James Krippner
Hall 215
610-896-1049 (office)
610-645-6051 (home; prior to 9 p.m., please)
Office Hours: Hall 215, Weds.: 2-4
And by appt.
History 209b: Modern Latin America
From Independence to The Present
Course Description
History 209b introduces students to modern Latin American history. Throughout
the semester we shall examine Latin America from the nineteenth-century demise
of Spanish and Portuguese colonialism through the present. Our goal will be
to gain a multi-faceted and substantive introduction to modern Latin America.
Particular attention will be paid to the interplay of gender, race and class
in specific contexts, and we shall examine how social conflict has influenced
historical change. As the semester develops and we move into the more recent
past, we shall focus on the origins and consequences of political violence,
in those areas of Latin America where this is a salient issue. We shall also
explore the deepening links between Latin America and the United States in the
19th and 20th centuries, and ponder the future of this relationship.
Our course materials will include lectures, historical analysis written by scholars,
literature that uses fiction and fantasy to understand history and its legacies,
and films that record and recreate Latin American experiences. Although the
instructor believes a coherent and consistent narrative helps students process
the challenging stream of information they will be exposed to, the framework
of the course is not entirely rigid. My goal is to stimulate discussion and
interactive learning, and students are always encouraged to ask questions. This
format provides us with the flexibility to pursue issues of particular concern
to students, to work through problems encountered in the assigned readings,
and to develop our skills at oral expression. It also requires you to participate
wholeheartedly in all phases of the course.
Required Texts
The following texts, listed in the order that they will be used, are available
for purchase at the Haverford College bookstore, and have been placed on reserve
at Magill Library, Haverford College.
- Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America.
New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2001.
- Holden, Robert H. and Eric Zolov, eds. Latin America and the Untied States:
A Documentary History. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Klubock, Thomas Miller. Contested Communities: Class, Gender, and Politics in
Chile’s El Teniente Copper Mine, 1904-1951. Durham and London: Duke University
Press, 1998.
- Partnoy, Alicia. The Little School: Tales of Disappearance and Survival in Argentina.
Translated by Alicia Partnoy with Lois Athey and Sandra Braunstein. San Francisco:
Cleis Press, 1986.
- Danner, Mark. The Massacre at El Mozote. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.
The following excerpts, articles and book chapters have been placed on reserve
at Magill Library, Haverford College. If traffic on the information superhighway
flows smoothly, these readings will also be available on electronic reserve.
They are listed in the order of use.
- Fowler, Will. “The Repeated Rise of General Antonio López de Santa
Anna in the So-Called Age of Chaos (Mexico, 1821-55).” In Authoritarianism
in Latin America Since Independence. Edited by Will Fowler. Westport, Connecticut:
Greenwood Press, 1996, 1-30.
- Calderón de la Barca, Fanny. The Letters of Fanny Calderón de
la Barca. Edited and annotated by Howard T. and Marion Hall Fisher. New York:
Doubleday and Company, 1966, 65-69, 493-543.
- Kelly, Kevin. “Rosas and the Restoration of Order through Populism.”
In Revolution and Restoration: The Rearrangement of Power in Argentina, 1776-1860.
Edited by Mark D. Szuchman and Jonathan Brown. Lincoln and London: University
of Nebraska Press, 1994, 208-239.
- Lynch, John. “From Independence to National Organization.” In Argentina
Since Independence. Edited by Leslie Bethell. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1993, 1-46.
- Halperín Donghi, Tulio. “Economy and Society.” In Spanish America
after Independence, c. 1820-c. 1870. Edited by Leslie Bethel. Cambridge and
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987, 1-47.
- Salvucci, Richard J., ed. Latin America and the World Economy: Dependency and
Beyond. Lexington, Mass. And Toronto: D.C. Heath and Company, 1996, 41-84.
- Viotti da Costa, Emilia. The Brazilian Empire: Myths and Histories. Chicago:
The Dorsey Press, 1988, 53-77.
- Chambers, Sarah. From Subjects to Citizens: Honor, Gender, and Politics in Arequipa,
Peru, 1780-1854. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University
Press, 1999, 161-242.
- Mallon, Florencia E. “Reflections on the Ruins: Everyday Forms of State
Formation in Nineteenth-Century Mexico.” In Everyday Forms of State Formation:
Revolution and the Negotiation of Rule in Modern Mexico. Edited by Gilbert Joseph
and Daniel Nugent. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1994, 69-106.
