History 508:262

Modern Latin America

Spring 2008

Outlines of class sessions

 

Below are broad outlines for class sessions of Modern Latin America. Outlines will appear on this site a day or two before each class session; they will remain on the site for the semester. I intend for these very broad outlines to help you begin thinking about the issues that we will cover in class. (Or, if you miss class, give you some indication of what you miss.) You should not rely on these outlines as exhaustive descriptions for classes. And you should, especially, not rely on them as a substitute for class attendance. Depending on how any class session actually progresses, we may not cover the issues in the order that they appear; and we may use different words and phrases to cover the concepts.

 

Everyday Lives
End of 20th Century

30 April

Migration

Transnational lives

·        Mexican Lives

Final essays

24 April

Discussion of Chapter 15, the film Two Weeks in the Slums and N. Scheper-Hughes; Death Without Weeping.

If your last name begins A-L, you should meet in our regular classroom.

If your last name begins M-Z, you should meet in CIL212 (the same building and room as the last discussion group.)

For Monday, read selections from J. Hellerman (ed.) Mexican Lives

21April:

Film: Santa Marta: Weeks in a Slum

For Thursday, in addition to Chapter 15 of the text, you should also read the selection from N. Scheper-Hughes; Death Without Weeping.

The due date for the final book review 24 April.

Recovery from terror

The “lost decade

City & country

Poverty

  • Haves & have-nots
  • Poverty & gender (next week)

Environment

Community

 

 

Revolution, Reaction, Democracy, 1959-Present

10 & 14 April

Note these changes:

·        On Monday, we all meet in the normal classroom, rather than in discussion groups (as I had indicated earlier.)

·        Please read this article from the New York Times, 13April2008

Late 20th Century

Economic reality [finishing from 3 April]

Democratization & Globalization

  • Timing
  • Definitions
    • Democratization
    • Globalization
  • Why?
  • Impact on lives

 

7 April

The novel Dreaming in Cuban and an article from the New York Times at the time of Castro’s resignation speech – click here

For Thursday 10April, you should have read he last part of Chapter 14 (pp. 448-458) and the insert on “On the Streets of Nuevo Laredo.”

3 April

Late 20th Century

For Monday, read the novel Dreaming in Cuban and an article from the New York Times at the time of Castro’s resignation speech – click here

 

Political trends

  • Revolution
  • Tyranny
  • Democratization

Economic reality

  • Poverty & inequality
  • Informality

 

 

31 March

Cuban Revolution

Think about: What might have been some of the “good” and “bad” features of the Cuban Revolution?

Background

Chronology of the “Revolution”

Effect on Cuba/Cubans

            Ideology vs nationalism

Material circumstances

            Political authoritarianism

Cold War

Aftermath

 

 

Between Revolutions (continued)

24 March

We will break into groups to discuss changing dynamics of gender and the family in the middle of the 20th century. For this class you should read from Restructuring Patriarchy and review the chapters from Dulcinea in the Factory.

If your last name begins A-L, you should meet in our regular classroom.

If your last name begins M-Z, you should meet in CIL201 (the same building and room as the last discussion group.)

 

Class will not meet on Thursday.

For the following week, you should read Chapter 14. Especially focus on the section on the Cuban Revolution (up to page 430) for Monday’s class (31 March); for Thursday (3 April) read the rest of the chapter, especially focusing on the sections on Nicaragua, Argentina and the “Slice of Life: on the Streets of Nuevo Laredo.”

 

13 March

Discussion of Midterm Essays

You will have as much time as you need to ask any questions you have.

 

Immediately after Spring Break (Monday 24 March) for this class:

·        Midterm essay

·        Discussion sections: you should be prepared to discuss the new reading from Restructuring Patriarchy and the reading Dulcinea in the Factory, which you should review

·        Optional: Book review on the entire book Dulcinea in the Factory. See the questions on the syllabus. (Remember: If you do have not submitted a book review by 24 March, you will need to review Revolutionizing Motherhood – due 21April. You are responsible for obtaining a copy of the book on your own – through the library, book stores (probably on-line) or your local library.)

