SUMMER-ABROAD.UCDAVIS.EDU May 16, 2008 05:08 AM
Michael J. Lazzara
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Ph.D., Princeton University
mjlazzara@ucdavis.edu
Research Areas
Contemporary Latin American Literature and Culture, Literature of the Southern Cone, Chilean Culture, Dictatorships, Democratic Transitions, Trauma, Memory, Exile and Migration.
Taught in English, this course will examine the trajectory of Chilean history, politics and culture over the past forty years. Starting with the socialist revolution of Salvador Allende (1970-1973) and its historical underpinnings, we will study in depth the legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990) and the subsequent transition to democracy (1990-present). Central to the course will be a discussion of how Chileans have attempted to deal with the trauma of political violence and script historical memory. Cultural activities and guest lectures by prominent Chilean scholars and activists will be combined with field trips to memory sites in and around Santiago. Other excursions will include visits to the homes of Nobel Prize winning poets Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Msitral as well as several more general folkloric and cultural activities. Class sessions will be held in Santiago’s National Library, a cultural landmark in the heart of Chile’s capital.