- Scarano, Francisco A. “Labor and Society in the Nineteenth Century.”
In The Modern Caribbean. Edited by Franklin W. Knight and Colin A. Palmer. Chapel
Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1989, 51-84.
- Andrews, George Reid. Blacks and Whites in São Paulo, Brazil, 1888-1898.
Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1991, 25-53.
- Klein, Herbert. “European and Asian Migration to Brazil.” In The Cambridge
Survey of World Migration. Edited by Robin Cohen. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1995, 208-214.
- Hu-DeHart, Evelyn. “The Chinese of Peru, Cuba and Mexico.” In The
Cambridge Survey, 220-222.
- Barnet, Miguel. Biography of a Runaway Slave. Translated by W. Nick Hill. Willimantic,
CT: Curbstone Press, 1994, 59-156.
- Scott, Rebecca. “Fault Lines, Color Lines, and Party Lines: Race, Labor,
and Collective Action in Louisiana and Cuba, 1862-1912.” In Beyond Slavery:
Explorations of Race, Labor and Citizenship in Postemancipation Societies. Frederick
Cooper, Thomas C. Holt, Rebecca J. Scott. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 2000, 61-106.
- Pérez Brignoli, Héctor. “Indians, Communists, and Peasants:
The 1932 Rebellion in El Salvador.” In Coffee, Society and Power in Latin
America. Edited by William Roseberry, Lowell Gudmundson and Mario Samper Kutschbach.
Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995, 232-261.
- McCreery, David. “Wage Labor, Free Labor, and Vagrancy Laws: The Transition
to Capitalism in Guatemala, 1920-1945.” In Coffee, Society and Power, ed.
Roseberry, et. al., 206-261.
- Jonas, Susan. The Battle for Guatemala. Boulder, San Francisco and Oxford: Westview
Press, 1991, 21-39.
- Klein, Herbert S. Bolivia: The Evolution of a Multi-Ethnic State. Second Edition.
New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, 188-245.Knight, Franklin
W. “Cuba: Politics, Economy and Society, 1898-1985.” In The Modern
Caribbean, eds. Knight and Palmer, 169-184.
- Pérez-Stable, Marifeli. The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course and Legacy.
New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993, 153-173.
- Bengelsdorf, Carollee. The Problem of Democracy in Cuba: Between Vision and
Reality. New York and Oxford, 1994, 166-180.
- Fagen, Patricia Weiss. “Repression and State Security.” In Fear at
the Edge: State Terror and Resistance in Latin America. Edited by Juan E. Corradi,
Patricia Weiss Fagen, and Manuel Antonio Garretón. Berkeley, Los Angeles,
London: University of California Press, 1992, 39-71.
- Bauer, Arnold. Goods, Power, History: Latin America’s Material Culture.
Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001, 165-219.
- Miller, Francesca. Latin American Women and the Search for Social Justice. Hanover
and London: University Press of New England, 187-237.
- Molyneux, Maxine. Women’s Movements in International Perspective: Latin
America and Beyond. New York: Palgrave, 2001, 163-202.
- Levine, Daniel H. and Scott Mainwaring. “Religion and Popular Protest in
Latin America: Contrasting Experiences.” In Power and Popular Protest:
Latin American Social Movements. Edited by Susan Eckstein. Berkeley and Los
Angeles: University of California Press, 2001, orig. 1989, 203-240.
- Romero, Oscar. The Violence of Love. Compiled and translated by James R. Brockman,
S.J. Farmington, PA and Robertsbridge, E. Sussex: The Plough Press, 1998, xv-
xvi, 185-206.
- Jonas, Susanne and Thomas W. Walker. “Guatemala: Intervention, Repression,
Revolt, and Negotiated Transition.” In Repression, Resistance, and Democratic
Transition in Central America. Edited by Thomas W. Walker and Ariel C. Armony.
Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 2000, 3-23.
- Walker, Thomas W. “Introduction: Historical Setting and Important Issues.”
In Nicaragua Without Illusions: Regime Transformation and Structural Adjustment
in the 1990’s. Edited by Thomas W. Walker. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly
Resources, 1997, 1-19.
- Robinson, William I. “Nicaragua and the World: A Globalization Perspective.”
In Nicaragua Without Illusions, ed. Thomas W. Walker, 23-42.
- Womack, John Jr. “Chiapas, the Bishop of San Cristobal, and the Zapatista
Revolt.” In Rebellion in Chiapas: An Historical Reader. New York: The New
Press, 1999, 3-59.
