Amerindian and Afro-Descendant Cultures
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
In a diachronic perspective spanning the Spanish conquest and the Atlantic slave trade, the course aspires to provide cultural-historical tools to frame some contemporary cultural productions (literature, film, textiles) through which indigenous and Afro-descendant communities affirm, translate and reconfigure their ethnic identity.
Expected learning outcomes
Students receive an articulated picture of the trajectories of cultural configuration of indigenous and Afro-descendant identities in Latin America.
Skills
Students acquire the ability to analyze various cultural products (texts, films, music, textiles) through the theoretical-methodological tools of decolonial studies and indigenous epistemologies.
Skills
Students acquire the ability to analyze various cultural products (texts, films, music, textiles) through the theoretical-methodological tools of decolonial studies and indigenous epistemologies.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Title: Horizons of Identity. Indigenous and Afro-descendant Thought in Latin America
The course will be held during the second semester and is titled Horizons of Identity. Indigenous and Afro-descendant Thought in Latin America. It explores cultural trajectories of identity formation and self-representation dynamics of selected Amerindian and Afro-descendant cultures, with specific focus on the geocultural areas of Colombia, Peru, and Cuba.
Adopting a diachronic perspective rooted in the Spanish conquest and the transatlantic slave trade, the course aims to provide theoretical tools to frame certain contemporary cultural productions (literature, films, textiles) through which Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities assert, translate, and reconfigure their worldviews and ethnic identities.
The course is divided into three modules, each focusing on a specific cultural region.
Module A explores key historical-cultural elements necessary to understand the impact of the Spanish conquest on Andean societies and the cultural resistance processes activated through writing. This includes an in-depth look at the relationship between orality and alphabetic writing and the dynamics of contact, imposition, and cultural syncretism in the Andean region.
Module B, dedicated to Afro-descendant cultures, provides students with an overview of the historical and cultural aspects of the Afro-descendant presence in Latin America. A case study of the Caribbean, particularly the island of Cuba, is analyzed through Afro-descendant literary and musical productions.
Module C (monographic in nature) offers an in-depth examination of cultural productions by Indigenous authors in contemporary Colombia. Through the analysis of literary and filmic works, students will explore Indigenous thought and perspectives on Latin America's present, with particular attention to conflict memory and the multiple visions of peace proposed by writers and artists from Indigenous communities such as the Emberá, Nasa, Gunadule, Wayuu, and Kamëntsa.
The course will be held during the second semester and is titled Horizons of Identity. Indigenous and Afro-descendant Thought in Latin America. It explores cultural trajectories of identity formation and self-representation dynamics of selected Amerindian and Afro-descendant cultures, with specific focus on the geocultural areas of Colombia, Peru, and Cuba.
Adopting a diachronic perspective rooted in the Spanish conquest and the transatlantic slave trade, the course aims to provide theoretical tools to frame certain contemporary cultural productions (literature, films, textiles) through which Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities assert, translate, and reconfigure their worldviews and ethnic identities.
The course is divided into three modules, each focusing on a specific cultural region.
Module A explores key historical-cultural elements necessary to understand the impact of the Spanish conquest on Andean societies and the cultural resistance processes activated through writing. This includes an in-depth look at the relationship between orality and alphabetic writing and the dynamics of contact, imposition, and cultural syncretism in the Andean region.
Module B, dedicated to Afro-descendant cultures, provides students with an overview of the historical and cultural aspects of the Afro-descendant presence in Latin America. A case study of the Caribbean, particularly the island of Cuba, is analyzed through Afro-descendant literary and musical productions.
Module C (monographic in nature) offers an in-depth examination of cultural productions by Indigenous authors in contemporary Colombia. Through the analysis of literary and filmic works, students will explore Indigenous thought and perspectives on Latin America's present, with particular attention to conflict memory and the multiple visions of peace proposed by writers and artists from Indigenous communities such as the Emberá, Nasa, Gunadule, Wayuu, and Kamëntsa.
Prerequisites for admission
The course will be held in Italian, but part of the exam bibliography requires a fair passive knowledge of Spanish (B1 level) for reading texts.
Teaching methods
The course adopts the following teaching methods: lectures, text reading and analysis, seminar-style lessons, group and individual activities.
Detailed information about the teaching methods will be posted on the course Team.
