Instructor: Dr. Richard Stoller (Office hours: T/Th 3:50-5:00 or by
appointment)
10 Atherton Hall
863-2635 or rjs27@psu.edu
Course Web page: http://www.personal.psu.edu/rjs27/hist179_sp02.html
(you're already here!)
You can get there directly, via e-Lion, or via CourseWeb. (Note
that on e-Lion or CourseWeb you're not getting the actual course web page--it
has the link to the page, not the page itself.) You will need to use
the Web page, since it will include discussion questions and links to Web
resources.
Note (3/11): I've reduced the 3/14 "interpretive" readings from Doña María’s Story to pp. 119-156 only. Of course, you still have to read up to p. 116 as well, since that's the "story" that is "interpreted" in the following section.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Click here for Paper #1 questions and instructions (due February 21)
Click here for Huasipongo or Yawar Fiesta book review instructions (due February 28)
SCHEDULE
OF READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
INTRODUCTION:
This course focuses on Latin America (with limited coverage of the
Caribbean) from the early 1800s through the present. For the colonial
period (c.1500-c.1820), it’s easy to see why Latin America has a "common
history"—most of it was ruled by two quite similar countries, Spain and
Portugal. But after the colonial system collapsed, giving rise to
over a dozen independent countries by the 1830s, the issue becomes more
complicated. What do these countries have in common, besides a "colonial
heritage" (which most people think is a Bad Thing, except for the pretty
architecture), and a continued dependence upon markets in developed countries
for their economic prosperity (which some people thing is an Even Worse
Thing)? How can we explain the continuing similarities between these
countries, without losing sight of their diversity?
Our approach in this course is broadly chronological, but for each period we will focus on one or more countries that illustrate (however imperfectly) the trends of the period. While we will not be able to include all countries on an equal basis, you will have an opportunity to explore other countries or topics of interest to you in the last paper.
The goal of the course is not to give you an encyclopedic knowledge
of Latin America, but rather to give you a framework for understanding
how current issues are rooted in past historical processes, and to give
you a better sense of how "big-picture" historical thems are "lived" by
ordinary people in Latin American society. A related goal of the
course is to acquaint you with the historiography of Latin American: the
different approaches that historians have used to understand the region.
Note (1/12/02): If you'd like a "one-stop shopping" Web site for Latin America-related resources, check out LANIC, run by the University of Texas. It has almost no content of its own, but it has hundreds (thousands?) of links from the countries themselves (such as newspapers and official government sites) and from the US. Whatever topic you choose for your final paper (see below), you'll probably find useful resources on LANIC.
FORMAT AND BOOKS/READINGS:
While historians do use a variety of resources (including film/video
and photograhy, which we will frequently employ in class), most of us are
basically readers when it comes to how we research and how we "consume"
each others’ ideas—so this class is mostly based on reading and on the
in-class discussion of readings. Some classes will be mostly lecture-based
(especially when introdicing themes or countries not adequately covered
in the readings), while some will be discussion-based. The course
has six assigned books, in order of first appearance:
Note (1/10/02): I will put James, Williams, Icaza, and Arguedas on Regular Reserve at Pattee Library, for those who prefer not to purchase them. One copy does not go very far between 45 students, so I hope that most of you will purchase the books. Chasteen may be put on reserve eventually, once the library locates its copy. Lynch will not be put on reserve, because the library copy is the long original version, not the edited version we are using. The novels (Icaza/Arguedas) are on reserve in both English and Spanish, in case anyone would prefer to read them in their original language.
John Chasteen, Born in Blood and Fire, A Concise History of Latin America (Norton). Unlike most "survey texts," this book is theme-based (instead of attempting "100% coverage" of all countries), and it’s actually well-written.
John Lynch, Argentine Caudillo: Juan Manuel de Rosas (Scholarly Resources). A classic "political biography" of Argentina’s first military strongman.
Jorge Icaza, Huasipungo (The Villagers) (Southern Illinois). A novel that provides an extreme (some would say caricatured) depiction of Indian peasant life in 1920s Ecuador. Note: The Bookstore also has a few copies of Yawar Fiesta by José María Arguedas. This is a book about Peru dring the same period, so a few of you can buy this book instead of Icaza if you’re interested in a slightly longer (and, in literary terms, much better) book. Unfortunately it's out of print, or you’d all be reading it instead of Icaza!
