History 3460, Spring 2014
Lectures: Tues. & Thurs. 12:30-1:45
Location: TBA
Dr. Ryan Crewe
[email protected]
Office: King 548
Office Telephone: (303) 556-2419
Office Hours: Th. 9-12,
or by appointment.
Modern Latin America: From Independence to the Present
What is Latin America? Stretching from the Río Grande to Patagonia, and including Brazil and much of
the Caribbean, the vast geographical extension and ethnic diversity of the region defies the very notion that
the peoples of the region even share a common story. And yet, since achieving independence in the
nineteenth century, the peoples of Latin America have shared similar post-colonial challenges. Over the
past two centuries, the peoples of Latin America, from peasants to presidents, have shaped -- and often
fought hard to control -- the processes of state-formation and the construction of national identities. And
all the while, their struggles unfolded as Western powers – Europe and, most notably, the U.S. –
influenced, interfered, and invaded the region, whose natural resources have been essential to the world’s
industrial development.
In this course, we will examine the social, cultural, economic and political formation of Latin America in
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In particular, we will analyze the diverse processes of stateformation, popular mobilization, caudillismo (personal rule), revolutions, foreign-backed dictatorships,
migration, and and global economics that have shaped the region. We shall also endeavor to understand the
diverse ways historians have studied these processes, as they seek to uncover the agency of all Latin
Americans – the campesinos (country-folk), factory owners, dictators, demonstrators, and many others who
shaped these societies. As we explore this history, we will also examine how a series of ideals of
“modernity” (or modernities) have influenced Latin America’s post-colonial experience – especially
Capitalist-Classical Liberal, Marxist, and Neoliberal ideologies, among others.
This course has several interconnected goals. Most fundamentally, it will guide you towards a deep
understanding of the peoples, histories and places of Latin America. It is also intended to develop your
analytical skills so that you are best prepared for your future studies and professional paths. In particular, we
will work on improving your reading and writing skills.
By their nature, survey courses present students with a vast amount of new data in a regrettably brief period.
Throughout this course keep in mind, however, that assessment is not necessarily based on how much you
absorb, but on how you process the information and develop your own interpretations and arguments. This
course challenges you conceptually, by helping you to develop the basic skills that every historian uses to
interpret the past. These skills include:
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the ability to identify with the diverse people we study, no matter how different their interests, views or
lives may seem;
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the ability to communicate effectively our own interpretations of the past, while acknowledging the
ideas – and stories – of the many scholars, writers, and eyewitnesses who have passed their narratives
on to us over the centuries;
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and the willingness to examine parallels between the past and present, striving to know how our own
contemporary interests, identities or perspectives may influence our analysis of the past.
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Course Requirements and Grading
Participation: 5%
Your participation grade in this course includes: participation in discussions that demonstrate a thoughtful
consideration of course material and topics, and questions or comments during lectures.
Debate (Participation and Written Opinion Statement): 5%
This grade will reflect your participation in the scheduled debate on Fidel Castro on March 18. Details on
debate forthcoming. You will also write a brief written opinion that should summarize, in no more than 500
words, your essay argument (See Essay 2 in short essays below). Students not found to be actively participating
in the debate will be called upon to read their statements or summarize their opinion during the course of the
debate.
Map Quiz: 10% In class on Feb. 7
Geography is the foundation for any historical analysis. You will need to be familiar with the basic natural
and political geography of Latin America, including all nations and capitals of South and Central America,
the Spanish Caribbean, and Haiti.
Four Short Essays: 10% Each, 40% Total
Throughout this course, we will be reading a diverse array of primary and secondary sources. Based on
handouts to be issued in class and on Canvas, you will write four brief essays (3-4 pages) that respond to
specific questions/historical debates. The four themes these essays will cover are:
Essay 1: Post-colonial Latin America, based on Walker and primary documents (due Feb. 13)
Essay 2: Will history absolve Fidel Castro? (due Mar. 20)
Essay 3: Interpretive Essay: Write a union leader’s speech to factory workers at the height of
Allende’s Revolution, based on your reading of Winn and primary documents. (Apr. 3)
Essay 4: U.S. interventionism, and dictatorship in the Cold War, based on CIA document packet,
Feilowitz, and Wilkinson. (Apr. 24)
Midterm: 20% Feb. 25
The midterm exam will consist of one general essay question and two brief response essays, each based on
one of the course readings.