Detailed information about the teaching methods will be posted on the course Team.
Teaching Resources
Syllabus for 6 ECTS credits:
Module A:
W. Ong - Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Italian trans. 2004, pp. 1-80
M. Curatola & J.C. de la Puente - El quipu colonial, 2013, pp. 9-31; 193-244
M. Cornejo Polar - Escribir en el Aire, CELAPC, 2003
Á. Rama - La Ciudad Letrada, Arca, 1998, pp. 17-40
J. Ossio - "Las cinco edades del mundo según Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala", Revista UC, 2, 1977
J. Deler - "La ciudad colonial andina en los ojos de Guaman Poma de Ayala", Procesos, 27, 2008, pp. 5-17
S. Venturoli - Il paesaggio come testo. La costruzione di un'identità tra territorio e memoria nell'area andina, 2004
J. Estermann - Cruz y Coca, Abya Yala, 2014
Module B:
L. Scarabelli - Identità di zucchero. Immaginari nazionali e processi di fondazione nella narrativa cubana, Vol. 1 - La storia and Vol. 2 - I testi, Arcipelago, 2009 (selected chapters)
I. Bajini - "Esistere senza esistere: il grande ossimoro dell'«uomo nero» nelle Americhe". In: E. Perassi & L. Scarabelli, Itinerari di Cultura Ispanoamericana, UTET, 2011, pp. 277-294
M. Arrelucea - "Historia de esclavitud africana en el Perú desde la Conquista hasta la Abolición", Arqueología y sociedad, 15, 2004, pp. 239-278
F. Ortiz - Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar, Cátedra, 2002 (selected chapters)
L. Alicino - "El cuerpo negro de la poesía. Voz y resistencia de las mujeres afroperuanas entre siglo XX y XXI", Mitologías hoy, vol. 29(29), 2023, pp. 56-73
D. Battistessa - America Latina afrodiscendente. Una historia de (R)esistencia, Arcoiris, 2021
J.F. Manzano - Autobiografía de un esclavo, Omegalfa, 2018 (selected excerpts)
N. Guillén - Motivos del son, Biblioteca virtual, 2003 (selected poems)
M. Carillo Zegarra - Unícroma, available online (selected poems)
Additional material for 9 ECTS credits:
Module C:
W. Villa & J. Houghston - Violencia política contra los pueblos indígenas en Colombia 1974-2004, pp. 1-122
Comisión de la Verdad - Informe Final. Resistir no es aguantar, 2021, pp. 35-58
M. Rocha Vivas - Oralituras y literaturas indígenas en Colombia: de la constitución de 1991 a la Ley de Lenguas de 2010, Revista Contracorriente, 2013, 10.3, pp. 74-107
J. Duchesne Winter - Caribe, Caribana: cosmografías literarias, Ediciones Callejón, 2015, pp. 1-77
S. Ferrari - Las literaturas indígenas entre guerra y paz. Representaciones del conflicto armado en "Recuerdo mi origen", MUP, 2025
One of the following works (choose one):
C. Valencia (ed.) - Recuerdo mi origen, IDARTE, 2021
H. Jamioy - Danzantes del viento, Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia, 2010
F. Chikangana - Espíritu de Pájaro en pozos del ensueño, Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia, 2010
Berichá - Tengo los pies en la cabeza, 2022 edition
M. Rocha Vivas - Antes el amanecer (2010 - Anthology) (one chapter)
M. Rocha Vivas - El sol babea jugo de piñas (2010 - Anthology) (one chapter)
Or one of the following films:
Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra - Birds of Passage (Pájaros de verano, 2018)
Ciro Guerra - Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente, 2015)
Module A:
W. Ong - Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Italian trans. 2004, pp. 1-80
M. Curatola & J.C. de la Puente - El quipu colonial, 2013, pp. 9-31; 193-244
M. Cornejo Polar - Escribir en el Aire, CELAPC, 2003
Á. Rama - La Ciudad Letrada, Arca, 1998, pp. 17-40
J. Ossio - "Las cinco edades del mundo según Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala", Revista UC, 2, 1977
J. Deler - "La ciudad colonial andina en los ojos de Guaman Poma de Ayala", Procesos, 27, 2008, pp. 5-17
S. Venturoli - Il paesaggio come testo. La costruzione di un'identità tra territorio e memoria nell'area andina, 2004
J. Estermann - Cruz y Coca, Abya Yala, 2014
Module B:
L. Scarabelli - Identità di zucchero. Immaginari nazionali e processi di fondazione nella narrativa cubana, Vol. 1 - La storia and Vol. 2 - I testi, Arcipelago, 2009 (selected chapters)
I. Bajini - "Esistere senza esistere: il grande ossimoro dell'«uomo nero» nelle Americhe". In: E. Perassi & L. Scarabelli, Itinerari di Cultura Ispanoamericana, UTET, 2011, pp. 277-294
