one requirement for the POST-1800 LATIN AMERICA category. This class is intended for students who have completed SPAN 221 with a B- or better. Students who have not done so should consult with the professor before preregistering. Readings, written assignments, and class discussions will be in Spanish. Only COL students may take this course CR/U. Students are expected to be active/informed participants in class discussions, further developing their spoken Spanish skills. |
| Instructor(s): Armijos,Andrea Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 8 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 15 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 1 | JR non-major: 1 | SO: 2 | FR: 1 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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