Course Description

1 Course name: Introduction to Contemporary Latin America Course code: LAT-100

2 Target group The target group for this course is students studying bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies, and International Development and Environment. In total, there will be approximately 50 students from the two programmes. The course will be an E-course in the LMS of Fronter. The course will be in English and it should be the main language in discussion forums. Therefore, good academic English is required for taking this course. Spanish is a bonus as there are cases of Spanish curriculum.

3 Scope The ECTS credits for this course is 10 ECTS. According to Bolognia Process, one student is required to work about 40 hours per week. Therefore, the workload for this 10 ECTS course is 10-12 hours per week.

4 Prerequisites Formal criteria: The students studying the bachelor’s programme in International Development and Environment need to complete the first year of the bachelor’s programme to take this course. Practical conditions: The course will be in English and it should be the main language in discussion forums. Therefore, good academic English is required for taking this course. Spanish is a bonus as there are cases of Spanish curriculum.

5 Duration This course will be offered for 20 weeks, in the fall semester. There is self-study, collaboration and continuous assessments during the semester. In addition, there will be a final individual exam in week 20.

6 Type Introduction to contemporary Latin America is an online university course for students studying bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies, International Development and Environment. This course is online-based due to differences on when the study programmes hold this course. This course is in the first semester of Latin American Studies, and it is in the third semester of International Development and Environment.The pedagogical approach for this course is through a socio-constructivist pedagogical theory. As there are students from two different bachelor programmes, the socio-constructivist approach would be most effective as the course encourage cooperation among and between the study programmes. The course instructor distributes all students in several groups where the students need to collaborate and communicate in the Fronter forums.

7 Language The course will be in English and it should be the main language in discussion forums. Therefore, good academic English is required for taking this course. Spanish is a bonus as there are cases of Spanish curriculum.

8 Developing institutions: University of Agder

9 Offering institutions: University of Agder

10 Course leader: Malin Høyme

11. Authors/Teaching group: Malin Høyme

12. Academic responsibility: University of Agder

13. Copyright: Author

14. Aims This introductory course will encourage students to think in a fluid and imaginative way about issues and events in Latin America and specially in the Andes region. Students of Introduction to Contemporary Latin America will study important contemporary topics, such as e.g. poverty, injustice and inequality, but also exciting contemporary developments such as the indigenous resurgence across the region. As such, Introduction to Contemporary Latin America also provides an important window on power, society and life beyond the region, having the potential to bring important new perspectives to the study of so-called developed countries as well as presenting a distinctive experience of the colonial condition. The insights will enable the students to understand and analyze current development processes on the continent, processes which also must be analyzed in a global context.

15. Learning resources The University of Agder is using the Learning Management System (LMS) of Fronter. All learning resources will be on Fronter. Examples are personal experiences, case studies, online resources and the course module.

16. Objectives On completion of the course the participants should have the ability to: Have in-depth multidisciplinary knowledge of the major developments of the Andean region of Latin America Develop critical and analytical skills to understand and evaluate the complexity and diversity of Latin America, both past and present. Acquire familiarity with the ways in which different indigenous and diasporic cultures have contributed to the development of Latin America. The participant will gain / improve skills in: Effective research and written skills Critical thinking and problem solving Ability to communicate and work with others The participants should have developed or strengthened attitudes on: The ability to initiate, develop, and carry out independent research writing.

17. Content description (Learning units) Module I: Introduction to Latin American geography,  history and religion Module II:  Contemporary development and politics in Andes Region Module III: Environmental issues (environmental crime, climate change, rainforest), with a focus on Andes Region. Module IV: Latin America’s Indigenous People. (Examples from Bolivia) Module V: Contemporary issues in Latin America (urbanization, health, etc.) + Individual Exam

18. Mode of delivery and Infrastructure needed Module I: Participation, One-Pagers/Summaries Module II: Participation, One-Pagers/Summaries Module III: Participation,  Group Exam Module IV: Participation, One-Pagers/Summaries Module V: Participation + One week home exam

19. Learning outcomes Upon course completion, the student ’walks out the door’ with the ability or skill to: Develop a basic knowledge about society in Latin America to include the roles of: geography, demographics, politics, and culture. Expand historical and cultural awareness of Latin America and apply it to the study of the Andes region. Enhance the ability to think critically about culture, social relations, history, politics and language in Latin America. Develop conversational, grammatical, reading and writing proficiency in English.

20. Teaching methods Asynchronous tutor facilitated tutorials, articles, case studies, group discussions and hand-ins (both individual and in groups).

21. Assessment of participants 10 STC: Participation including one-pagers/sumaries (20 %), one group exam (30 %) and one induvial exam (50 %)

22. Bibliography Course study module Essential Reading Reference list

23. LMS administration Faculty of International Development and Environment Studies, University of Agder

24. Course evaluation: Midterm questionnaire

25. Other remarks: This course is designed as a tutor-guided – and collaborative course as well as a course in a complete Bachelor study program

26. Fees: The university semester fee needs to be paid to be enrolled to this course