4-week main lesson for grades 11-12
Teacher: Juan Pablo Barillas
(Read more about his biography here)
Dates for 4-week course:
Jan 20 to Feb 14, 2025
Times for Live Sessions: Monday through Thursday, Starting at 9:30am MT (which is 11:30am ET and 8:30am PT). Each live session lasts between 35 and 60 minutes.
Course Description
The 10th and 11th grader has started to develop their abstract thinking to a higher level than in previous years. With this comes a new way of looking at the world. In terms of history and modern world around them, they begin to question not only what happened but also how and why. This four-week block on Contemporary Latin America through Art and Culture will ask these questions by investigating how Latin American culture became what it is today, and why artists express their art the way they do. Diving deeply into material and intangible cultural heritage helps us to understand societies better: how they are organized, their values, their ethics, and their challenges. Through the study of 20th-century Latin American art, architecture, music, food, and practices, students will learn about a human geography full of meaning. With Waldorf education, geography focuses less on political boundaries and more on understanding “the other”. Rather than just talking about these cultures, students in this course will “experience” these cultures by living into the music, creating the art, and even cooking for their family! Experiencing different cultures helps us to expand our mind and to develop a more empathetic view of the world.
Topics covered
Week 1 – Mexico: Mexican music, art, and muralism; Mexican Food; Mexican Holidays and Festivals; Mexican cinema and TV
Week 2 – Central America: European influence on architecture; Mayan Heritage in the 20th century; Religious Syncretism; Holidays and Festivals; Food
Week 3 – South America: Music (Ballenato, pop, andean, protesta, etc.); Brazil and its Portuguese influence; Literature; Holidays and Festivals; Food
Week 4 – The Caribbean: Music – Trova Cubana; Haiti and its French influence; Religious Syncretism; Holidays and Festivals; Food
