This course explores contemporary artistic responses to the long and complicated history of the U.S.-Mexico border. We will consider various meanings of the word frontera or border. What is a border geographically speaking? What does it mean in political and legal terms? How do we conceive of the border in cultural, literary, linguistic, political, judicial, and personal ways? What is it like to live on the border or on the margins? It is said that a border is a contact zone, a meeting point, a way to transfer and share information, an invitation to (in)tolerance and ex/inclusion. We will frame our analysis of literary and conceptual artworks with articles from anthropology, history, politics, and cultural studies. Knowledge of Spanish is not necessary for this course, but bilingual students are especially welcome!
About Camilla Stevens
Professor Camilla Stevens teaches in the departments of Spanish and Portuguese and Latino and Caribbean Studies, where she specializes in Latin(o) American and Caribbean literature. Her research focuses on questions of memory politics, migration and citizenship, and colonialism and race in theater and performance. Her academic pursuits have led her from Minnesota, to Louisiana, New Mexico, and Kansas and across 15 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, to land in New Jersey.