Final: 20% Date TBA
The final will consist of one comprehensive essay question covering material over the whole semester;
there will also be two brief response essays based on readings after the midterm.
GRADES (on a scale of 100) I do not grade on a curve. Each student will be graded on their own merit.
Students who demonstrate a thoughtful analysis of course readings, discussions, and lectures – who work
hard and follow their curiosity – will do well in this course.
A+ = 98-100
A = 93-97.9
A- = 90-92.9
B+ = 88-89.9
B = 83-87.9
B- = 80-82.9
C+ = 78-79.9
C = 73-77.9
C- = 70-72.9
D+ = 68-69.9
D = 63-67.9
D- = 60-62.9
F = 59.9 and below
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Course Readings
All readings on the syllabus are organized by week, and in some cases by session. Unless otherwise stated,
all Canvas readings are mandatory. These Canvas readings are indicated with an asterisk [*]. The books
listed below have been ordered and will also be available on reserve at the library.
Azuela, Mariano. The Underdogs: A Novel of the Mexican Revolution (New York: Penguin Classics,
2008)
Chomsky, Aviva. A History of the Cuban Revolution (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
Skidmore, Thomas E., Peter Smith, and James Green. Modern Latin America (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2009)
Walker, Charles. Smoldering Ashes: Cuzco and the Creation of Republican Peru, 1780-1840 (Durham,
N.C.: Duke University Press, 1999)
Wilkinson, Daniel. Silence on the Mountain: Stories of Terror, Betrayal, and Forgetting in Guatemala
(Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2004)
Winn, Peter. Weavers of Revolution: The Yarur Workers and Chile's Road to Socialism (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1989)
Films
These films are highly recommended for their narratives of Latin American history over the past four
decades. Screening with discussions TBA, pending classroom availability and number of students willing
to attend. All films can also be found on Netflix.
Machuca (Chile, 2004), La historia oficial (Argentina, 1985), Maquilópolis (Mexico-US), Cocalero
(Argentina, 2007), The Panama Deception (US, 1992), Amores Perros (Mexico, 2000), Miss Bala
(Mexico, 2011)
Course Schedule
Unit I: Challenges of New Nations
Week 1
Introduction
Jan 22
Jan 23
Course Overview: “Modern” or “Post-Colonial”?
Colonial Heritage of Latin America – overview and discussion
Readings:
By Jan 24: Skidmore, Modern Latin America
*Simón Bolívar, “Letter from Jamaica” [selection]
Music:
Lyric Handout: “El fin de la infancia,” by Café Tacuba (album Re, 1994)
Week 2
State and Nation in Post-Colonial Latin America
Jan 28
Jan 30
“Independence”
Trials of the New Republics
Readings:
Walker, Smoldering Ashes
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
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Week 3
Who Shall Rule? Competing Ideals of Nationhood and Governance
Feb 4
Feb 6
Caudillos and Gauchos
Citizenship, Race and Nation
****MAP QUIZ IN CLASS****
Readings:
Walker, Smoldering Ashes
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
*Sarah Chambers, “What Independence Meant for Women,” 18-24
*Flora Tristán, “Women of Lima,” 195-202
Week 4
Latin America in the 19th Century World Economy
Feb 11
Feb 13
Liberalism & Neo-Colonialism: Autocracy and Export-led Economics
Pan y Palo: The Dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico
****ESSAY 1 DUE FEB. 13****
Readings:
By Feb 12: Skidmore, Modern Latin America
*Stanley Stein, “A Day on the Coffee Plantation,” 43-46
*Esteban Montejo, “A Cuban Slave’s Testimony,” 47-52
*Images of Brazilian Slaves, 53-56
*Celso Furtado, “Neocolonial economics,” 131-134
By Feb 14: *Chris Frazer, Bandit Nation, chap. 2
*James Creelman, “President Díaz, Hero of the Americas”, 285-291
Part II: The New Nationalism (1880s – 1930s)
Week 5
Mexico – Resistance and Revolt against Liberal Autocracy
Feb 18
Feb 20
The Mexican Revolution
Cultural Politics of Revolution – Discussion of The Underdogs and Mexican Rev.
