LACA 1504W | The Political Economy of (Right-Wing) Populism: Latin America in Comparative Perspective

CLACS Cogut Visiting Professor Sebastián Etchemendy

Tuesdays | 4:00-6:30 p.m

This course examines populism as a defining, illiberal force in global politics, analyzing its theoretical foundations and diverse empirical manifestations. Students will explore the social bases and economic strategies of populist movements from the 19th century to the present, with a primary focus on Latin America and interregional comparisons with the United States and Russia. The curriculum progresses from classical social science theories to contemporary debates regarding the "Right-wing turn" of 2026, exploring the conceptual distinctions between populism, fascism, and authoritarianism. By investigating historical "classical" populism alongside the neoliberal reforms of the 1990s, the course culminates in an analysis of the modern hegemony of reactionary, exclusionary movements. Students will evaluate both demand-side economic drivers and supply-side institutional failures to understand why specific populist variants dominate the current Western political landscape.

LACA 1504U | The Gender of Debt: The Circulation of Women in Amazonia

CLACS Cogut Visiting Professor Flávia Melo da Cunha

Wednesdays | 3:00-5:30 p.m.

This course offers a critical and interdisciplinary exploration of women’s circulation in Amazonia, inspired by Denise Ferreira da Silva’s The Unpayable Debt (2024) and Octavia E. Butler’s novel Kindred: Blood Ties (2019). We will examine how Black feminist poetics challenges linear notions of time, social hierarchies, and systems of exploitation. Using Verenilde Pereira’s novel Um Rio sem Fim (1998) as a central text, the course analyzes historical and contemporary displacements of indigenous and racialized women in the Amazon, connecting these issues to transnational feminist debates on care, indebtedness, and social repair.
The course will be taught in Portuguese.

LACA 1504V | Democracy, Authoritarianism, and the Politics of Accountability in Contemporary Latin America

CLACS Cogut Visiting Professor Manoel Gehrke

Thursdays | 4:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Latin America has long been a critical testing ground for democracy. This course explores major historical and contemporary threats to democratic rule and the conditions that help sustain and strengthen it. We examine military coups, electoral authoritarianism, and other forms of institutional erosion, alongside processes of democratization and democratic resilience. The course also highlights efforts to hold political leaders accountable for abuses of power, human rights violations, and corruption, asking when these efforts succeed, when they fall short, and how they shape the prospects for democracy grounded in the rule of law.

Cross-Listed Courses:

Will be updated soon