Week 1: Introductions & Setting the Stage
Monday13 January |
IntroductionsCourse Setup:
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Wednesday15 January |
Overview of Latin America Today*Map Quiz Guidelines Modern LA SP20* Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How does Chasteen (BB&F) characterize Latin America? What does he define as key characteristics of the region? How does Chasteen’s interpretation fit with the current events you read for today? |
Friday17 January |
Colonial Legacies?Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:In what ways do the previous three centuries of Iberian colonial rule influence the course of Modern Latin American history? What does the video’s analysis of casta paintings reveal about the construction and maintenance of colonial hierarchies of power? |
Week 2: Independence
Monday20 January |
MLK Day of ServiceParticipate in today’s educational and service activities!
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Wednesday22 January |
Independence & The Peoples of Latin AmericaWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What were the most important political and economic aspirations of Latin Americans fighting for independence from Spain and Portugal? In what specific ways did gender, race, and social status shape individuals’ aspirations for the newly independent nations of Latin America? |
Friday24 January |
Workshop: Digital Public History*Map Quiz* Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What is public history? In what ways might the work you do for our digital timeline be different from a traditional primary source essay? How can your source selection increase the coverage of historically under-studied peoples and topics on the internet? How can you use this work as part of your professional portfolio? |
Week 3: Imagining New Nations
Monday27 January |
CaudillosWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What features characterize caudillos? What does their prevalence in the post-independence era suggest about Latin American societies? How and why have historians’ analyses of caudillos changed over time? |
Wednesday29 January |
ProgressWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:
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Friday31 January |
Liberalism & the Catholic ChurchStudy Guide Unit Quiz 1 MLA SP2020 Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:
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Week 4: Enslavement & Resistance
Monday3 February |
Workshop: Diviner & Digital Public History*Guest workshop by Megan Smeznik, Educational Technology* For this hands-on workshop, please bring:
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Wednesday5 February |
Enslaved Life in Cuba & BrazilWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What do we know about the daily lives of enslaved people in Latin America? What were their living and working conditions? How did these shape the development of Afro-Latino cultures? |
Friday7 February |
Afro Latin America*Unit Quiz #1* Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What do we know about the daily lives of enslaved people in Latin America? What were their living and working conditions? How did these shape the development of Afro-Latino cultures? In what ways does the tango reflect Afro-Argentine cultural influences? How and why did white Argentines appropriate this cultural form as a symbol of national identity? |
Week 5: Neocolonialism
Monday10 February |
Ideas of Race & “Whitening”Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What about these late 19th and early 20th century ideas of a “scientific” basis for racial hierarchies was so appealing to many Latin Americans of European descent? What problems did these pseudo-scientific ideas raise for conceptions of national identity? |
Wednesday12 February |
Neocolonialism in the Country**First Set of Timeline Entries Due** by the end of the day tomorrow (Thursday 1/13) Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:In what ways does Juan Esquivel’s life exemplify the consequences of rural development and neocolonialism described in your textbook? |
Friday14 February |
Neocolonialism in the CityWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How does the presence of formerly marginalized social groups fulfilling new economic roles transform urban life? What conflicts emerge? |
Week 6: Nationalism
Monday17 February |
NationalismWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What political, social, and economic factors explain the rise in nationalist governments in Latin America? |
Wednesday19 February |
Nationalism: Primary SourcesWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:In what ways are these authors reacting to neocolonialism? Ideas promoted by “scientific racism”? Questions of what it means to be Mexican/Cuban/Brazilian etc.? |
Thursday20 February |
Reading Questions Blog Post
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Friday21 February |
The Mexican RevolutionWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What were the main social, economic, and political tensions that culminated in the Mexican revolution? What kinds of alliances were possible between the various groups fighting? |
Week 7: Latin America in the 30s & 40s
Monday24 February |
The Mexican Revolution: Artists RespondTwo short videos to watch before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How does Diego Rivera respond to the conflicts culminating the Mexican Revolution? How do these artists use traditional Mexican forms to make an argument about contemporary life? What do these pieces reveal about race, gender, class, and identity in post-revolutionary Mexico? |
Wednesday26 February |
PopulismWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:Define Populism in your own words. What appeals did Latin American populists make to appeal to newly enfranchised citizens? Looking at these sources, you think populists were heroes for the working class, or authoritarians mainly concerned with their own political power? Why? |
Thursday27 February |
Research Prospectus Due Saturday
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Friday28 February |
Timeline Work DayWorking in small groups, share your latest timeline posts with your peers. Work to complete before today’s class:
Upload your Prospectus to Moodle by Midnight on Saturday, February 29!
