Teaching & Courses
My interdisciplinary research experience enhances my formal training in history, influencing my teaching methodology. History is a dynamic discipline that involves studying, analyzing, and interpreting the intricate human experience from various perspectives; however, many students perceive it merely as a monotonous task of memorizing dates and facts. This perception is notably prominent in Caribbean history and is frequently regarded as a portal to the examination of culturally distinct and exotic regions. Each class presents a new opportunity to address these misconceptions. Historical knowledge should be understood as a dynamic and interpretive process rather than a mere static collection of facts from the past. By promoting student engagement in:
1. Critically engage with primary sources.
2. Examine various historical accounts.
3. Relate historical occurrences to current challenges
4. Formulate independent historical arguments,
I seek to shift their comprehension of history from passive memorization to active and pertinent inquiry. This method enhances historical understanding and fosters critical thinking skills relevant to various fields.
Teaching is a continuous process that must improve with time, commitment, and the implementation of scientifically proven strategies. That is why, in every class, I make a conscious effort to bring the same enthusiasm and excitement that led me to study history and Caribbean societies. Nonetheless, my motivation is compelled by a sense of responsibility to convey the importance of inquisitive and critical minds in becoming socially responsible citizens, no matter where they live or what they do.
Photo: Angel Viera-Vargas
Popular Music of the Hispanic Caribbean
Through a careful examination of key works from a range of intellectuals and disciplines, the course will provide students with the tools to think critically about the socio-historical, economic, political, cultural, and transnational contexts that influence the formation of diverse musical expressions in the Hispanic Caribbean.
Photo: Angel Viera-Vargas
Cuba and Puerto Rico in the American Century
This course will make an in-deep study of the history of Cuba and Puerto Rico from the 20th century to the present day. It will explore their past socio-economic realities and political struggles under the shadows of the American presence in the region.
Photo: Angel Viera-Vargas
Music and Nationalism in Latin America
The course will examine the close relationship between the musical practices and the construction of the nation-state and national identities in Latin America. The course will posit that most of the Latin American nations searched for a music that could distinguish them from neighboring countries. The problem, of course, is who decides and how the music styles represent each country. We will explore how contesting views on the relation between music and the nation emerged in the multicultural Caribbean and Latin American countries, and how each of these sonorous interpretations are intersected by issues of race, gender, and class
Photo: Angel Viera-Vargas
Introduction to Caribbean & Latin American Studies
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Photo: Angel Viera-Vargas
Music of the African Diaspora in Latin America & the Caribbean
This course is a conceptual and thematic exploration of the music of the African Diaspora in Latin America. We will l study an array of folkloric and popular music from the Caribbean and Latin America that has been a central vehicle of negotiation and affirmation of Afro-diasporic identities in the past and present.
Photo: Angel Viera-Vargas
From Conjunto to Latin Trap: A History of Latinx Music in the US
Is Latinx music American music? Or is it just Latin American music created and consumed in the United States? How people and music of Latin American descent have influenced music and music-making in America? In this course, we will read a range of scholars from the social sciences and humanities that have studied Latinx music as the result of a syncretic process that arises from the transformation of multiple musical traditions from Latin America and the Caribbean in a new social and aesthetic milieu.
Beyond the Dream: Latinx History in Critical Perspective
People of Latin American descent have an often-ignored long history in the United States. This historical silence has been at the service of an ideology that has created Latinx as outsiders in the United States' imaginary. It has been a powerful way to exclude a perceivable undesirable and incompatible population from the American nation. This course is designed to fill this gap by offering an overview of Latinx people's history in the United States from the 1700s to the present. Through readings, lectures, and class discussions, students will explore the context that has propelled Latin American people to seek "better" opportunities outside their native lands. The course will also explore Latinx communities' historical development in the United States and their conflicting integration into American society. We will pay particular attention to the experiences of Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans. Through the semester, the course will also examine the most pressing challenges of the Latinx communities in the past and present realities. The range of issues is ample, but we will focus on cultural adaptation/resistance, labor incorporation, racial and ethnic identity formation, community development, cultural manifestations, and social and political struggles that have formed the diversity of Latinx experiences in the United States.
Courses in Spanish:
Problemas y perspectivas de America Latina (UPRRP)
Problemas sociales de Puerto Rico (UPRRP)
Principios de Sociología (UPRRP)
Cambio Social y Cultural (UPRRP)
Historia de America Latina (UPRRP & UAGM)
Introducción a las Ciencias Sociales (UPR-Bay & UAGM)
Musica y Sociedad Puertorriqueña (UAGM & UIPR)
Introducción al Estudio de la Historia (UAGM)
Historia del Caribe (UAGM)
Historia de los Estados Unidos (UAGM)
Historia de Puerto Rico (UAGM)
Photo: Angel Viera-Vargas
Bittersweet Societies: A Critical Exploration of the Caribbean
The course aims to demystify the commonly held idea of the Caribbean as an idyllic, relaxing, and paradisiac site of beautiful beaches, mojitos, and piñas Coladas. Instead, it will delve into the life experiences of contemporary Caribbean people. It will begin with a historical exploration of critical processes that have shaped the cultures and societies of the modern Caribbean. In particular, we will pay attention to the imposition of colonialism and the subsequent development of the plantation economy in shaping the culture, race, gender, and class experiences of the inhabitants of the region.
Race, Sounds and the Politics of Listening in the Americas
The visual imperative has largely shaped racial, ethnic, and class differences in the Americas. Yet, the visual operates with the aural as sensorial practices that help demarcate differences in these societies. Indeed, the interrelation between race and sound has become an essential bionomy of inquiry in the social sciences and humanities for analyzing power dynamics from various theoretical and methodological approaches. Race, Sounds, and the Politics of Listening in the Americas will examine how racial ideas in the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America have influenced people's perceptions of voice, sounds, and noise and their engagement with music. Through various interdisciplinary readings in sound studies, ethnomusicology, anthropology, geography and history, we will develop an interpretive framework for comprehending the relationship between sound and race as an essential dimension of our contemporary world..