Latin America National Period Syllabus

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Latin America after Independence:
Building a Postcolonial Society
Course: 3609
Uconn Stamford
Spring 2015
Professor
Ricardo Raul Salazar Rey
Email: ricardo.salazar-rey@uconn.edu
Phone: 310-619-0354
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 to 3:00pm and by appointment.
Office: 3.74
Class Meeting Place and Time
Monday 6:00pm to 8:40pm
Room 216
Course Description
This course surveys the social, cultural, economic, and political history of
Latin America from the independence period to the present. We will devote special attention to understanding the structural conditions that resulted in the collapse of the Spanish and Portuguese empires, and the way these conditions developed over the next 200 years. The class also focuses on Native Americans, Europeans, and
Africans, and the way that these groups and their interactions shaped Latin
American society today.
Rather than solely focusing on Latin America from an outsider’s point of view, we will seek to give full weight to how Latin Americans understood themselves and their development. We will analyze how the culture, economics, and politics of the region developed interdependently yet separately from that of the
United States and Europe.
In studying the nineteenth century, we will study Latin America as a whole.
Following this hemispheric study, we will focus on specific countries that best illustrate the most significant regional trends. We will analyze the period’s significant events and movements and reach conclusions on defining themes in
Latin American history.
Textbook
Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
, Eighth Edition (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).

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Course Requirements / Grades
1) Attend all classes. Students are expected to arrive to class having read the material, and be prepared to engage in discussions. Students should be ready and willing to contribute to making the classroom a friendly and respectful environment.
Absences for medical reasons, religious observances, or family emergencies must be documented in writing in order to be counted as excused absences. Students with more than two unexcused absences should expect no higher than a “B” in this class.
2) Take all quizzes. There will be several unannounced quizzes over the course of the semester. The purpose of these quizzes is to hold students accountable for having done the reading, so as to make our discussions more fruitful; therefore, the quizzes will sometimes be given at the beginning of class, not at the end, after the discussion has already taken place. There will be no opportunity to make up missed quizzes, so each missed quiz will be counted as “zero”; the only exception will be in the case of an excused absence, which (see above) requires written documentation.
If you arrive to class late, you run the risk of missing a quiz, so you should be punctual. Class Policies: ●

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Each week, you will be asked to read chapters from the textbook, short primary sources, and/or articles.
If you don't engage with the readings, you won't have the appropriate context for understanding lectures, responding to quizzes, or participating in discussion.
Preparation and participation are essential in this course. While attendance is not mandatory, your grade will be significantly affected by your presence and contributions. Do the reading, and come to class with thoughtful questions and comments to share.

Grading
:

"There is no curve; there may be a tube or barrel or a pyramid, on its base or summit, depending on the distribution of the quality of work." J. Womack.

The structure and focus of the class is subject to change based on student input and/or angry deities. ●

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(Starting Week 2)
Blog Posting and Class participation (40%): o By the Sunday before class, you must submit 2 discussion questions.
By monday at 2pm you must submit 1 meaningful comment or answer to someone else's question o Be prepared to lead discussion in class on the questions/comments you pose 1 Map Quiz (10%):

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A basic knowledge of regional geography is necessary to understand the class material
● A list of geographical features will be distributed
4 brief pop quizzes about content (20%)
3 short 5­page response papers due during the semester (30%)
●

●
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Academic Honesty:
● Uconn does not tolerate plagiarism, cheating, or helping others to cheat.
● Plagiarism is defined as misrepresenting the work of others (whether published or not) as your own. It may be inadvertent or intentional.
● Any facts, statistics, quotations, or paraphrasing of any information that is not common knowledge should simply be cited
.
Calendar and Readings nd 1. Monday, January 26
Introduction to the Course / Why Latin America?

