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AN/LT 364-THE MAKING OF PATAGONIA: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

IES Abroad Buenos Aires Syllabus
DESCRIPTION: The aim of this course is to explore representations about Patagonia linking past and
present from an interdisciplinary approach that combines Anthropology and Literature. It is composed of
two segments taught by an anthropologist and a writer, linked by a trip to the Province of Ro Negro. The
courses intention is that students have an immersion in the socio-historical, natural and cultural diversity
of the Argentinean Patagonia, opening the possibility for them to develop a comparative perspective that
involves their experiences in Buenos Aires, as well as their daily experiences in the U.S.
INSTRUCTORS:
Lic. Mara Sonia Cristoff, graduated from Universidad de Buenos Aires. Writer, mscristoff@gmail.com
Dr. Mariela Eva Rodrguez, graduated from Georgetown University. Professor at Universidad de Buenos
Aires and researcher at the National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (Consejo Nacional
de Investigaciones Cientficas y Tcnicas, CONICET), marielaeva@gmail.com
Class time: Tuesday and Thursday from 3 pm to 4.30 pm
METHOD OF PRESENTATION:
Oriented by an anthropological perspective, the aim of the first section is contrasting representations
about the territory and indigenous peoples both from a colonial and a republican perspective (chroniclers,
religious and scientists reports) with self-representations by indigenous today (expressed through
interviews, writings, films and newspapers), particularly Tehuelche and Mapuche People.The sections
topics are about (a) forced incorporation of indigenous people to the nation and land dispossession, (b)
discourses that consider Tehuelche People as the true Argentinean Indians who have been extinguished
and Mapuche People as Chilean invaders (the so called araucanization process), and (c) appropriation
of the indigenous people by the museums (museologizacin) in the context of racist theories. During this
anthropological immersion, the students will acquire some ethnographic tools (including participant
observation, auto-ethnography and a multi-sited location) through a critical reading of the sources included
in the syllabus as well as through a short fieldwork in the city.
The second section of this program will be focused on analyzing cultural constructions on the Patagonian
territory as they appear in different literary forms. Among this vast field of constructions, we will
concentrate on Patagonia as (1) A territory of political and social tensions, as opposed to the widely
spread notion of touristic paradise, (2) A place more than suitable for private and collective utopias of
getting a new life. The political conditions behind, (3) A region that, since the very beginnings of Argentine
nation, had, and still has, an ambiguous kind of cultural inclusion. How this affects nowadays the
production of writers working in Patagonia (called in situ here) and their own inclusion in the Argentine
literay canon, mostly based in Buenos Aires, 4) A destiny where recent travel writers have started looking
for literary material instead of the factual and strategic information that used to be the goal of traditional
travel writers to the region. In parallel, this section will explore the differences between fictional and non
fictional narratives, and depict their specific strategies and techniques. The aim of this section is making
students aware of the capacity of literature to inspire critical thinking, and to get to know some of its main
narrative techniques. Focusing in the creative use of language that characterizes literature, it also expects
to broaden the students level of Spanish.
Throughout the course, students will visit one of the museums related with Indigenous People (the Museo
Etnogrfico Ambrosetti or the Natural Museum of Social Sciences in La Plata) and, during the trip to
Bariloche and surroundings they will visit the primary school located in los Barrios Altos of Bariloche,
where both an educational and social work takes place, and the gallery where Toon Maes pictures are