Daniel James, Doña María’s Story: Life, History, Memory, and Political Identity (Duke). The heart of this book is a lengthy interview that James did with an elderly meat-packing worker a few years ago, about her life and political activities/opinions. The rest of the book looks at how this kind of "raw material" should be used by historians—in other words, when someone tells us their life story, should we take everything at face value?
Robert Williams, Export Agriculture and the Crisis in Central America (North Carolina). What, if anything, are the connections between your buying a Happy Meal, and the war in Central America? Well, now there is no war in Central America, but when this book was written in the late 1980s there was. The book is still in print now, even though the events it discusses are now in the "historical past," because Williams does a good job of showing connections between what goes on at an international level (and the "American consumer" level) and what happens to ordinary people Central America.
Alma Guillermoprieto, The Heart That Bleeds: Latin America Now (Vintage). This is a collection of journalistic essays that originally appeared in The New Yorker magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These were "current devents" back then, and now they’re "recent history."
In addition to the books, there are a number of readings on electronic
reserve. If you’ve never used electronic reserve, go to http://reserve.libraries.psu.edu/
for more information. From the course Web page, you’ll eventually
be able to link directly to most of the readings. There will also
be links directly to external Web sites for a few readings.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING:
Short (3-4pp) paper on course themes, due February 21 (15%)
Two book reviews (on Icaza-or-Arguedas and Williams), due Feb 28 and April 4 (20% total)
One 8-10pp essay on a topic of your choice, due on the last day of class (April 25). (30%)
One cumulative final examination (35%)
If you’re "on the cusp" between two grades, class participation can determine whether you go up or down.
Academic integrity is defined as the pursuit of scholarly activity in
an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity includes a commitment
to not engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation,
or deception. Such acts of dishonesty include cheating or copying, plagiarizing,
submitting another person's work as one's own, fabricating field data or
citations, "ghosting" (taking an exam for another student or having an
exam taken for you), stealing examinations, tampering with the academic
work of another student, facilitating other students' acts of academic
dishonesty, etc. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all
academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University and all members
of the University are expected to act in accordance with this principle.
The faculty and administrators associated with this course have high standards
of integrity and will reinforce them by taking reasonable steps in accordance
to Penn State policy. For more information about Penn State's policy on
academic integrity policy, go to: Senate Policy 49-20 "Academic Honesty"
at:
www.psu.edu/dus/unadbk/integrity.html
SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS:
Note (1/10/02): Discussion questions for the readings are found in the links under each date. They will be added as needed.
January 8 Course introduction; Periodization, Regionalization, and Themes
January 10 Conquest and the High Colonial era (c. 1490s-1740s)
Chasteen chap. 1
In-class video: Americas pt. 4 ("Mirrors of the
Heart")
January 15 Late-colonial reforms and revolts
Chasteen chaps. 2-3
January 17 Independence Era
Chasteen chap. 4
Simón Bolívar, 1811 letter and 1815 "Jamaica Letter" (electronic reserve, item #14)--be sure to read the right one!
Link to discussion questions for Chasteen/Bolívar readings
January 22 Post-colonial shakeout: states and parties, winners and losers
Chasteen chap. 5
Simón Bolívar, 1829-1830 letters/messages (electronic reserve, item #15)--be sure to read the right one!
Students with last names A-L: Fanny Calderón, Life in Mexico… [1843], Letters 40, 44, 45 (Web links--just click!)
Students with last names M-Z: John Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Central America… [1841], pp. 84-118 (electronic reserve, item #8)
NOTE: If you really want to read the reading that's not "yours," that's fine with me. They're about the same size, and about the same issues.
Link to discussion questions for Bolívar/Calderón/Stephens readings
January 24 Brazil and Caribbean sidebars
Lynch, Argentine Caudillo, pp. 1-92 (we won’t discuss this until next class)
Link to discussion questions for Lynch (all chapters)
January 29 Caudillismo as stereotype and system: the Argentine example
Lynch, Argentine Caudillo, pp. 95-165
Link to discussion questions for Lynch (all chapters)
January 31 The medio-siglo: Political change and conflict around 1850
José Pascual Afanador, Democracy in Sanjil
[1851], selected pages (electronic reserve, item
#2)
NOTE:
If you would like an easier-to-read (and easier-to-print) version of Afanador,
please download these two Microsoft Word files: one
contains Afanador's writings, and the other contains
the replies of his adversaries. It's always wise to have anti-virus
software if you're downloading Word files, but I'm pretty sure these are
virus-free!
