Courses:

Introduction to Latin American Studies >> Content Detail

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Readings

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Weekly readings range from 75 to 130 pages, or about 100 pages on average. Readings include articles from the popular press, literary works, and scholarly research from the social sciences.

If your first language is not English, you should still try to read the non-literary works in English. For literary works (such as García Márquez and Allende), however, please feel free to read them in the original.

Readings are normally due on the first day of class of the week in which they are assigned. Where the first day is entirely occupied by a lecture, however, you may wait until later in the week.

Many weekly readings are accompanied by videos or films, which are an integral part of the course. Videos from the Americas series, produced in part by WGBH-Boston, are one hour each. Please note that the film The Battle of Chile is very long, so you should plan in advance.

Required Texts

Winn, Peter. Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, ISBN: 9780520201811.

Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994, ISBN: 9780520080836.

Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. Translated by Magda Bogin. New York, NY: Everyman's Library, 2005, ISBN: 9781400043187 (English).

Colburn, Forrest D. Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN: 9780691091815.

Readings by Session

L = Lecture R = Recitation

Course readings.
SES #	TOPICS	READINGS
L1	Introduction and Pop Quiz	Course Packet and Pop Quiz.
I. Historical Inheritances and Current Realities
L2	Finish Pop Quiz. Latin America as a "Living Museum"	Márquez, Gabriel García. "Big Mama's Funeral (short story, 1962)." No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories. Translated by J. S. Bernstein. New York, NY: Harper Colophone, 1979, pp. 153-70. ISBN: 9780060907006. Winn, Peter. "A View from the South," and "Legacies of Empire." Chapters 1 and 2 in Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 2-83. ISBN: 9780520201811. Colburn, Forrest D. "Latin America as a Place," "Urban Bias," and "The Poor." In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 9-24 and 82-88. ISBN: 9780691091815.
R1	Show and Tell
L3	Class Discussion of Big Mama's Funeral
II. The Legacies of Conquest and Slavery
L4	Conquest, Bourbon "Reconquest," and The Post-Colonial Period	Winn, Peter. "Children of the Sun," and "A Question of Color." Chapters 7 and 8 in Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 234-303. ISBN: 9780520201811. Begin reading: Allende, Isabel. House of the Spirits. (Note names of the women.) Film Americas Television Series: Julia, Raul, narrator. "Mirrors of the Heart: Color, Class, and Identity." Program 4. Americas. Produced by Judith Vecchione with WGBH (Boston). South Burlington, VT: Annenberg/CPB Collection, 1993, ISBN: 1559467487.
R2	Americas Video: Mirrors of the Heart: Color, Class, and Identity
L5	Class Discussion of Race
III. Development and Underdevelopment in Latin America
L6	Lecture: Theories of Development	Klaren, Peter F. "Lost Promise: Explaining Latin American Underdevelopment." In Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Edited by Peter F. Klaren and Thomas J. Bossert. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1986, pp. 3-33. ISBN: 9780813300078. [Skip part on "corporatism"] Frank, André Gunder. "The Development of Underdevelopment." In Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Edited by Peter F. Klaren and Thomas J. Bossert. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1986, pp. 111-23. ISBN: 9780813300078. dos Santos, Teodoro. "The Structure of Dependence." The American Economic Review 60, no. 2 (May 1970): 231-6. Haber, Steven. "Assessing the Obstacles to Industrialization: The Mexican Economy, 1830-1940." Journal of Latin American Studies 24, no. 1 (February 1992): 1-32. Colburn, Forrest D. "The Business of Being in Business." In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 45-54. ISBN: 9780691091815. Continue reading House of the Spirits. (Be sure to read the story about the chinchillas.)
R3	Prepare for Individual Class Presentations
L7	Economic Development
IV. Underdevelopment and What to Do About It
L8	The Latin American Debt Crisis, Structural Adjustment, and Market-oriented Reform	Gereffi, Gary. "Drug Firms and Dependency in Mexico: The Case of the Steroid Hormone Industry." International Organization 32 (1978): 237-86. Haber, Steven "Assessing the Obstacles to Industrialization: The Mexican Economy, 1830-1940." Journal of Latin American Studies 24, no. 1 (February 1992): 1-32.
R4	Breakout Groups in Preparation for Extemporaneous Presentations
L9	Steroid Hormone Industry and Mexican Development Strategies Today
V. Development, Underdevelopment and Politics in Chile
R5	The Battle for Chile (Part I)	Finish reading The House of the Spirits. Valenzuela, Arturo. "Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime." In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Edited by Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1989, pp. 194-216. ISBN: 9781555870447. Film Video: Guzmán, Patricio. The Battle of Chile (Part I). New York, NY: First Run / Icarus Films, 1978.
L10	Class Discussion of The House of the Spirits
VI. Development, Democratic Breakdown, and Military Rule
L11	Lecture: The Breakdown of Chilean Democracy	Valenzuela, Arturo. "Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime." In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Edited by Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1989, pp. 216-226. ISBN: 9781555870447. Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California press, 1994, pp. 1-6, 56-77, 83-104, 113-159. ISBN: 9780520080836. Film Documentary: Guzmán, Patricio. The Battle of Chile (Part II). New York, NY: First Run / Icarus Films, 1978.
R6	The Battle for Chile (Part II)
L12	Class Discussion of Chilean Experience
VII. Re-Democratization in Chile (and Elsewhere)