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exhibited. We will be visited by four guest lecturers: doctoral candidate Celina San Martn, mapuche
activist Victorina Mellipan Antieco, Historian Dr. Andrs Levinson, and Writer Hebe Uhart. During their
fieldtrip to Ro Negro, their program of activities will include a conference delivered by HistorianAnthropologist Fabiana Nahuelquir, Mapuche activist-artist Andrea Cauqueo, Ethno-Botanic Dra. Ana
Ladio and writers Graciela Cros and Guadalupe Muro. The course will be taught entirely in Spanish and
students will receive 3 credits.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: Spanish
REQUIRED WORK AND FORM OF ASSESSMENT:
Class Participation: students will have to be prepared to make comments and questions related to the
materials assigned and should be able to articulate answers and personal points of view on the topics
treated in the course. Students are expected to become active readers both of literature and anthropology,
which means not only being able to answer properly to the questions they will find in their reading
guides but also to take part in creative discussions and provide personal, even bold hypothesis and
interpretations. Previous to the visit of our guests, they are expected to prepare five or six substantial
questions to interview them. Final grade will increase a third of a letter grade, go down, or remain the
same depending on your very good, regular, or deficient participation.
Reports: (20%) During the first section, students will write 2 fieldwork reports (3 pages double spaced
each) where they reflect about their own experiences and observations (taking into account particularly
the everyday life in Argentina and the academic excursions to the museums). They will be able to relate
them to the topics and concepts treated in class. During the second section, students will write one Essay
in the form of a critical analysis (3 pages double spaced each) in which they will describe and discuss
representations of Patagonia on one side and, on the other, the different narrative devices and strategies
used by the authors whether they are writing fiction or non fiction. Those Essays that do not fulfill the
academic requirements on the first version will have to be written again
Mid-Term Essay: (35%) essays following the same methodology employed in the fieldwork reports written
during the first section (reflections on the narrated experience related to the concepts and information
analyzed in class), students should choose one of them (or both) and rewrite it after de trip to Bariloche.
The last version will be the Mid-Term Essay (4 to 6 pages double space), which will expose the process of
being immersed into the topics.
Final Exam: (35%) students will be required to write an Essay focused on the work of just one of all the
authors discussed in class. As an introduction, before going further in the analysis of that piece of either
fiction or non fiction, they will have to expose their view on the narrative genre they chose and its capacity
to reveal a territory, a culture. Their essay (4 to 6 pages double spaced) will have to articulate a personal
opinion that is both aware of the literary representations of Patagonia and the narrative techniques
analized during the section. Actual examples from texts analyzed in class are expected as part of the
argumentation.
Oral Presentations: (10%) there will be two presentations per student. During the first section, the oral
presentation will be a summary of the Mid-Term Essay. Students will be able to show how their
perceptions have changed in the meantime. During the second section, each student is expected to make
an oral presentation related with the main materials analyzed in class and their possible connection with
the requirements of the Final Exam Essay.
The Mid-Term and the Final Exam are not cumulative (35% of final grade each; 70% total). Late
assignments or exams will not be accepted unless previously authorized and for valid reasons only
(illness, etc.). It is required that students use grammar and spelling check in every essay and
review their writings with any Spanish professor in IES. Students in this course will be expected to
comply with IESs Policies on Academic Integrity.

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Attendance:
Students are expected to attend all classes, unless they are ill. Check for attendance policy guidelines in
the IES Student Guidebook. Absent students are responsible for acquiring relevant class notes and
handouts from fellow students. Work assigned in a students absence is not to be given a later deadline
without prior agreement with the instructor.
Academic integrity:
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with IES policy of academic integrity and for
adhering to it. Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will result in course failure.
Student evaluation:
Students will conduct a written evaluation at the end of the semester. They are encouraged to speak early
in the semester with faculty about any difficulties they are having in the course. If the difficulties cannot be
resolved to the satisfaction of both student and faculty, either is encouraged to meet with the academic
director.
Grading Scale
A
B+
BC
D+
D-

93-100%
87-89.9%
80-82.9
73-76.9%
67-69.9%
60-62.9%

AB
C+
CD
F

90-92.9%
83-86.9%
77-79.9%
70-72.9%
63-66.9%
below 60%

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Relate their own experience in Argentina, and particularly in Patagonia, to the materials and key
concepts discussed in class.

Develop observations in (auto) ethnographic essays.

Outline some of the main concepts involved in Patagonias cultural construction from the desert to
the utopian territory for a new beginning, either personal or collective; from the spur for the
imagination to political and social tensions- and analyze how they function in literary narratives.

Discuss the way in which fiction and non fiction imply different techniques and approaches to
Patagonia as a topic.

Have developed the ability to read literature and essays not as entertainment but as a specific and
enriching means for analyzing cultural phenomena.

Analyze the ambiguous inclusion of the Patagonian region to the nation and thus try to understand
Argentinas never fully accomplished project of becoming a federal country. Discuss the idea of
regional identity in terms of essences and be able to explain the versions and tensions involved in
the construction of a Patagonian or any other- culture.

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CONTENT
FIRST SECTION

WEEK

TOPICS
Syllabus presentation

March
19th

READINGS FOR THE CLASS AND

ASSIGNMENTS
Writing in class a brief text telling why
they chose to do this course and which
is their view on Patagonia

Thick description:
a short guideline

March
21st

01-Geertz, Cliford (pp.3-30), 1973.

