Archives, Affect and Presence in the Pedagogy of Cold War Latin America

Abstract

In the context of understanding Latin America’s Cold War, archives of political resistance contain counter-hegemonic narratives that would otherwise have been silenced and condemned to the past. At a time when scholarship is increasingly turning to cultural historical approaches in this field, archives have also unlocked new opportunities for the pedagogy of global politics more broadly. This article explores political pedagogy, informal learning spaces, and archives in the teaching and learning of Politics and International Relations. Based on a student-led research project titled Thinking Inside the Box, I weave together interviews, conversations and auto-ethnographic and reflective elements to examine how political studies can lend themselves to more transformative and empowering learning experiences. Using Cold War Latin America as a case study, this research shows how Latin American critical and decolonial practices of political resistance and solidarity enrich curricular learning, generate collective knowledge production and exchange, and empower students in their professional and academic development in unique ways.