Course Title: “Blackness in Latin America”
Taught By: Assistant Professor of Spanish Lina Martínez Hernández
Says Martínez Hernández:
This semester the class “Blackness in Latin America ” is partnering with the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, an organization that offers radical welcome to all migrants arriving in the city. As part of this community-engaged learning class supported through the CPGC, the students are creating pedagogical materials for NSM’s Political Education curriculum. This class, in particular, is focusing on creating historical guides and lesson plans for future community instructors who will be facilitating antiracist workshops for new members of NSM. With this aim, the class operates through a transnational approach to notions and experiences around Blackness, creating all of the materials with the main purpose of reducing harm and bringing awareness and resources to discuss anti-Black racism in Latinx and migrant communities in the U.S.
Together with NSM, we are committed to building a sustainable partnership based on mutuality, popular education, and collective co-creation. For the past three years, we have worked together to build different pedagogical materials and spaces needed by Spanish-speaking communities in Philadelphia, starting with digital literacy. Now, as we moved towards the development of materials and resources for NSM’s Political Education curriculum, we consider it was a great opportunity to encourage students taking the class “Blackness in Latin America” to get involved and use the fields and discussions we are having in class to co-create materials and reflections that can benefit communities beyond our campus.
This course is an unusual offering in the department because the class is asking students to use their language skills for a purpose that serves Spanish-speaking communities. It is also asking students to bring their own understandings, questions, conflicts, and difficult emotions surrounding conversations and strategies to undo anti-Black racism, but now guided by a transnational approach that favors a global understanding of Blackness.
Learn more about other courses offered by the Latin American, Iberian, and Latinx Studies Program.
