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Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. It has the worst levels of income and wealth disparity, highest rates of homicide and extremely hierarchised social relations. This puts a major strain on the region’s development. Different types of direct, structural and cultural violence particularly affect vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as women, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendants, sexual and gender minorities and children. How can we explain the Latin American politics of inequality? Which global, regional and domestic structures underlie this dynamic? This course will give students an interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary development issues related to inequality. The first part of the course provides an overview of colonial and modern history, introducing students to the Latin American experience of European colonialism, the struggle for independence and later extensive periods of political violence in the context of the Cold War. A second part looks at the ’new democracies of the Global South’ and the role of international human rights in the fight against inequality. The idea of a rights-based approach to development is discussed in comparison to alternative models of development. Third, the seminar moves from theory to practice. It examines specific human rights issues that dominate people’s everyday lives (for example, racism, child labour and violence against women) and evaluates state responses. |