Readings:
Mariano Azuela, The Underdogs [read by Feb 20]
*Emiliano Zapata and Others, “Plan de Ayala,” 339-343
Week 6
Redefining the Nation, 1890 – 1930
Feb 25
Feb 27
MIDTERM
New Nationalism and the Backlash against Neo-Colonialism, 1890 – 1930
Readings:
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
*Gillian McGillivray, Blazing Cane, chaps. 6-8
Week 7
The New State in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico in the 1930s
Mar 4
Mar 6
Building a New State – Popular Mobilization
Populism and ISI: Cárdenas, Vargas, and Perón
Readings:
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
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*Juan Perón, “Declaration of Workers’ Rights,” 214-216
*Fernando Henrique Cardozo and Enzo Faletto, “Populism and National
Development,” 223-225
*Donna Guy, Women Build the Welfare State, chaps. 5 & 6
Unit III: The Cold War: Revolution, Imperialism and Reaction
Week 8
The Internationalization of Latin American Social Struggles
Mar 11
Mar 13
Guatemala’s Revolution and the Coup of 1954: The Cold War Comes to Latin America
The Cuban Revolution
Reading:
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
Aviva Chomsky, History of the Cuban Revolution
*Che Guevara, “The Essence of Guerrilla Warfare,” 231-238
Week 9
Leaders and Grassroots Movements
Mar 18
Mar 20
In-Class Debate: Will History Absolve Fidel Castro?
Chile during the Popular Unity Government: Is there a non-violent path to revolution?
****ESSAY 2 DUE MAR. 20****
Reading:
Peter Winn, Weavers of Revolution, preface – 181
*Salvador Allende, “The Chilean Road to Socialism,” 249-253
Music and Lyrics:
Víctor Jara, “Vientos del Pueblo”
~~~~~~~~~ SPRING BREAK: Read Winn ~~~~~~~~~
Week 10
Poder Popular: The Chilean Revolution vs. Oligarchy and Empire, 1970 - 1973
Apr 1
In-class documentary screening: Patricio Guzmán, “La Batalla de Chile / The Battle of
Chile, Part II” (1978)
Discussion of Winn and declassified CIA Documents
****ESSAY 3 DUE APRIL 3****
Apr 3
Reading:
Peter Winn, Weavers of Revolution , 182-256 [finish by April 3]
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
*The Smoking Gun: Declassified documents detailing the Nixon
Administration’s role in the overthrow of Allende
Web (Optional):
National Security Archive: Declassified docs on CIA involvement in Chile:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8.htm
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20000919/index.html
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Week 11
Authoritarian Regimes in South America
Apr 8
Apr 10
Chile under Pinochet
Dirty Wars: Society, State, and Empire in 1970s and 80s Latin America
Reading:
*Marguerite Feilowitz, Lexicon of Terror, Intro & Chaps. 2, 4
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
*Spy agency record of a desaparecida (disappeared woman), Argentina, 1976
Watch on Web:
The Panama Deception (U.S., 1992), 131 mins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zMmITXwSts
Week 12
Confronting Authoritarian Regimes
Apr 15
Central America: Revolution and Genocide in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and
Honduras
Neoliberal Laboratory: Debt and Democratization in Latin American Dictatorships
Apr 17
Reading:
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
Wilkinson, Silence on the Mountain
Unit IV: Crisis Permanente – Debt, ‘Democracy’ and Neoliberalism
Week 13
Mexico and the Andes
Apr 22
Apr 24
Idealism and Disillusionment: Mexico under the P.R.I. (1933-1995)
Andean Revolutions and the Venezuelan Oil State
****ESSAY 4 DUE APRIL 24****
Readings:
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
*Elena Poniatowska, “The Student Massacre of 1968,” 555-570
*Text and Music: Maldita vecindad y los hijos del quinto patio, “I don’t believe
them at all,” 612
Week 14
Neoliberalism in the Nineties and 2000s
Apr 29
May 1
The ‘Washington Consensus’ and the Neo-Liberal Moment
Social Effects of Neoliberalism: Urbanization, Migration, and Mafias
Readings:
Skidmore, Modern Latin America
By April 29:
*Greg Grandin, “Reagan in Cancún, or The Third Conquest of
Latin America,” 283-286
*Clinton Administration, “NAFTA and the US Economy,”
287-289
By May 1:
*Judith Hellman, Mexican Lives (selection of testimonios –
personal narratives)
* Victoria Malkin, “Narco-Trafficking, Migration, and
Modernity in Mexico”
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Week 15
21st Century Geopolitics
May 6
May 8
Harvest of Free Trade: Drug Wars and Narco-States
A New Geopolitical Reality? Latin America after U.S. Hegemony
Readings:
By May 6:
*Howard Campbell, Drug War Zone (selected chapter TBA)
By May 8:
*Néstor Kirchner and Luíz Ignazio Lula da Silva, “The Buenos Aires
Consensus,” 296-299
*Jorge G, Castaneda, “A Tale of Two Lefts,” 303-307
*Dick Parker, “Chávez’s Oil Reforms,” 312-314
García Márquez, “Nobel Lecture,” Available at:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1982/marquezlecture.html
Watch on Web: Cocalero (Argentina, 2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkhEgfZvxQ8
Class Policies
1) Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. All assignments require knowledge from lectures and readings.
