SPAN 537 Dictatorship in Chile and Argentina
What forces brought about and justified the most recent dictatorships in Chile and Argentina? How did journalists, historians, economists, and artists respond to censorship, torture and he disappearance of thousands of individuals? In this interdisciplinary course, we will read historical, literary and theoretical texts, as well as view films and documentaries that address the Chilean and Argentinean dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s. We will compare the construction of arguments, the use of evidence, and aesthetic techniques developed across these genres with the purpose of understanding distinct approaches to history. Finally, we will become conversant with secondary sources that focus on testimony, memory, trauma and the use of torture.