 

Between Revolutions, 1920-1959

28 February – 6 March

Reading schedule:

28 February: Martin & Wasserman, Chapter 12

Be sure to read the selection (p. 382-382) on the Semana Trágica

3 March: Selections from Levine & Crocetti (eds.) The Brazil Reader selected readings on Getúlio Vargas

6 March: Farnsworth-Alvear; Dulcinea in the Factory; Chapters 1 and 2

Note Change: Read only Chapters 1 & 2 of Dulcinea (Skip to those chapters in the file; it is page 21 of the pdf file, or page 39 of the hard-copy book.)

 

Going to the Factory

What industrialization does to people

            What did industrialization mean for the town of Medellín, and what did it mean for the women who worked in the textile factories?           

Medellín

Work

Behavior

The strike

 

Brazil gets BIG – the Vargas Regime

Why was Getúlio Vargas important, and how did he affect the lives of Brazilians?

The “Corporatist State”

Define

Effects

Nationalism

The International Setting

 

Between Revolutions

Coming out of Revolution

Global crises

Economic change

            Commodity Lottery

            Industrialization & labor

The “social question”

Political participation

            Selected political leaders

 

Modernization, 1880-1920

18-25 February

 

18 & 21 February: We will consider Chapter 11 of the text. On 21 February, please be prepared for a discussion (not a lecture) about the issues raised in the readings from Judas at the Jockey Club.

25 February: We will break into discussion groups that will consider both the previous readings and the novel The Underdog. Available on-line, through the Rutgers University Library system.

If you are going to write a review on The City of Mexico in the Age of Díaz, you should submit the paper through your Sakai dropbox before the beginning of class on 25 February.

 

Economic modernization

Politics

Modernization & social change

Modernization & resistance

            General resistance

            Mexican Revolution

                        Summary chronology

 

Data Tables

 

Everyday Life during the 19th Century

14 February

Group discussion

Your discussions will cover: the text readings (Chapters 9 and 10), the supplemental reading on Caudillos, the material and issues raised in class from 31 January to 11 February, and the film Camila.

If you are in Jahaira’s section (last name beginning A – L), go to the regular classroom.

If you are in Professor Triner’s section (last name beginning M – Z) go to:

            CIL 212

School of Communication, Information & Library Studies

4 Huntington St

 

NOTE: We will begin the next section of the syllabus (Economic Modernization 1880-1920; you should be reading Chapter 11, the selections from Judas at the Jockey Club for next week’s classes, and the novel The Underdogs (available on-line) for the following class.

 

11 February

Map quiz

Short discussion of book reviews

 

·        Race-Class-Gender

·        Countryside vs City

o       Home

o       Work

·        Uncertainty - crime

 

7 February

Film: Camila

At the beginning of class on 11 February, you should hand in a short response to the following:

Camila is the story (loosely based on a historical episode) of a young woman from an elite family in mid-nineteenth century Argentina eloping with a Jesuit priest. Summarize this story, identifying the ways in which the elopement of Camila and Ladislao became intertwined with political events of the day.

 

Remember that your first chance to pass the map quiz will occur at the beginning of class on 11 February.

I will also discuss the book reviews and paper writing on Monday.

 

31 January & 4 February

Regionalism, War & Reconstruction

4 February

The case of Argentina

·        Wars; militarized government

·        Consolidation of “Argentina”

o       Boundaries

o       Liberalism

·        Caudillos

·        Economy

31 January

What were the major challenges facing the “new nations” of Latin America in the 19th century?

Independence

  • Violence
  • No government

Nation-building

Building an economy

 

 

28 January

Independence in Latin America

What were the important local and international factors that combined to feed the Wars of Independence throughout Latin America?

Wars of Independence

Causes

  • International
  • Local
  • Many “wars”

Mexico

Brazil

Outcome

  • Incomplete; conservative
  • BUT: independent

 

24 January

Introduction

Modern Latin America: What is it?

The course:

  • Themes
  • Requirements