Latin America During the National Period (HIST 140)
“Poor people inhabit rich lands”
- E. Bradford Burns
| Fall 2017, Truman State University BH 114, MWF 10:30-11:20 Office: MC 227 |
Marc Becker |
Description
This course surveys the history of Latin America from independence from European colonial powers at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century. We will examine a variety of issues including inequality, leadership styles, democracy, religion, and gender. This course fulfills the history mode of inquiry in the Liberal Studies Program. In this mode, students will study a broad topic or major geographic area over an extended period of time and will demonstrate competence in one or more of the following areas, which characterize the work of historians:
- thinking in terms of causation, change over time, contingency, context, and chronological frameworks;
- the content and methodologies of humanistic and social-scientific disciplines to study and interpret the past;
- analyzing the interplay between choices individuals have made and developments societies have undergone; and
- understanding the social and aesthetic richness of different cultures.
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 and discussions will complement the readings and assume the base level of knowledge that they present, so it is critically important that you keep up with the readings.
Meade, Teresa. A History of Modern Latin America, 2d ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015. ISBN: 9781118772485. The author has a study guide for this textbook at minerva.union.edu/meadet/modernlatinamerica/.
O'Connor, Erin. Mothers Making Latin America: gender, households, and politics since 1825. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2014. ISBN: 9781118271445
Assignments and grades
Assignment Points
Daily identification terms (5 pts ea.) 150 pts
Weekly quizzes (10 pts ea.) 150
10 response papers (50 pts ea.) 500
2 newspaper essays (50 pts ea.) 100
Final exam 100
Daily identification terms. We will begin each class period with identifying and giving the significance of one identification term drawn from a list posted to the Blackboard webpage for each of the weekly assigned readings from Meade’s A History of Modern Latin America. These will be graded on a scale of 1 to 5 points. One point means that you are present, 2 points indicate that something was fundamentally wrong with your response, 3 points indicate a rote response from the text, 4 points represent analytical thought, and 5 points are for responses that reveal critical thought that extends significantly beyond the text and places the term in a broad historical context.
Weekly quizzes. A weekly quiz is on the Blackboard webpage for each chapter from the Meade textbook. Complete the quiz by class time on Monday.
Response papers. Write a one-page essay for each chapter in O’Connor that compares her treatment of mothers in Latin America to the Meade textbook. The essays must be typed, double-spaced, and include citations. The essays are due on Friday for each week with a reading from O’Connor.
Newspaper essays. Select an article on a Latin America topic from one of the daily newspapers distributed on campus (New York Times, St. Louis Post Dispatch, or USA Today—not something from the library or an online source). Write a one-page, typed, double-spaced essay that compares the contemporary discussion of the event to an historical analysis from the assigned Meade and O’Connor readings. Attach a clipping of the article, and include a full citation of the newspaper article in your essay. Due Sept 25 & Oct 9.
Final Exam. The final exam is comprehensive.
Class Schedule
Week 1 (Aug 21-25) Intro & Geography
Read: Meade, ch. 1; O’Connor, ch. 1
Week 2 (Aug 28-Sept 1) Colonial background
Read: Meade, ch. 2; O’Connor, ch. 2
Week 3 (Sept 6-8) Slavery
Read: Meade, ch. 3
Week 4 (Sept 11-15) Caudillos
Read: Meade, ch. 4; O’Connor, ch. 3
Week 5 (Sept 18-22) Neocolonialism
Read: Meade, ch. 5; O’Connor, ch. 4
Week 6 (Sept 25-29) Caste Wars
Read: Meade, ch. 6; O’Connor, ch. 5
Week 7 (Oct 2-6) Mexican Revolution
Read: Meade, ch. 7
Week 8 (Oct 9-13) Socialism
Read: Meade, ch. 8; O’Connor, ch. 6
Week 9 (Oct 16-18) Populism
Read: Meade, ch. 9
Week 10 (Oct 23-27) Dictators
Read: Meade, ch. 10
Week 11 (Oct 30-Nov 3) Cuban Revolution
Read: Meade, ch. 11; O’Connor, ch. 7
Week 12 (Nov 6-9) Chilean Path to Socialism
Read: Meade, ch. 12
Week 13 (Nov 13-16) Liberation Theology
Read: Meade, ch. 13; O’Connor, ch. 8
Week 14 (Nov 27-Dec 1) Pink Tide Governments
Read: Meade, ch. 14; O’Connor, ch. 9
Week 15 (Dec 4-8) Immigration
Read: Meade, ch. 15; O’Connor, ch. 10
Final Exam: Thurs, Dec 14, 9:30-11:20