M. Arrelucea - "Historia de esclavitud africana en el Perú desde la Conquista hasta la Abolición", Arqueología y sociedad, 15, 2004, pp. 239-278
F. Ortiz - Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar, Cátedra, 2002 (selected chapters)
L. Alicino - "El cuerpo negro de la poesía. Voz y resistencia de las mujeres afroperuanas entre siglo XX y XXI", Mitologías hoy, vol. 29(29), 2023, pp. 56-73
D. Battistessa - America Latina afrodiscendente. Una historia de (R)esistencia, Arcoiris, 2021
J.F. Manzano - Autobiografía de un esclavo, Omegalfa, 2018 (selected excerpts)
N. Guillén - Motivos del son, Biblioteca virtual, 2003 (selected poems)
M. Carillo Zegarra - Unícroma, available online (selected poems)
Additional material for 9 ECTS credits:
Module C:
W. Villa & J. Houghston - Violencia política contra los pueblos indígenas en Colombia 1974-2004, pp. 1-122
Comisión de la Verdad - Informe Final. Resistir no es aguantar, 2021, pp. 35-58
M. Rocha Vivas - Oralituras y literaturas indígenas en Colombia: de la constitución de 1991 a la Ley de Lenguas de 2010, Revista Contracorriente, 2013, 10.3, pp. 74-107
J. Duchesne Winter - Caribe, Caribana: cosmografías literarias, Ediciones Callejón, 2015, pp. 1-77
S. Ferrari - Las literaturas indígenas entre guerra y paz. Representaciones del conflicto armado en "Recuerdo mi origen", MUP, 2025
One of the following works (choose one):
C. Valencia (ed.) - Recuerdo mi origen, IDARTE, 2021
H. Jamioy - Danzantes del viento, Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia, 2010
F. Chikangana - Espíritu de Pájaro en pozos del ensueño, Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia, 2010
Berichá - Tengo los pies en la cabeza, 2022 edition
M. Rocha Vivas - Antes el amanecer (2010 - Anthology) (one chapter)
M. Rocha Vivas - El sol babea jugo de piñas (2010 - Anthology) (one chapter)
Or one of the following films:
Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra - Birds of Passage (Pájaros de verano, 2018)
Ciro Guerra - Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente, 2015)
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral interview.
The length of the interview varies depending on the teaching units the student chooses to present and takes place in either Italian or Spanish, according to the student's preference.
The interview aims to verify the student's knowledge of the program texts, their ability to contextualize the authors and their works, and their capacity for critical and personal reflection on the proposed topics.
The final grade is expressed on a 30-point scale, and the student has the right to reject it (in which case, the result will be recorded as "withdrawn").
International or Erasmus students are encouraged to promptly contact the instructor. Exam arrangements for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders must be agreed upon with the instructor and the relevant university office.
Attending students will have the opportunity to carry out partial in-term assessments (individual written assignments and group projects).
The length of the interview varies depending on the teaching units the student chooses to present and takes place in either Italian or Spanish, according to the student's preference.
The interview aims to verify the student's knowledge of the program texts, their ability to contextualize the authors and their works, and their capacity for critical and personal reflection on the proposed topics.
The final grade is expressed on a 30-point scale, and the student has the right to reject it (in which case, the result will be recorded as "withdrawn").
International or Erasmus students are encouraged to promptly contact the instructor. Exam arrangements for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders must be agreed upon with the instructor and the relevant university office.
Attending students will have the opportunity to carry out partial in-term assessments (individual written assignments and group projects).
Modules or teaching units
Part A and B
L-LIN/06 - LATIN AMERICAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Part C
L-LIN/06 - LATIN AMERICAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)