Dear all:

A reminder of the exam format:

Part I (40% of the total mark) will be a series of passages (and perhaps also images) from the readings, much like the first part of the midterm. The readings from which these passages are taken may be from any part of the semester.

Part II (60%) will be an essay question. On the day, you will choose one essay out of three possible questions. These three questions will be selected from among the five following. In other words, three of the following questions will be the ones on the final exam.

In all cases, it is highly recommended that you refer to specific examples of Latin American popular culture to illustrate your argument.

1. Compare the various theories of mixture (mestizaje, transculturation, and hybridity) that we have studied. What are their overlaps or differences? Which, if any, do you find most useful and/or convincing?
2. Why should we study Latin American popular culture? Consider possible arguments against studying it, even if you wish to claim that it is indeed worth studying.
3. Take one of the following categories and show its significance for our understanding of Latin American popular culture: class, gender, race.
4. Can we still talk of “Latin American popular culture” even in a globalized world in which the borders between popular and elite, or culture and the market, are increasingly blurred? Consider the possibility that our object of study is at an end.
5. What are the politics of Latin American popular culture? When (and why or how) is it “resistant” or “subversive,” if it ever is? And when (and why or how) does it reinforce conventional hierarchies and relations of power, if it ever does?

So if you want to be certain to be ready for a question that will appear on the exam, you will prepare three of the above essays. If you want to take a bit of a risk, you will prepare two. If you want to throw caution to the wind, you will prepare one or none. Whichever the case, good luck!