Readings
● http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkFJE8ZdeG8
(watch first)
● http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mAZniR-IDQ
(subtitled)
● Photos: Before and After Carlisle http://www.radiolab.org/story/photos-before-and-after-carlisle/ nd
2. Monday, February 2
What is Latin America? / Encounter and Conquest

Readings
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
, Chapter 1
● Jared Diamond,
Guns, Germs and Steel
(New York and London: Norton,
1999). Chapter 3.
● Camilla Townsend, “Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the
Conquest of Mexico”, in
The American Historical Review
, June 2003.
Podcasts:
On this page http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ahow/all listen to: 

Podcast #051 Maya Relief of Royal Bloodletting
Podcast #
73: Inca Gold Llama th 3. Monday, February 9
Independence of New Spain

Readings:
● Alicia Hernandez Chavez,
Mexico a Brief History
. Chapter 4 & 5.

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● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 2
Podcasts:
On this page http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ahow/all listen to: 

Podcast #084 Mexican Codex Map
Podcast #080 Pieces of Eight th 4. Monday, February 16
Independence in South America

Readings:
● Jeremy Adelman,
Sovereignty and Revolution in the Iberian Atlantic
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2009). Introduction.
● Bethell, Leslie. "The Independence of Brazil." from
Cambridge History of
Latin America Vol. 3.
(1985)
rd
5. Monday, February 23
Constructing New States

Readings:
● John H. Coatsworth, “Obstacles to Economic Growth in Nineteenth-Century
Mexico,” in
The American Historical Review
, February 1978, pages 80-100.
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 12 & 13.
● Imperialism: Crash Course World History #35 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alJaltUmrGo nd
6. Monday, March 2 th Latin America in the 20
Century: Overview

Map Quiz
Readings:
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 14 & 15.
● War & Expansion: Crash Course US History # 17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkdF8pOFUfI th
7. Monday, March 9
Central America

Readings:
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 4.
● “The Drug War Hits Central America” and “The Tormented Isthmus,”
The
Economist
, April 16, 2011.

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●

“Drug War No More”
International Herald Tribune
, November 27, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/28/opinion/drug-war-no-more.html?_r =0

th
8. Monday, March 16

Spring Break rd 9. Monday, March 23
Brazil

Readings:
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, Modern Latin America. Chapter 11.
● “A Special Report on Business and Finance in Brazil,” The Economist,
November 14, 2009 http://www.cps.fgv.br/ibrecps/clippings/The_Economist_14.11.2009.pdf th
● “Grounded”, The Economist, September 28
, 2013 th ● "Brazil in a Quagmire", The Economist, February 28
, 2015 (PDF on
HuskyCT)
rd
10. Monday, March 23
The Andes

Readings:
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, Modern Latin America. Chapter 6. th 11. Monday, April 6
Chile

First paper due.
Readings:
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 10.
● “A Special Report on Democracy”
The Economist,
March 3, 2014. http://www.economist.com/node/21596796?fsrc=nlw%7Chig%7C2-27-20 14%7C7912528%7C158619972%7CNA th 12. Monday, April 13
Cuba

Readings:
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 5.
● Google News Search. Example: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/a rticle10908461.html

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Find and read 3 to 5 in depth news articles (depending on length) about Cuba plus
Chapter 5 from the textbook. Use (and cite) that material to write a 5 page paper tracing the history of the Cuban embargo, explaining its longevity, and its eminent demise. th
13. Monday, April 20
Argentina

Readings:
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 9.
● “The tragedy of Argentina. A century of decline.”
The Economist,
February
15, 2014. http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21596582-one-hundred-years-a go-argentina-was-future-what-went-wrong-century-decline
● “The parable of Argentina”
The Economist,
February 15, 2014. http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21596515-there-are-lessons-ma ny-governments-one-countrys-100-years-decline-parable?fsrc=nlw%7Chig
%7C2-13-2014%7C7790603%7C158619972%7CNA
th
14. Monday, April 27
Mexico and Latin America Today

Paper on Cuba due.
Readings:
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 3.
● Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith,
Modern Latin America
. Chapter 16
● En Español:
Discurso de Lázaro Cárdenas sobre la expropiación http://www.adnpolitico.com/gobierno/2013/08/07/discurso-de-lazaro-car denas-sobre-la-expropiacion-petrolera