Plundered

Tales of Extractivism and Resistance

Heather Cleary

Lecture:
WEDS 3:35 - 5:30 pm
Bates 203

Group conference:
WEDS 10:00-10:55 am OR
WEDS 11:30 am - 12:25 pm
Sheffield 22

First it was gold. Then it was silver, sugar, oil. Bananas, avocados, soy. This course will explore
the centuries-long history of plunder—and resistance—across Abya Yala through fiction and
non-fiction, feature films, visual art, and documentaries. We will look at pressing environmental
and social justice issues including deforestation, industrial pollution, fossil fuel extraction, and
access to clean water with an eye to the relationship between activism and artistic expression.
We will focus on the lands colonized by Spain and Portugal and the intersecting forms of
neocolonial violence to which they continue to be subjected, but we will not lose sight of the
resonances between these histories and those that took and are taking place across the continent.

This interactive small lecture will participate fully in the collaborative interludes and other
programs of the Sarah Lawrence Interdisciplinary Collaborative on the Environment (SLICE)
Mellon course cluster. Lecture sessions will combine group discussion with 10-minute micro-
lectures. Written assignments will be both critical and creative; group conference will meet
weekly for one hour.

Required texts

Joseph Zárate, Wars of the Interior (trans. Annie McDermott)1

Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (trans. Gregory Rabassa)*
Sarah M. Broom, The Yellow House*

* these texts are available in audiobook format.

All books will be available on reserve at the library; please try to avoid purchasing from
Amazon. Alternative options via indiebound.org, bookshop.org, and powells.com, among others.
(If one site doesn't have the title you're looking for, another often does.)

I will provide our first reading from the Zárate as a PDF to allow time for books to arrive.

1
The Zárate text is tricky to come by; you are welcome to use the reserve copy or work out a system for sharing.

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 Elements of the course

Participation:
As a small lecture, this course will involve extensive group work and discussion. Please come to
class having read or viewed the assigned materials and having prepared questions or
observations about them. Attendance in both group conference and lecture is essential for the
successful completion of the class.

Short assignments:
You will be asked to respond to our class materials in a variety of critical and creative ways—we
will draw on these writings in our class discussions, and you will submit these texts as part of
your midterm portfolio.

Midterm portfolio:
Your portfolio should be uploaded as a single PDF or Word file (approximately 10 pages in
total), and should include:
- (1) all your written work from the semester so far
- (2) a 3 to 4-page essay on the instance of resistance you have found most compelling in our
class materials so far. What is the nature of this resistance, how does it manifest? What are the
cultural conditions from which it emerges? What is the cultural representation of this struggle,
how is it narrated, and to what effect? How does it connect with other struggles you are familiar
with? References to secondary readings (from group conference or otherwise) are encouraged;
concrete and fully explicated references to the text you're discussing are essential.

Final paper:
Students will write a 10-page final paper on a cultural work (fiction or film) that they would add
to the syllabus of this course. The paper will include a description of the work and its principal
themes, research into the environmental justice issue(s) it addresses, and close readings of key
scenes. As part of the conclusion, the paper should address why this work would be a significant
addition to the course, which texts on the current syllabus it most actively engages, and how. The
paper should include secondary sources on the environmental issue discussed; critical responses
to the work chosen and other theoretical frameworks are welcome, but not required.

Policies

Respect for Diversity:

Our classroom will be a protected place where all identities can thrive, where all learning needs
are addressed both in and out of class, and where the diversity that students bring to this class is
viewed as a resource, strength, and benefit for everyone involved. Respect for one another will
be the foundation of our work together. Our aim is to present readings, materials, and activities
that center diversities of gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race,
and culture—to that end, your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. In addition, if any of
our class meetings conflict with religious activities, please let me know in advance so that we
can make arrangements.

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Absences:

Missing class or group conference will significantly impede your ability to complete the course
successfully. If you need to miss a class, please let me know (preferably in advance) and get the
notes from a classmate. Consistent lateness will negatively impact your grade.

Plagiarism:

The College takes academic integrity very seriously, and so do I. Please consult SLC policies
and procedures regarding plagiarism in the Student Handbook (the library offers workshops on
avoiding unintentional plagiarism). Your grade will be an automatic F and you will not receive
credit if you submit plagiarized work.

Accommodations:

If you have a disability that may interfere with your ability to participate in the activities,
coursework, or assessments of this course, please contact Daniel Chan, Director of Access and
Disability Services (dchan@sarahlawrence.edu; Westlands 116) to secure your accommodations.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act
of 1973, all students, with or without disabilities, are entitled to equal access to the programs and
activities of Sarah Lawrence College and the College will make reasonable accommodations
when appropriate and necessary.

The College also has resources to help you develop personalized time management strategies.

The Golden Rule(s):

à Respect your classmates and respect the learning process.

à Understand that the search for knowledge involves making errors and feeling vulnerable.
à Listen first; respond thoughtfully.
à Recognize the limitations of your worldview.
à Take responsibility for your presence in class and the work you produce.
à Base your assertions on textual evidence.

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 SCHEDULE OF CLASS DISCUSSIONS
(subject to change)

Week 1 - Introduction
Wednesday, January 25

Group Conference: No group conference

Lecture:
- Read: José Martí "Our América" (trans. Esther Allen) + Anna Badkhen "Ways of Unseeing"

Week 2 - Gold
Wednesday, February 1

Group Conference:
- Read: Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America "Lust for Gold, Lust for Silver" (11-58)
- Write: respond creatively to a moment in the chapter (drawing, map, poem, etc.) and write a 1-
page statement addressing (1) how this moment relates to the broader history described in the
chapter, (2) why you personally found this worth focusing on, and (3) why you chose the
creative format you did. You won't be required to share your creative work in conference, but
you will be expected to talk about it.