L13	Lecture: Bureaucratic Authoritarianism in Chile and Elsewhere	Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California press, 1994, pp.163-267. ISBN: 9780520080836. Valenzuela, Arturo. "Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime." In Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset, Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1989, pp. 227-240. ISBN: 9781555870447. Film Drama: Bortnik, Aida, and Luis Puenzo. La Historia Oficial. Directed by Luis Puenzo. Argentina: Historias Cinematograficas, 1985.
R7	La Historia Oficial
L14	Lecture: The Transition to Democracy in Chile and Elsewhere
VIII. Civil-Military Relations in Latin America and Accountability for Past Abuses
L15	Establishing Civilian Control Over the Military and Transitional Justice	Hunter, Wendy. "Continuity or Change? Civil-Military Relations in Democratic Argentina, Chile, and Peru." Political Science Quarterly 112, no. 3 (Autumn, 1997): 453-475. Colburn, Forrest D. "Fragile Democracies." In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 33-44. ISBN: 9780691091815. Langguth, A. J. Hidden Terrors: The Truth about U.S. Police Operations in Latin America. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1979, pp. 160-64. ISBN: 9780394738024. Huntington, Samuel. "The Torturer Problem," and "The Praetorian Problem". In The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993, pp. 211-51. ISBN: 9780806125169.
R8	Recent Events in Chile
L16	Day of the Dead and Religion in Latin America
IX. Accountability for Past Abuses and the Rule of Law
L17	Preparations for Class Debate	Cohen, Stanley. "State Crimes of Previous Regimes: Knowledge, Accountability, and the Policing of the Past." Law and Social Inquiry 20, no. 1 (Winter, 1995): 7-50.
R9	Prosecute and Punish or Forgive and Forget?
L18	Prosecute and Punish or Forgive and Forget?
X. Rule of Law: Corruption and Criminal Justice in Mexico
L19	Lecture: The Rule of Law in Latin America: "Guilty Until Proven Rich"	Davis, Diane E. "Undermining the Rule of Law: Democratization and the Dark Side of Police Reform in Mexico." Latin American Politics and Society 48, no. 1 (2006): 55-86. Montiel, López, and Angel Gustavo. "The Military, Political Power, and Police Relations in Mexico City." Latin American Perspectives 27, no. 2 (March 2000): 79-94. Magaloni, Beatriz, and Guillermo Zepeda. "Democratization, Judicial and Law Enforcement Institutions, and the Rule of Law in Mexico." In Dilemmas of Political Change in Mexico. Edited by Kevin J. Middlebrook. London, UK: Institute of Latin American Studies, LSE and La Jolla, CA: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UCSD, 2004, pp. 166-95. ISBN: 9781900039451. Colburn, Forrest D. "Crime" in Latin America at the End of Politics . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 73-80. ISBN: 9780691091815.
R10	Criminal Justice in Mexico
L20	Lecture: One-Party Rule, Democratization, and Corruption in Mexico
XI. Policing Mexico City
L21	Police Reform in Mexico City	Recent articles on police reform in Mexico. On-line sources on police reform in Mexico. See: Project on Reforming the Administration of Justice in Mexico Human Rights First. "Mexico Policing Project." Center for U. S.-Mexican Studies University of California, San Diego, International Orgnaizations Links Varenik, Robert O. "Exploring Roads to Police Reform: Six Recommendations." Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Project on Reforming the Administration of Justice in Mexico (May 15, 2003): 1-15. Arroyo, Mario. "Evaluando la 'Estrategía Giuliani': la Política de Cero Tolerancia en el Distrito Federal." Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Project on Reforming the Administration of Justice in Mexico, (May 15, 2003): 1-18. Antonio Carrillo Maza, Marco. "La Participación Ciudadana y el Enfoque Micro Social de la Seguridad Pública: El Caso de Baja California." Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Project on Reforming the Administration of Justice in Mexico (May 15, 2003): 1-16. Chapter 3 in "Democratizing the Police Abroad: What to Do and How to Do It." pp. 17-32 (PDF)^# Reames, Benjamin. "Police Forces in Mexico: A Profile." Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Project on Reforming the Administration of Justice in Mexico (May 15, 2003): 1-11.
XII. The Rule of Law in Brazil
L22	Class Discussion of de Soto's Argument. Prepare for Class Presentations	Holston, James. "The Misrule of Law: Land and Usurpation in Brazil." Comparative Studies in Society and History 33, no. 4 (October 1991): 695-725. de Soto, Hernando. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. London, UK: Bantam Press, 2000. pp. 1-37, 208-218. ISBN: 0593046641. Film Drama: Carneiro, João Emanuel, and Marcos Bernstein. Central Station. Directed by Walter Salles. New York, NY: Sony Pictures Classics, 1998.
R11	Central Station
L23	How Should Land Disputes in Brazil be Resolved?
XIII. The New Populism in Latin America
L24	Lecture: Revolution, Reduction: The New Populism in Latin America	Winn, Peter. "Latin America and the Caribbean at 2000: A New Millennium?" In Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 498-521, 527-549. ISBN: 9780520201811.
R12	Venezuela
L25	Discussion of Venezuela. Prepare for Final Exam
XIV. Conclusion: Latin America After Big Mama
L26	Class Discussion of "Big Mama's Funeral". Lecture: Latin America after Big Mama	Márquez, Gabriel García. "Big Mama's Funeral (short story, 1962)." In No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories. Translated by J.S. Bernstein. New York, NY: Harper Colophone, 1979, pp.153-170. ISBN: 9780060907006. Peter Winn, Epilogue, "Latin America and the Caribbean at 2000: A New Millennium?" In Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 601-608. ISBN: 9780520201811. Colburn, Forrest D. "Conclusion." In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 127-134. ISBN: 9780691091815.
R13	Optional. Discussion of Final Exam

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