Contemporary Latin America Classroom:  Hours:  Mon. Wed. Dr. Antonio de la Cova Office: Sycamore Hall 043 Hours: 11AM-Noon  M-W Phone: 855-4745

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Provides a survey of Latin America from 1492 to the present. Emphasis on nationalism, international relations, economy, culture and society.

READINGS: You are expected to read all of the texts assigned to this course and the homework assigned readings. Questions regarding the readings will appear on the exams. The texts available at the bookstore are:

Thomas Skidmore & Peter Smith. Modern Latin America. Oxford, 2001.
Mark Burkholder & Lyman Johnson. Colonial Latin America. Oxford, 2004.
Carlos Fuentes. The Death of Artemio Cruz. Farrar, revised ed. 1991.

OTHER MATERIAL: Documentaries and overhead projections presented are part of class lectures, requiring taking notes on these occasions. Homework will be assigned from the Latin American Studies web page.

GRADING: Your grade will consist of three exams with an essay component and a research paper. The exams will cover material from the readings, lectures and presentations. There will be no "Extra Credit." The final grade is:

      First exam 20%   Second Exam 30%    Third Exam 30%  Research Paper 20%
       A = 100-90; B+ = 89-87; B = 86-80; C+ = 79-77; C = 76-70; D+ = 69-67; D = 66-60; F = 59-0

RESEARCH PAPER: Choose your own topic related to this course. Four to five pages in text length, typed, double-spaced, with standard margins, without illustrations. Include at least three citations from the Latin American Studies web site, three books and three academic journals. A late paper will lose ten points. Turn in a paper copy and one on disk or by e-mail.

MAKE-UP EXAMS: It will only be given if you have a valid physician's excuse or a verified family emergency. Makeups are different and considerably more difficult than the regularly scheduled test.

ATTENDANCE: The roll will be taken at every class. Absences totaling 8 classes (20% of the course) will result in an F for the course.

CLASSES         LECTURE TOPICS                           ASSIGNED READINGS

March 10-14  Introduction and study guides         Skidmore, 1-41; Burkholder, 1-43.   
             The voyages of Columbus               Hoping DNA Will Discover Columbus
             Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro   Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico    
             Film: Christopher Columbus            The Fate of Pizarro's Head 

March 17-21  Colonial administration               Skidmore, 42-67; Burkholder, 44-82.
             The Age of Piracy                     Society in Colonial Spanish America  
             The Slave Trade                       Anne Bonny, the Notorious Female Pirate
             Film: The African Slave Trade         Maroons: Dark Warriors of the Spanish Main

March 24-28  Church and State                      Skidmore, 47-106; Burkholder, 83-110.
             Wars of Independence                  Economy in Colonial Spanish America 
             Conservatives vs. Liberals            Military Aspects of Independence 
             First Exam.                           Independence: Politics ? Government 

             Research paper prospectus and bibliography due. 

March 31-    Caudillos in Venezuela and Colombia   Skidmore,107-136; Burkholder, 111-143.
April 4      The tyranny of Rosas in Argentina     Caudillo Politics: A Structural Analysis  
             Paraguay under dictatorship (1811-70) Rosas as viewed by American Diplomats 
             Film: Ecuador ? Galapagos Islands     Paraguayan Isolation under Dr. Francia

April 7-11   War of the Triple Alliance (1864-70)  Skidmore, 137-176; Burkholder, 144-181.
             War of the Pacific (1879-1883)        The War of the Triple Alliance  
             The Spanish-American War (1898)       The War in the Pacific in Lima and Callao
             Film: The Splendid Little War         A Splendid Little War 

April 14-19  Economic trends                       Skidmore, 177-216; Burkholder, 182-211.
             Culture and religion                  Latin America's Poor Survive It All
             Literature                            The Spirit of Santeria 
             Second Exam.                          Jorge Luis Borges 

April 28-    Dollar Diplomacy                      Skidmore, 217-258; Burkholder, 212-234.
May 2        Good Neighbor Policy                  FDR Good Neighbor Speech   
             The Chaco War: Paraguay vs. Bolivia   The Chaco Dispute  
             Film: Saludos Amigos

May 5-9      Populism in Venezuela and Peru        Skidmore,259-315; Burkholder, 235-279.
             Populism in Colombia and Ecuador      Populism and Nationalism in Venezuela  
             Populism in Argentina and Bolivia     Parameters of the Bolivian Revolution 
             Film: Evita                           Peronism

May 12-16    Jorge Gaitan and the Bogotazo         Skidmore, 316-354; Burkholder, 280-337.
             Argentina and the Falklands War       La Violencia in Colombia (1946-1957)        
             Pinochet regime in Chile              How Argentina Went From Myth to Mistake   
             Film: Druglord Manhunt                Chilean Military Faces Reckoning 

             Research Paper Due

May 19-23    Colombian Civil War                   Skidmore, 355-422; Burkholder, 338-391.
             Fujimori rule in Peru                 "Fujipopulism" in Peru, 1990-1995 
             The Chavez Revolution in Venezuela    In the Time of Hugo Chavez 
             Third Exam