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Week 8: The Onset of the Cold War
Monday2 March |
The Motorcycle DiariesStudy Guide Unit Quiz 2 MLA SP2020 Work to complete before today’s class:
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Wednesday4 March |
Revolution**Timeline Set II Due** Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How did Latin American relations with the U.S. change after WWII? |
Friday6 March |
The Cuban Revolution*Unit Quiz #2* Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How do these primary sources portray Castro and the Cuban Revolution in the early years of the conflict? How does Cuba as a case study fit into our larger discussions of Latin America & the US during the Cold War? |
Spring Break
Week 9: Social Revolutions Go to moodle for revised syllabus
Monday23 March |
U.S. Cold War Policy in Latin AmericaWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How has U.S. political strategy towards Latin America changed over time? How did the U.S. see Latin America in a Cold War context? What implications did Kennan’s views of Latin America have for Latin Americans themselves? |
Wednesday25 March |
Social RevolutionsWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How do you define a revolutionary movement? What major social, political, and economic issues do these revolutionaries identify? How do they seek to resolve these problems? |
Friday27 March |
Workshop: Presentations & Oral Communication*Optional Secondary Source Critique Due* |
Week 10: Dirty Wars Go to moodle for revised syllabus
Monday30 March |
Dirty WarsWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How did the Cold War fit into the longer history of U.S. relationships with Latin America? How would you explain the development of anti-communist alliances between Latin American leaders and the U.S.? |
Wednesday1 April |
Case Study: The Massacre at El MozoteWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:How does journalist Mark Danner describe the events at El Mozote? What do you think this atrocity reveals about human rights in Latin America during the Cold War? |
Friday3 April |
Transitions to DemocracyWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What is “official” history? How are official national narratives created and reinforced? |
Week 11: Transnational Identities
Monday6 April |
Translated JusticeWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What cultural assumptions shape individual’s understandings of history? How does García’s research illuminate our discussions of Rigoberta Menchú? |
Wednesday8 April |
Neoliberalisms & BeyondWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:Who benefits from Neoliberal policies? Who is harmed? How have these polices affected the lives of people in Latin America? |
Friday10 April |
Transnational Identities**Timeline Set III Due** Work to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:What do these cultural forms (installation art, food) reveal about the ongoing formation of new transnational identities in the U.S.? |
Week 12: Student Research
Monday13 April |
Student PresentationsAlberto
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Wednesday15 April |
Student Presentations
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Friday17 April |
Student Research PresentationsPeyton, Denise, Emilee
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Week 13: Student Research
Monday20 April |
Student ResearchTongtong, Erin, Alex
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Wednesday22 April |
Nature & ProtestWork to complete before today’s class:
Questions to consider as you read:
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Friday24 April |
I.S. Symposium*Timeline Set IV Due* by noon Work to complete before today’s class:
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Week 14: Latin America Today
Monday27 April |
Current Events*Unit Quiz #3* Work to complete before today’s class:
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Wednesday29 April |
Workshop: Research EssayProject Work Day:Please come to class with your laptop and a draft of your research essay. |
Friday1 May |
ConclusionsWork to complete before today’s class:
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