Coming into this class, I was a bit apprehensive because I had no prior knowledge about Latin America. However, I can now say I’ve learned a lot and I hope to take more courses like this at UBC. Gaining insight on another area’s history and culture takes you out of your bubble. I remember during the first class, the three words I used to describe South America had to do with beaches and tourism. The answer I have at the end of the semester is drastically different. I would say diversity, perseverance and darkness With so much rich history belonging to each country, every week was significant in its own way.My goal was to learn something new. I’ve gone beyond that. There is a new level understanding, eagerness to learn and exposure to another side of the world. I hope to keep up with current issue and complete independent research on topics I find interesting.This week’s lecture was titled “Towards an Uncertain Future” could not be a more accurate way to describe the state of Latin America as of right now. Looking back at prior chapters of this course, we saw the negative effects of colonialism, outside intervention, modernity, independence and more. Yet, the people of Latin America are able to endure hardships and obstacles in their way. No one can guess what the future holds especially considering all that is going on in the world. To end off with, I’ve really enjoyed this course and will really miss everything about it.
Discussion Questions:
Can you make any inferences about the future of Latin America?
Out of each chapter of the syllabus, what was the most interesting week for you?