Lecture:
- Watch: Hija de la laguna (Ernesto Cabellos Damián 2015) (digital reserves)
- Read: Joseph Zárate, Wars of the Interior GOLD (61-110)

Week 3 - Trees
February 8

Group Conference:
- Watch: the short documentary "Cherán: The Burning Hope"
- Read: "An Indigenous Community in Mexico Finds Its Voice—and Strength—in Mushrooms"
- Read: Zárate, WOOD (1-55)

Lecture:
- Watch: Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra 2015; Kanopy)
- Read: Enrique Bernales Albites, "Indigenous Narratives of Creation and Origin in Embrace of
the Serpent, by Ciro Guerra" (AFTER you've watched the film and have taken your own notes)
- Write: 2-page reflection on the film or on any combination of texts for today's sessions.

Weeks 4 & 5 - Bananas

February 15

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Group Conference: No group conference - extra time for reading

Lecture:
- Read: Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (to p222 / finish chapter that
ends "The innocent yellow train that was to bring so many ambiguities and certainties, so many
pleasant and unpleasant moments, so many changes, calamities, and feelings of nostalgia to
Macondo.")

February 22

Group Conference:
- Read: Pablo Neruda, "United Fruit Company"
- Read: Blanca Serrano and Juanita Solano, "Banana Craze" @ POST (MoMA)
- Search: Spend 1 hour exploring Juanita Solano and Blanca Serrano's virtual exhibition and
research project Banana Craze. Read the project description first, and then follow your curiosity
wherever it takes you.
- Write: Keep a (1-page) diary of your exploration. Which pages did you visit? What did you
find? What impression(s) did it leave on you?

Lecture:
- Read: Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (to end)

Week 6 - SLICE Interlude 1

March 1

No group conference or lecture — read article (below), attend event at Bronx Community
College, and complete assignments (TBD).

>> Friday March 3rd, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Talk at Bronx Community College about Hudson River marshes; lunch and tour of BCC.
Dorothy Peteet (Senior Research Scientist, NASA/GISS & and Adjunct Professor, Columbia
University) and Daniel Wolff (writer and poet, author among other books of The Fight for Home
[2013] about Hurricane Katrina) will discuss the article “Why a Marsh?” that they recently co-
wrote about the Hudson River.

Week 7 - Water
March 8

Group Conference:
- Read: Sarah T. Hines, "The Water is Ours: Water Privatization and War in Neoliberal Bolivia"

Lecture:
- Watch: Even the Rain (Iciar Bollaín 2010) (Netflix)
- Read: Selections from the diary of Christopher Columbus

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 Week 8 - Spring Break
Midterm portfolios due via MySLC by 11:59pm on Friday, March 17.

Weeks 9 to 11 - Water (continued)

March 22

Group Conference:
- Read: Nimmi Gowrinathan, "Unconscious"
- Read: Natalie Diaz, "The First River is the Body" and watch her reflections on
Postcolonial Love Poem here
- Read: Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil's speech before the Mexican Congress on water access and
language rights (view the video at the end to hear her deliver it in Mixe)
- Write: 1 to 2-page creative response: a memory of water

Lecture:
- Watch: The Pearl Button (Patricio Guzmán 2015)
- Read: Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Undrowned (sel.)

March 29*

Group Conference:
- Watch: Ruth Wilson Gilmore, "Abolition Geography: Essays Toward Liberation"
- Read: Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, "When Blackness Is a Preexisting Condition"

Lecture:
- Read: Sarah M. Broom, The Yellow House
- Search: find and read/watch an interview with Sarah Broom, take notes (for group work)

>> Extra credit for attending an event related to the Worldwide Climate Teach-In (more info TK)
and writing a 1-page reflection on what you observed

April 5

Group Conference:
- Watch: Miracle in the Desert: The Rise and Fall of the Salton Sea (Greg Bassenian 2020)
- Read: Joan Didion, "Holy Water" and "At the Dam"

Lecture:
- Read: Sarah M. Broom, The Yellow House

Weeks 12 to 14 - Fossil Fuels

April 12

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Group Conference:
- Read: Kyle Powys Whyte, "The DAPL, Environmental Injustice, and US Settler Colonialism"
- Watch: "El tema: Energía" (short documentary, subtitled)

Lecture:
* guest lecture by Izzy Lockhart; additional readings may be announced*

April 19

Group Conference:
- Read: Joseph Zárate, Wars of the Interior (Oil)

Lecture:
- Read: Erika Beckman, "An Oil Well Named Macondo"
- Watch: Crude (Joe Berlinger 2009) (Kanopy)
- Search: What is the current status of the lawsuit against Texaco-Chevron? What has happened
since the film was released?

Extra credit:
Attend Earth Day at CURB
Students, faculty and community members will gather at CURB for Earth Day on Saturday,
April 22 around the idea of storytelling. The theme will be water.

April 26

Group Conference:
- Read: Cerrejón coal mine update & the graphic novel The Magic of Responsibility

Lecture:
- Watch: Powerlands (Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, 2022)
- Write: 2-page reflection on the film

Weeks 15 & 16 - SLICE / Soy

May 3
No group conference - SLICE Symposium Prep
No lecture - attend SLICE Symposium on Friday, May 5

May 10
No group conference

Lecture:
- Watch: Fever Dream (Claudia Llosa 2021) (Netflix)
Final papers and semester reflection due
SLICE debrief + reflection; semester wrap-up and party

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