Andean History (HIST 390)

Ama Killa, Ama Llulla, Ama Shua
("Don't be lazy, don't lie, don't steal")

Description

This course presents a cultural and political history of the Andean Region of South America. Focusing primarily on the area currently covered by the countries of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, we will examine unique historical developments in this part of the world. The themes we will analyze include the influence of geography on the evolution of early Indian civilizations, the cultural impact of conquest, land and labor systems, popular resistance movements, revolutionary military governments, guerrilla warfare, drug wars, and the politicization of ethnic identities.

This course also meets the Intercultural Perspectives requirement of the Liberal Studies Program. As such, it will provide you with a greater knowledge and appreciation of cultural diversity through the study of encounters of Indigenous, European, and African worlds in the Andean World. Hopefully this course will make you more aware of how culture has been used for political and social ends, including confronting racial discrimination, economic exploitation, and social injustice.

Requirements

You are expected and required to attend every class session, and you are responsible for the material covered in the lectures, readings and films, and for any announcements made in class. Unexcused absences will negatively affect your grade. Due to the fact that this is an evening class, missing one class period is equivalent to missing a week of class which is something you cannot afford to do. Please drop me an email note if you are sick or otherwise unable to attend class. If you have a disability or any conflicts which may affect your class performance, please bring this to my attention immediately so that we can make arrangements for this to be a positive learning experience for you. Please let me know if you have suggestions for improving the class.

My primary means of communication with you outside of class will be via the CourseInfo (http://cinfo.truman.edu/courses/1/2004606380/) web page. To logon, enter your email id as the user name, and your social security number as your password (unless you have already changed this password for another class). Once you are logged on, click on "student tools" and then "change your information" to change your password. If you forget your password, email the administrator (sdare@truman.edu) to reset it for you. Be sure the email address under "student tools" is set to an account that you regularly read. Please let me know if you need assistance in using these resources.

Readings

Following are the required books for this class. Read the assignments before class so that you are prepared to carry on an intelligent discussion of the material in class. Lectures will complement the readings and assume the base level of knowledge which they present, so it is critically important that you keep up with the readings. Do not wait until the last minute to buy these books since about half-way through the semester the bookstore will return unsold copies to the publisher.

Andrien, Kenneth J. Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture, and Consciousness Under Spanish Rule, 1532-1825. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001.
Burt, Jo-Marie and Philip Mauceri, ed. Politics in the Andes: Identity, Conflict, Reform. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004.
Davies, Nigel. The Ancient Kingdoms of Peru. London, New York: Penguin Books, 1997.
Klein, Herbert S. A Concise History of Bolivia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Mariátegui, José Carlos. The Heroic and Creative Meaning of Socialism: Selected Essays of José Carlos Mariátegui. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press, 1996.
Thomson, Sinclair. We Alone Will Rule: Native Andean Politics in the Age of Insurgency. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002.

Assignments and grades

Course grades will be based on the following assignments. You can check your grade progress in CourseInfo (there is a total of 1000 possible points in the class). More detailed information on the written assignments will be posted to the web page. I do not accept "drop and run" papers. Grades on late assignments will be penalized 10% for each day that they are late. Successful completion of all assignments is required to receive credit for this class.

Map quiz: A short map quiz on the Andes is on Cinfo, and is due by class on Sept. 7.

Discussion board postings: I will post a discussion question for each week's reading to the discussion board on the CourseInfo web page. I will grade your posting based on your synthesis of the material, ability to analyze its significance, an evaluation of its importance to the broader themes of this class, and the extent to which you engage other students in a virtual discussion. Respond to this question by noon on Monday, and by class on Tuesday post a critique of one other person's response to the original question. Do not engage in personal attacks, but critique that person's ideas. What are strong and weak aspects of these ideas? How would you assess these ideas? Each post is worth 10 points, with the lowest ones dropping (total 280 points).

Research paper: Each student is required to write a research paper on a topic related to Mexican history. The paper must be 10 to 15 pages long, use a minimum of six scholarly sources (books and journal articles), be typed, double spaced, and include page numbers, citations and a bibliography. The format should follow Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations. This project will be developed in a series of stages. Keep each of these assignments in a portfolio or folder, and hand in the entire portfolio with each subsequent assignment. You MUST meet every one of these deadlines. Failure to do so will result in no credit for the research paper (20% of the course grade).

Sept 21: Research paper proposal, including a paragraph describing your project, the questions you seek to address with the project, a hypothesis of what you expect to find (the thesis statement of your research paper), and a preliminary bibliography of sources that you plan to use (50 pts).

Oct 5: As part of your research paper, analyze one of the major sources you will use in the writing of this paper. This paper should be typed, double-spaced, and about 3-5 pages long, and include citations and a bibliography (100 pts).

Oct 19: Hand in an annotated bibliography which explores the strengths and weaknesses of each source that you plan to use in writing your research paper and its value in relation to your research. Expand and include this annotated bibliography as the bibliography for your paper (50 pts).

Beginning Oct 26: Oral presentations. We will begin with presentations from the first half of the class and then proceed with those chronologically related to class discussions. In your presentation, tell us what questions you addressed in your research project, what you expected to find (your thesis), a summary of your actual findings, and your conclusions. Naturally those who present earlier will have more tentative conclusions than those who present at the end of the semester. Please feel free to include visuals and other materials in your presentation. More information on evaluation criteria for these presentations is on the class web page.

Nov 16: Peer review of research papers. Bring a draft of your research paper to exchange with another student. Read and comment on the other student's paper and return by the next class period.

Nov 30: Final research papers due. When handing in your final draft, please be sure to include copies of all of the previous assignments including the peer-reviewed draft.

Final exam: The final exam is cumulative (200 pts).

Class Schedule

Week 1 (Aug 31) Intro & Geography

Week 2 (Sept 7) Andean civilizations
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, preface & ch. 1
Davies, The Ancient Kingdoms of Peru
Assignment due: Map quiz

Week 3 (Sept 14) Conquests
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, ch. 2
Andrien, Andean Worlds, chs. 1-3

Week 4 (Sept 21) Colonial societies
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, ch. 3
Andrien, Andean Worlds, chs. 4-8
Assignment due: Research paper proposal

Week 5 (Sept 28) Independence
Read: Thomson, We Alone Will Rule

Week 6 (Oct 5) Post-Independence
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, ch. 4
Assignment due: Research paper source analysis

Week 7 (Oct 12) Economic development
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, ch. 5

Week 8 (Oct 19) Land tenure
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, ch. 6
Assignment due: Annotated bibliography

Week 9 (Oct 26) Mariátegui
Read: Mariátegui, The Heroic and Creative Meaning of Socialism, Parts I, II, VI

Week 10 (Nov 2) Indigenismo
Read: Mariátegui, The Heroic and Creative Meaning of Socialism, Parts III-V

Week 11 (Nov 9) MNR Revolution
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, ch. 7

Week 12 (Nov 16) Military governments
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, ch. 8
Assignment due: Peer review of research papers

Week 13 (Nov 23) Guerrilla wars
Read: Burt/Mauceri, Politics in the Andes, Part II

Week 14 (Nov 30) Indian movements and ethnicity
Read: Burt/Mauceri, Politics in the Andes, Part I
Assignment due: Research Papers

Week 15 (Dec 7) Globalization
Read: Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia, ch. 9
Burt/Mauceri, Politics in the Andes, Part III

Final Exam: December 14, 6:30-9:20

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