Ecuador

Associate Professor Fra-Molinero (Bates, Spanish) and Assistant Professor Yepes (Bowdoin, Spanish)
During fall semester 1999 Bates students may join students from Bowdoin and Colby colleges in the study of Latin American history and culture and Spanish language in Ecuador. The program is headquartered in Quito at the Andean Center for Latin American Studies.

Ecuador is an eloquent example of a Latin American country re-creating its national identity as it straddles the forces of tradition and modernity, unity and diversity. In recent years the monolithic concept of Ecuador has been challenged by notions of multiculturalism and a "plurinational" Ecuador, where indigenous peoples and Afro-Ecuadorians have the same rights as Euro-Ecuadorians. The CBB Off-Campus Study Program in Ecuador offers students an opportunity for advanced preparation toward a major in Spanish or Latin American studies, though students with other academic interests are also encouraged to participate.

Courses

001. Advanced Spanish Grammar and Composition. Taught by the faculty of the Andean Center for Latin American Studies. Students are placed in small-group classes for daily discussions, conversation, essay writing, and other activities to build language proficiency. Prerequisite(s): four semesters of college-level Spanish or the equivalent. Staff.

002. The Invention of Latin America. A historical survey from pre-Hispanic times to the twentieth century. Students read Eduardo Galeano's Memoria del fuego and study the work of Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamín. Prerequisite(s): four semesters of college-level Spanish or the equivalent. B. Fra-Molinero.

003. Ecuador: A "Plurinational" Project. An inquiry into the politics of representation in Ecuador. Students examine the foundational narratives of the nineteenth century such as Juan León Mera's canonical novel, Cumanda ó un drama entre salvajes; the experimentalism of the early twentieth century in the works of Pablo Palacio and Jorge Carrera Andrade; the indigenism of the 1930s in Jorge Icaza's Huasipungo; and contemporary debates on gender, ethnicity, class, modernity, and globalism in the works of Adalberto Ortiz, Jorge Enrique Adoum, Alicia Yáñez Cossío, and Aminta Buenaño. Prerequisite(s): four semesters of college-level Spanish or the equivalent. E. Yepes.

004. Independent Research. Students undertake an independent research project of their own design. Projects may include internships, fieldwork, or pre-thesis research. Possible research topics include an examination of the structure and history of the Abya-Yala Cultural Center in Quito; the study of a contemporary writer, artist, or musician; or a review of the impact of ecotourism in Río Blanco in Eastern Ecuador. Prerequisite(s): four semesters of college-level Spanish or the equivalent. Staff.

United Kingdom

Professors Andrucki (Bates, Theater), Goodridge (Bowdoin, English), and Mackenzie (Colby, Government); Associate Professors Harwood (Bates, Art) and Rodman (Colby, Government and International Studies)
During fall semester 1999, Bates students may join students from Bowdoin and Colby colleges in the study of comparative government and British art and architecture in London at the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin London Centre. During winter semester 2000, courses are planned in the performing arts, modern and contemporary British literature and culture, and U.S. and European international policy.

Students register for three courses from one of two programs of concentration, as well as a fourth from among those offered outside the area of concentration.

Fall 1999 Courses

Art History

001. The Romantic Landscape. Changing conceptions of nature and of our individual, social, economic, and national relationships are central to our understanding of Romanticism and its emergence in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The course examines these issues through the great landscape gardens of the eighteenth century, such as Stowe, Blenheim, Stourhead, and Painshill, and the rise of landscape as an important subject in paintings by Constable, Turner, and others. E. Harwood.

002. From the Gothic Revival to the Arts and Crafts Movement. The course focuses on the continuities and transformations of artistic and social ideas between the Gothic revivalism of A.W.N. Pugin in the 1830s and the Arts and Crafts movement that emerged in the 1860s and remained an important presence in architecture and design through the rest of the century. Close attention is paid to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, William Morris, and the continued presence of these ideas into early twentieth-century modernism. E. Harwood.

003. The Architecture of London. This course traces the history of London architecture and includes numerous walking trips around the city. Staff.

Comparative Government

004. Policy Making in Great Britain and the United States. A comparative examination of the policy-making process in England and the United States, focusing especially on public opinion formation and expression, political conflict resolution, decision-making models and procedures, and institutional roles. Topics for discussion include procedures of policy analysis, the formation of national budgets, immigration, responses to the AIDS epidemic, welfare, national health care, and treatment of the elderly. Students meet and discuss these issues with British policy advocates, policy analysts, and government officials. G. Mackenzie.

