2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

SPPO3670 Crime and Punishment in Contemporary Latin American Culture

20 creditsClass Size: 18

Module manager: Danny Evans
Email: smldev@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Pre-requisites

SPPO2010

Practical Lang Skill Spanish 2

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module aims to give students a broad understanding of the relationship between culture and crime in contemporary Latin America. Students will be required to study and analyse materials in Spanish and or a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese. It is also designed to enable them to develop their ability to analyse and comment on cultural artefacts, both filmic and literary, which address or are symptomatic of a range of key issues in the topic. By the end of the module students should have developed an awareness of the ways in which crime is a culturally and historically constructed category which has shifted alongside changing conceptions of Latin American modernity.

Objectives

This module aims to give students a broad understanding of the relationship between culture and crime in contemporary Latin America. It is designed to enable students to develop their ability to analyse and comment on cultural artefacts, both filmic and literary, which address or are symptomatic of a range of key issues in the topic. By the end of the module students should have developed an awareness of the ways in which crime is a culturally and historically constructed category which has shifted alongside changing conceptions of Latin American modernity.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- demonstrate a sound understanding of, and critical approach to contexts, concepts, and key topics in the field
- demonstrate a grasp of the relationship between culture and crime in Latin America

Skills outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- show critical awareness of theoretical issues around crime and punishment and make use of critical vocabulary to engage with the texts and films

Syllabus

The module will give an introduction to the historical and contemporary context of crime in Latin America. Students will be introduced to some of the theoretical ideas behind critical criminology, post-structuralist approaches to crime and their relationships to theories cultural hegemony. They will be applied to a range of texts and films that explore key topics in the area. The titles of the 10 lectures will be as follows:
1. Introduction: Culture and Crime in Latin America
2. Coloniality and the Prison: Race and Ethnicity in Dichosos los que lloran by Ángel Santiesteban (short stories)
3. Queer Crimes: Sexual and Textual Deviance in Antes que anochezca (1991) (autobiography or film) OR Estação Carandiru by Drauzio Varella
4. The Production of Crime: Origins of the Brazilian Drug Gangs in Salve Geral and Quatrocentos contra um: Uma historia do Comando Vermelho
5. Police Violence: Jose Padilha’s Ônibus 174 (2002) (documentary)
6. Securitisation and Militarisation: Rodrigo Plá’s La zona (2007) (film)
7. Crime as Genre: Luis Ospina’s Soplo de vida (1999) (film) OR Do Meio do Mundo Prostituto Só Amores Guardei ao Meu Charuto by Rubem Fonseca (1997, novella)
9. Gender, Economic and Border Violence: Sangre en el desierto: las muertas de Juárez by Alicia Gaspar de Alba (2008) (novel)
8. Subaltern Perspectives on the War on Drugs: Bajo la sombra del guamúchil by the Colectiva hermanas en la sombra (2013) (poetry and stories) OR Sobrevivente André Du Rap by Bruno Zeni
10. Alternatives to Punishment: Community and Indigenous justice in Los muertos incómodos by Subcomandante Marcos and Paco Ignacio Taibo II (2005) (novel)

The module will consist of interactive lectures and seminars that will encourage students to take an active role in all aspects of their learning.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	10	1.00	10.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			180.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Reading and preparation for seminars: 90 hrs
Preparation for seminar presentation: 20 hrs
Researching and writing the module essays: 70 hrs

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Student progress will be monitored through in-class discussion.
For the in-class assessed presentations, groups of students will be encouraged to consult with the tutor in advance to ensure that their plans are suitable.
Equally, students will be encouraged to discuss essay plans with the tutor in advance to ensure that they are on the right track before submission.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	3000 word comparative essay drawing together material from at least 2 of the lecture topics. Text analysed cannot be the same as the one in the literature review.	60.00
Literature Review	1500 review of theoretical literature and application of that theory to a single text.	30.00
Oral Presentation	15 minutes in small groups (2 students)	10.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Should any group of students fail the verbal presentation they will be given an alternative form of assessment (an essay or series of short answer questions) to complete individually by way of resit.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 12/09/2017

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