History 382

Spring Term 1999, HIST 382		Professor Carlos Aguirre
Latin America		Download Word97
12:30-13:50 UH / 250 Clinical Services		Download Text-Only
CRN: 33064		Office Hours
Link to Professor Aguirre's Web Site

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is the third part of the Latin American History survey, and covers the period from 1910 (the beginning of the Mexican Revolution) to the present. It offers a general overview of the major political, social, and economic developments in 20^th century Latin America. Although it follows a country-by-country approach, we will keep a regional and comparative perspective that will allow us to highlight both the commonalities and the peculiarities of the countries that make up this heterogenous and diverse region. Among the topics to be covered are the Mexican, Cuban, and Nicaraguan revolutions, the military dictatorships of the Southern Cone, civil wars in Central America, and the effect of neo-liberalism in the region. By the end of the term, students should possess a better understanding of some of the most critical issues affecting the region, such as the fragility of democratic institutions, the pervasiveness of poverty and inequality, the persistent display of political violence, the role of the United States in Latin America, and the dynamics of cultural and social conflict.

COURSE POLICIES

Grades will be based on:

	3 quizes (including a map quiz), 10 points each, 30 points total.
	In-class midterm exam, 25 points
	Book report, 10 points
	In-class final exam, 35 points

Grading policies

Course incompletes will be granted ONLY in cases of extreme need and ONLY to those students that have an acceptable record of class attendance and get at least a C in the mid-term. Students that want an incomplete must make arrangements with their respective GTF before the date of the final exam.

REQUIRED TEXTS

The following books are available for purchase at the U of O Bookstore. They are also on reserve at Knight Library.

Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, Modern Latin America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 4th edition

Pamela Constable and Arturo Valenzuela, A Nation of Enemies. Chile under Pinochet (New York: Norton, 1991)

Marifeli Perez-Stable, The Cuban Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press)

Alma Guillermoprieto, The Heart that Bleeds. Latin America Now (New York: Knopf, 1994).

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week I

Introduction to the course / Overview of Latin American Economic and Political Development in the 20th century.

Mexico: The Revolutionary decade (1910-1920)

Readings: Skidmore/Smith, 1-67, 226-239

Week II

Map Quiz/ Consolidating the Mexican Revolution (1920-1940)

From Stability to Crisis in modern Mexico (1940-1990s)

Readings: Skidmore/Smith, 239-262; Guillermoprieto, 47-67 and 237-258

Week III

Brazil: The Poverty of Progress

Argentina: Populism, Dirty War, and Fragile Democracy

Readings: Skidmore/Smith, 68-113, 147-188; Guillermoprieto, 119-150, 151-177, 287-316.

Week IV

Chile: Democracy, Socialism, and Dictatorship

Book report due / Video and discussion of A Nation of Enemies

Readings: Skidmore/Smith, 114-146; Constable/Valenzuela, ALL.

Week V

Peru: Oligarchical Rule and Military Reformism

QUIZ #2/ Maoists and Neo-liberals: Challenges to democracy in contemporary Peru

Readings: Skidmore/Smith, 189-225; Guillermoprieto, 68-91, 259-286

Week VI

MIDTERM

The making of the Cuban Revolution

Readings: Skidmore/Smith, 263-290; Perez-Stable, start.

Week VII

Socialist Cuba (1960-1990): From Experimentation to Soviet Orthodoxy

Cuba in the 1990s: A Special period

Readings: Skidmore/Smith, 291-293; Perez-Stable, finish.

Week VIII

Central America: Overview of economic development

QUIZ #3 / Central America: Patterns of political contention

Readings: Skidmore and Smith, 321-334.

Week IX

Nicaragua: From dinastic rule to revolution

Costa Rica: an island in the storm?

Readings: Skidmore and Smith, 337-345; Guillermoprieto, 23-46.

Week X

Latin America today: realities and challenges

Review for final exam.

Readings: Guillermoprieto, 3-22, 92-118, 178-236, 317-342.

Final Exam