005. Democracy at the Millennium. Why did democracy, a rare form of government for most of human history, flower so dramatically at the end of the twentieth century? What are the characteristics and varieties of late twentieth-century democracy? What threats have newly-emergent democracies faced and how have they responded to those? Why do democracies not thrive everywhere? What role is democracy likely to play in the government of nations in the twenty-first century? What effects will such twenty-first-century challenges as global economy, the information and communications revolutions, terrorism, ethnic nationalism, population growth, and shortages of critical resources have on the emergence and survival of democracies? These questions are the focus of this seminar. G. Mackenzie.

006. The European Union. As the twentieth century ends, the nations of Europe embark on one of the most comprehensive efforts at regional cooperation ever undertaken. This course explores the recent history of international relations in Europe, the context and historical development of the European Union, the nature of the union itself, and the prospects and problems it faces in the future. Staff.

Electives

007. Text and Performance I. A course designed to make students informed theater-goers. Through attendance at twelve major professional productions and the reading of the texts upon which they are based, this course gives students an overview of London's current theater season as well as an introduction to various types of theater. Enrollment limited to 15. Staff.

008. London: History through Literature. This course explores the history of London through its literature and art. It looks at the ways in which writers over the last three hundred years have responded to the city, and at the contemporary novelists who are turning to its past in order to understand the cultural and political challenges of modern London. Staff.

Winter 2000 Courses

Performing Arts

009. Text and Performance II. This course is a study of the relationship of dramatic text to theatrical performance in the contemporary London theater. A variety of types of theater is explored. Students attend twelve productions. Assignments include exams, quizzes, and analytical papers. Staff.

010. Acting. The course introduces students to basic or advanced techniques of acting, depending on previous experience. Advanced students may study auditioning as well. Staff.

011. Voice and Movement. Advanced study of voice and movement by professional coaches. Staff.

012. The Modern Stage: Theory and Practice. A study of modern playwriting, acting, and staging practices in the light of influential theories about the nature and purpose of theater and drama. Theoretical texts range from Plato to the present. Students also read a variety of plays with an emphasis on English and Irish authors. M. Andrucki.

Modern Contemporary British Literature and Culture

013. Bloomsbury: Then and Now. This course considers the extraordinary range of cultural production (fiction, letters, journals, memoir, criticism, visual arts, and Roger Fry's Omega workshops) that emerged from the Bloomsbury community in London in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Authors include E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, and Vita Sackville-West. Students also examine the art of Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, and Dora Carrington, as well as Roger Fry's contributions. Memoirs by the heirs of Bloomsbury are also considered, including those by Angelica Garnett, Nigel Nicolson, and Quentin Bell. The course includes several field trips within London. C. Goodridge.

014. Contemporary British Literature and Culture. This course examines contemporary British cultural production across genres (fiction, poetry, and drama) and disciplines (literature, film, and visual art). Students read fiction by Angela Carter, Pat Barker, and Jeanette Winterson; poetry by Thom Gunn, Tony Harrison, and others; and drama by Caryl Churchill and Timberlake Wertenbaker. They also consider the work of Derek Jarman, Francis Bacon, and recipients of and finalists for the Turner Prize. Students regularly attend theatrical performances, readings, films, and art exhibitions in London. C. Goodridge.

International Studies

015. European-American Relations. This course provides an overview of U.S. relations with Western Europe. It examines areas of conflict and cooperation during the Cold War and explores how the end of the Cold War has changed that relationship. The first half of the course provides a historical overview of European-American relations from the origins of the Cold War in the late 1940s through the resurgence and end of the Cold war in the 1980s. The second half examines contemporary issues such as NATO expansion, intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo, the promotion of democracy in Eastern Europe and Russia, the resolution of trade conflicts, and the impact of European integration on U.S.-European relations. K. Rodman.

016. Multilateralism and American Foreign Policy. The course examines the relative merits of unilateral versus multilateral approaches by examining U.S. and allied perspectives in the following areas: the role of the United Nations or NATO in the use of force, export controls, nonproliferation, the role of the World Trade Organization, unilateral sanctions such as the Helms-Burton law, human rights and the International Criminal Court, and the land mine treaty. K. Rodman.

Elective

007. Text and Performance I. A course designed to make students informed theater-goers. Through attendance at twelve major professional productions and the reading of the texts upon which they were based, this course gives students an overview of London's current theater season as well as an introduction to various types of theater. Enrollment limited to 15. Staff.

© 1999 Bates College. All Rights Reserved. Last modified: 8/12/99 by Ngan Dinh