2) Contact: I am available to answer questions or discuss any practical or intellectual matters during my
office hours. Walk-ins are very welcome. If you want to guarantee a spot, you may email me to schedule
an appointment.
3) Decorum: Out of consideration for your colleagues, please turn off the volume/ringer on your cell phones
before class begins. Do not text or email during class.
4) Participation and Discussion: While this survey follows a lecture format, we will be discussing readings
throughout the course, and I urge you to bring forward any questions or comments during lectures. Should
you have any difficulties with speaking up in class, you may also come to office hours.
5) Turning in Essays – 1 hard copy and one electronic copy to Turnitin: You must turn in both a hard
copy to me and submit an electronic copy to Turnitin.
6) Revisions: All essays that earn a C+ or below are eligible for revisions. If you receive a C+ or below for
an essay, I urge you to consult with me regarding how you can improve your writing and/or analysis. You
may then re-write the essay for a maximum possible grade of 85%. An unsatisfactory grade is not a
condemnation; it is a warning sign that, if heeded, can teach invaluable lessons that will guide to you to
producing better work.
7) Citations and Formatting: All quotations, ideas, and arguments that are not your own must be cited in
Chicago style [see http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html]. If you have any
questions or doubts regarding citations, do not hesitate to ask me during office hours. Make sure that all
essays are double-spaced, with 1” margins throughout. All essays must also include a bibliography
with full citations of sources consulted. The bibliography is not counted in the total page count!
8) Late Work: Exceptions for late work will only be granted if a doctor’s note is provided. You must also
notify me of your problem prior or during the deadline, not afterwards. All other late work will incur a
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penalty of one full grade (10%) per day after the deadline. No exceptions will be made for late take-home
final essays.
9) Plagiarism: The History Department requires that all work is your own. Any words of ideas that you take
from another source, including lectures or outside assistance, need to be acknowledged or cited. Not doing
this is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism includes absence of attribution when quoting sources; rewording
another person’s ideas and implying they are your own; utilizing the argument or structure of a text without
citation; attempting to conceal the degree to which a source has been used; obtaining work from a website
and submitting it as your own; and submitting the work of another student, with or without that student’s
permission. Plagiarists may face failure of the specific assignment, failure of the entire course, and referral
for University discipline, which may result in suspension or expulsion. As these rules merely reflect
common sense and ethics, ignorance cannot mitigate the plagiarist’s culpability. The consequence of
plagiarism will be a failing grade in the course. For further clarification of the issue, see the University’s
Academic Honor Code: (<http://thunder1.cudenver.edu/clas/AcademicIntegrity.htm >),
or the American Historical Association’s Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct:
(<http://www.historians.org/PUBS/Free/ProfessionalStandards.cfm >).
10) Incomplete grades (IW or IF) are NOT granted for low academic performance. To be eligible for an
Incomplete grade, students MUST (1) successfully complete a minimum of 75% of the course, (2) have
special circumstances beyond their control that preclude them from attending class and completing graded
assignments, and (3) make arrangements to complete missing assignments with the original instructor.
Verification of special circumstances is required. Completion of a CLAS Course Completion Agreement is
strongly suggested. The CLAS Course Completion Agreement is available from the CLAS Advising
Office, NC 2024.
11) Religious Observances: Should any assignments, exams, or lectures in this course overlap with the
observation of a religious holiday, please notify me at the beginning of the semester and I will provide an
alternative for you.
12) If you are a student in the military with the potential of being called to military service and/or training
during the course of the semester, you are encouraged to contact the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Associate Dean or Advising Office immediately.
13) Disabilities: The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is committed to providing
reasonable accommodation and access to programs and services to persons with disabilities. Students with
disabilities who want academic accommodations must register with Disability Resources and Services
(DRS), North Classroom, Room 2514, 303-556-3450, TTY 303-556-4766, FAX 303-556-2074. I will be
happy to provide approved accommodations, once you provide me with a copy of DRS’s letter.