Isaac Holton, New Granada, Twenty Months in the Andes [1853], selected pages (electronic reserve, item #12)
February 5 Liberal apogee and foreign influences/interventions
Chasteen chaps. 6-7
María Soltera (Mary Lester), A Lady’s Ride Across Spanish Honduras [1884], 1-23, 90-113 (electronic reserve, item #10)
Link to discussion questions for Lester
February 7 Brazil and the Caribbean again!
Euclides da Cunha, Rebellion in the Backlands, (electronic reserve, item #13)
NOTE: Just read 82-99, i.e. enough to understand the author's overall "project," i.e. what he's trying to accomplish. If you want to read more, by all means go ahead!
Intellectual Roots of Independence selections (electronic reserve, item #9)--This reading isn't as long as it looks (a lot of blank and partially-filled pages between each other), so try to read it all.
Link to discussion questions for da Cunha and Intellectual Roots
February 12 The U.S. role in Latin America and the Caribbean, c. 1900
Hubert Brown, Latin America… [1901], 235-283 (electronic reserve, item #11)
William Reid, The Young Man’s Chances in South and Central America [1914], selected pages (electronic reserve, item #18)
NOTE: Both of these are pretty easy readings, so you should be able to complete them. However, if you don't quite get to the end, you'll still get the general idea. Of your time is running out, it's better to read the first half of each than to read all of one and none of the other.
No discussion questions for today! Just do the readings...you'll get the picture. Just remember that we're interested in US attitudes towards Latin America, around 1910 (when both of these readings are from).
February 14 New Themes in a New Century: Nationalism and Pan-Americanism
Chasteen chap. 8 (much of this chapter looks far ahead, into the 1930s)
February 19 Mexican Revolution
Channing Arnold and Frederick Tabor Frost, The Rule of Porfirio Diaz [1909], and Francisco Madero, "The Plan of San Luis Potosi" [1910] (Web links--just click!)
We’ll be watching Viva Zapata [1952, directed by Elia Kazan] in class, so the discussion will be on Feb. 21.
February 21 Mexican Revolution and Aftermath
No reading—First paper due
February 26 Development, Depression, and new economic thinking (1920s-1930s)
Chasteen chap. 9 (much of this chapter looks far ahead, into the 1960s)
Start reading Icaza (Huasipungo) or Arguedas (Yawar Fiesta) for Thursday!
February 28 Development and ethnic oppression in the High Andes
Finish Icaza (Huasipungo) or Arguedas (Yawar Fiesta)
Book review due
(Spring break)
March 12 Peronism (part 1), and overview of "contemporary historiography"
James, Doña María’s Story, pp. 1-116 (We’ll discuss this on Thursday)
March 14 Peronism (part 2)
James, Doña María’s Story: pp. 119-156
Note: I've decided to eliminate
the other readings, since the 119-156 chapter raises enough issues for
us to discuss!
March 19 Cuban Revolution I: Origins and early development
Three speeches by Fidel Castro (Web links--just click):
1) "History
Will Absolve Me" (1953)
2) May
Day speech (1961)
3) Fourth
anniversary of the Revolution (1964)
You can print them directly from the Web page, or
cut-and-paste into a word processing program, if you want printed copies
of these readings.
March 21 Cuban Revolution II: "Maturity" and regional repercussions
Readings to be determined!
March 26 Alternative models of "revolution": Mexico (1930s-70s), Bolivia (1950s)
Guillermoprieto, pp. 47-67, 237-258
March 28 New-model dictatorship in the Southern Cone
Chasteen, ch. 10
April 2 Central America I: 19th-century themes, well into the 1960s
Williams, pp. 3-9 (everyone)
pp. 13-73 (half of the class)
pp. 77-152 (other half of the
class)
April 4 Central America II: Revolutionary movements and repression
Williams, 155-192
Guillermoprieto, 23-46
Book review due
April 9 No class--consultations about paper
April 11 Neoliberalism and Redemocratization
Chasteen, ch. 11
Guillermoprieto, pp.
April 16 Violence and its causes in Colombia
Guillermoprieto, pp. 3-22, 92-118, 317-342
April 18 Violence and its causes in Peru
Guillermoprieto, pp. 68-91, 259-286
April 23 Latin American and Caribbean presence in the United States
Readings TBA
April 25 Review of course themes and their projection into the future
Final paper due