This is a specialized reading and discussion course on gender and
family in Latin America. Presentations and discussions will analyze
how the larger categories of gender, family, and community life
shaped the development of the Latin American social order. The
category of gender and the subsequent construction of ideas of
femininity and masculinity are utilized to comprehend how the roles
of both women and men influenced the formation of Latin American
indigenous, Spanish, and African societies. Additionally, the
prisms of family and community life serve as case studies for
understanding social identities and traditional power
structures.
Several larger social trends affecting the development of gender relations will be considered. The onset of Spanish conquest altered sexual and gender relations in pre-Columbian societies. Colonization affected gender relations and attitudes of love and marriage in Spanish societies as competing government and ecclesiastical institutions attempted to regulate parental control over marriages and family life. In slave societies the intersection of notions of race, gender, and class often times served to support traditional social hierarchies. Yet despite the inherent difficulties in maintaining family bonds, slaves formed families in much the same manner as the free population. Regardless of institutional controls, individuals with and without power negotiated, tempered, and constructed gender ideologies.
Several larger social trends affecting the development of gender relations will be considered. The onset of Spanish conquest altered sexual and gender relations in pre-Columbian societies. Colonization affected gender relations and attitudes of love and marriage in Spanish societies as competing government and ecclesiastical institutions attempted to regulate parental control over marriages and family life. In slave societies the intersection of notions of race, gender, and class often times served to support traditional social hierarchies. Yet despite the inherent difficulties in maintaining family bonds, slaves formed families in much the same manner as the free population. Regardless of institutional controls, individuals with and without power negotiated, tempered, and constructed gender ideologies.