1st Fieldwork Oral Report (in class)

Week 1

Week 2
First contact:
The invention of the America
(16th Century)
Easter Holidays
Week 3

National Holiday
Ro Negros Peculiarities

March
26th

02-Pigafetta (pp.33-51), 1524-5

02B-Sarmiento de Gamboa (pp. 6-13,
44-50, 102-121)

March
28th
April
2nd
April
4th

Indigenous People and social

geographies in neoliberal times

03-Cauqueo, Kropff, Rodrguez, Vivaldi

(130-151), 2005
04-Fancines de la Campaa de
Autoafirmacin Mapuche Wefkvletuyi
Estamos Resurgiendo

Mapuche research, theater and

performances
Week 4
Ro Negros Peculiarities

April
9th

TRIP TO RO NEGRO

April
11th to
April
14th

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Guest: Historian Andrs Levinson, a

lecture on the history of Bariloche
Guests: (a) Mapuche artist Andrea
Cauequeo Mapurbe, Campaa de
Autoafirmacin Mapuche (b)
Mapuche Historian Fabiana
Nahuelquir, (c) visit to the local
museum.
Visit to the primary school Aldea
Infantil Bariloche. Interview with the
director, who does both an
educational and social work, and
participation in activities with local
students
Visit to the exhibition of the paintings
by Toon Maes, the Nazi fugitive who

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became the most emblematic visual
artist in Bariloche
Guests: Writers Graciela Cros and
Guadalupe Muro
Guest: Ethno-Botanic Dr. Ana Ladio
Week 5

05-Lois (pp.107-135), 2007

06-Moreno (pp. 49-112), 1897

Building a Nation:
Araucanization discourse (from
19th Century to the present)

April
16th

Building a Nation:
Cartographic appropriation of
indigenous territories
(19th Century)

April
18th

07-Lenton (pp.1-22), 1998

08-Aranda (48-58), 2010

Science and Museologization

April
23rd

Visit to a Museum: Ambrosetti (Buenos

Aires) or Museo Nacional de Ciencias
Naturales (La Plata)

Science and Museologization

April
25th

09-Imbelloni (pp. 5-58), 1949

Oral Presentation: advance of the MidTerm Essay

Week 6

2nd Fieldwork Written Report on a visit

to a museum (3 pages)

Racial and linguistic

classifications (20th Century)
Week 7
IES Mid-semester break
Week 8

Mapuche knowledges,
experiences and claims

April
30th to
May 2nd
May 7th

Guest: Victorina Mellipan Antieco (or

09B-Victorina Spoja). Read her interview
before the class (pp. 1-10), 2007.
Grupo Guas (short book of
photographs), 2008.
Film: Inacayal: La negacin de nuestra
identidad (it should be seen before the
class). Dir. Myriam Angueira y Guillermo
Glass

Tehuelche recoverings:
territories and the aonek o a
yen language

May 9th

10-Rodrguez and Bilbao Copolque

(newspaper interview, pp. 1-9), 2012
Mid-Term Essay due date (4 to 6
pages). This 3rd Fieldwork Written
Report is the last version of the
ethnographic experience.
Oral Presentation and students

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evaluation.

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SECOND SECTION
Week 9

Literature and Experience:

reflecting on the differences and
confluences between concepts
read in books and first hand
experiences
The Reverse of the Postcard:
Patagonia as territory of political
and social tensions. Analyzing
fiction written in situ

Week 10

May
14th

May
16th

11-Analyzing Textual Attitude in class

as defined in Orientalism (pp 122-124)
by Edward Said
12-All arriba, short story by Emilio Di
Tata Roitberg
Analyzing the devices of fiction

May
21st

13-Mosquita muerta, short story by

Emilio Di Tata Roitberg
Analyzing the devices of fiction

On the Road:
Patagonia as a glimpse.
Analyzing non fiction by a
Buenos Aires based writer

May
23rd

14-Digresiones sobre la voz narrativa,

critical analysis on Hebe Uharts work by
Alberto Giordano
Discussing the protocol of a piece of
critical analysis

Week 11

May
28th
15-La Patagonia manzanera,
travel writing piece by Hebe Uhart
Analyzing the devices of non fiction
May
30th
Guest: Writer Hebe Uhart

Week 12

June
4th
A Perfect Hideaway: Patagonia
as an emblematic place to forget
the past and acquire a new
identity. The Nazis in the South.
Analizing non fiction written in
situ

Handing in a critical analysis (3 pages

double spaced) reflecting on both
narrative devices and the
representations of Patagonia as they
appear in the fictional and non fictional
pieces mentioned above
16-El pintor de la Suiza Argentina,
non fiction narrative by Esteban Buch
(chapters 1, 2, 3) +
17- Los dos reyes y los dos laberintos,

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short story by Jorge Luis Borges
Analyzing the devices of non fiction
June
6th

Handing in a second version of the

critical analysis in those cases
considered necessary
18-El pintor de la Suiza Argentina,
non fiction narrative by Esteban Buch
(chapters 17 & 18)
Analyzing the devices of non fiction
Debate: your position towards a new
exhibition of Maes works

