PHIL 4010 Introduction to Latin American Philosophy

This course introduces students to Latin American philosophy. We begin with colonial debates over conquest, natural rights, and Indigenous sovereignty, focusing on the debate between Bartolom de las Casas and Juan Gins de Seplveda. We then examine nineteenth and early twentieth century debates over independence and reactions against positivism. The course next turns to twentieth century questions raised by Latin American philosophers about whether there is such a thing as 'Latin American philosophy' as a distinct tradition, alongside debates over identity, dependence, and liberation. This period includes phenomenological and existentialist approaches. We conclude with late twentieth and twenty first century work on decolonial thought and feminism. Readings may include Las Casas, Seplveda, Jos Vasconcelos, Emilio Uranga, Jorge Portilla, Enrique Dussel, Anbal Quijano, Mara Lugones, Santiago Castro Gmez, and others.