Week 13

June
11th

On the Road II:

Patagonia as territory for the
imagination. Analyzing fiction by
a writer and a film maker, both
based in Buenos Aires

Week 14

June
13th

Pacto de silencio, documentary film by

Carlos Echeverra (it should be seen
before the class)
19-Agosto, novel by Romina Paula
(chapters 1-7)
Analyzing the devices of fiction

June
18th

El aura, movie by Fabin Bielinsky (it

should be seen before the class)

June
20th
National Holiday
Week 15
The Clash:
Tensions between the Rural and
Urban in Patagonia. Analyzing
fiction written in situ

June
25th

Discussing orally the prompt for the Final

Essay
20-Bandolera inglesa, short story by
Luisa Peluffo

June
27th

Final Exam due date

Students Evaluation

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REQUIRED READINGS
Aranda, Daro. 2010. Argentina originaria. Genocidios, saqueos y resistencias. Buenos Aires: Lavacca
(pp.48-58).
http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/la-historia-silenciada-de-villa-la-angostura/
http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/un-juicio-publico-al-general-roca-que-apunta-aremover-su-monumento/
http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/huellas-de-la-campana-del-desierto/
http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/el-debate-mapuche/
http://darioaranda.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/la-soja-desembarca-en-la-patagonia/
http://www.pagina12.com.ar/imprimir/diario/sociedad/3-163821-2011-03-10.html
Buch, Esteban. 1991. El pintor de la Suiza argentina. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana.
Cauqueo, Kropff, Rodrguez, Vivaldi. Tierras, indios y zonas en Ro Negro. En Cartografas Argentinas.
Polticas indigenistas y formaciones provinciales de alteridad (pp.130-151), 2005.
Di Tata Roitberg, Emilio. 2008. Mosquita muerta y otros cuentos. Bariloche: Letras de la Patagonia.
Geertz, Clifford. 1973. Thick description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture". In The Interpretation
of Cultures: Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books (pp. 3-30).
Giordano, Alberto. 2010. Digresiones sobre la voz narrativa. De Hebe Uhart a Ins Acevedo, en Actas
del Segundo Coloquio Internacional. Escrituras del yo. Rosario: Universidad Nacional de Rosario
Guas. 2008. Identificacin y restitucin: Colecciones de restos humanos en el Museo de La Plata, ed.
Pepe, Fernando M., Miguel An Surez, Patricio Harrison. La Plata: Grupo Universitario en
Antropologa Social.
Lenton, D. 1998. Los araucanos en la Argentina: Un caso de interdiscursividad nacionalista. III Congreso
Chileno
de
Antropologa.
Temuco,
Chile,
12
de
noviembre
(pp.
1-22).
http://www.ceppas.org/gajat/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=90
Lois, Carla. 2007. La Patagonia en el mapa de la Argentina moderna. Poltica y deseo territorial en la
cartografa oficial argentina en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. En Paisajes del progreso. La
resignificacin de la Patagonia Norte, 1880-1916, ed. P. Navarro Floria. Neuqun: Educo.
Moreno, Francisco P. 1999[1897]. Apuntes preliminares sobre una excursin al Neuqun Ro Negro,
Chubut y Santa Cruz. Buenos Aires: El elefante blanco (pp. 27-31 y 49-112).
Paula, Romina. 2009. Agosto. Buenos Aires: Entropa
Peluffo, Luisa. 2012. Se llaman valijas. Buenos Aires: Grgola Ediciones
Pigafetta, Antonio. Primer Viaje en Torno al globo. 1922 [1524-25]. Madrid: Calpe (pp.33-51).
Rodrguez, Mariela y Jos Bilbao Copolque. 2012. De objetos de exposicin a sujetos con historia
http://galeriabariloche.com/notas/gestion-cultural/561-de-objetos-de-exposicion-a-sujetos-conhistoria
Said, Edward. 1990. Orientalismo. Madrid: Editorial Libertarias
Sarmiento de Gamboa. 1954. Viajes al Estrecho de Magallanes 1579-1584. Buenos Aires: Emec.(pp. 613, 44-50, 102-121).
Uhart, Hebe. 2012. Visto y odo. Buenos Aires: Adriana Hidalgo Editora
FILMS
Bielinsky, Fabin. El aura (2005)
Echeverra, Carlos. Pacto de silencio (2008)
Inacayal. La negacin de nuestra identidad (2011). Dir. Myriam Angueira y Guillermo Glass.
Kay
Kay
egu
Xeg
Xeg.
Campaa
de
Autoafirmacin
Mapuche
Wefkvletuyin.
http://hemi.nyu.edu/cuaderno/wefkvletuyin/KayKay.htm

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