- Starn, Orin. “Villagers at Arms: War and Counterrevolution in the Central-South
Andes.” In Shining and Other Paths: War and Society in Peru, 1980-1995.
Edited by Steve J. Stern. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1998, 224-257.
- Bergquist, Charles. “Waging War and Negotiating Peace: The Contemporary
Crisis in Historical Perspective.” In Violence in Colombia, 1990-2000:
Waging War and Negotiating Peace. Edited by Charles Bergquist, Ricardo Peñaranda,
and Gonzalo Sánchez G. Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 2001,
195-212
- Giraldo, Javier, S.J. Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy. Monroe, ME: Common
Courage Press, 1996, 77-119.
- Pizarro Leongómez, Eduardo. “Clouds Over Colombia.” NACLA Report
on the Americas XXXIII:2 (September/October 1999): 6-9.
- Coronil, Fernando. “Listening to the Subaltern: Postcolonial Studies and
the Neocolonial Poetics of Subaltern States.” In Postcolonial Theory and
Criticism. Edited by Laura Chrisman and Benita Parry. Cambridge, U.K.: D.S.
Brewer, 2000, 37-55.
Schedule
Week 1 Introduction.
1. 1/21 M Introductory Session. Handout syllabus, discuss course.
2. 1/23 W “Legacies of the Colonial Past.” View selections from video
“The Price of Freedom: Independence.” Reading: García Márquez,
hand-out.
3. 1/25 F “Latin America’s 19th-Century.” Chasteen, 119-147.
Holden and Zolov, xiii-18.
UNIT I: Independence and After: From Colonies to Republics, 1821-1870.
Week 2 Caudillismo in Context: The Aftermath of Independence.
4. 1/28 M Caudillo #1: “Mexico and The Case of Antonio López de
Santa Anna.” Reading: Fowler, 1-30. Calderon de la Barca, 65-68, 493-543.
5. 1/30W Caudillo #2: “Rosas and Argentina.” Reading: Kelly, 208-239.
Lynch, 1-46.
6. 2/1 F ”Economy, Society and Politics in the mid-19th Century.”
Reading: Halperín Donghi, 1-47. Salvucci, 41-77. Holden and Zolov, 19-30.
FILM: A group showing of the film “Camila” (Maria Luisa Bemberg, 1984)
will be scheduled for this week.
Week 3 Liberals, Conservatives and Local Responses in the 19th Century.
7. 2/4 M “Liberals and Conservatives: The Brazilian Experience.” Reading:
Chasteen, 149-177. Viotti da Costa, 53-77.
8. 2/6 W “Political Culture in 19th Century Peru.” Chambers, 161-242.
9. 2/9 F “Mexico’s Long 19th Century.” Mallon, 69-106. Holden
and Zolov, 31-47.
Week 4 Caribbean Contours.
There will be a MAP QUIZ worth 2 pts. towards your final grade on W 2/13.
10. 2/11 M “Emancipation: The End of Slavery.” Reading: Scarano, 51-84.
Andrews,
25-53. Klein, 208-214. Hu-Dehart, 220-222.
11. 2/13 W MAP QUIZ! “The Story of Esteban Montejo.” Reading: Barnet,
59-156.
12. 2/15 F “Race, Labor, Citizenship and the Nation.” Scott, 61-106.
Holden and Zolov, 47-51.
The first two pg. critical review is due by the beginning of class on Friday,
2/15.
Your first paper is due at our class meeting on Friday, Feb. 22.
UNIT II: The Oligarchical Republics, 1870-1929.
Week 5 Into the 20th Century.
13. 2/18 M “The Late 19th Century in Chile and Argentina.” Reading:
Holden and Zolov, 55-69.
14. 2/20 W “Mexico, the Multiple Strands of Revolution, #1 (1876-1919).”
Reading: Holden and Zolov, 70-80.
15. 2/22 F Paper Due! “Mexico, The Multiple Strands of Revolution, #2 (1920-1940).”
Week 6 Social Changes and Political Challenges .
16. 2/25 M “The Transition to ‘Modernity’ in Latin America.”
Reading: Klubock, vii-100.
17. 2/27 W “The Global and the Local: Latin American Changes, United States
Responses.” Reading: Chasteen, 179-211. Holden and Zolov , 81-137.
18. 3/1 F “El Salvador, 1932.” Reading: Pérez Brignoli, 232-261.
UNIT III: Reform, Revolution and Counter-Revolution, 1929-1989.
Week 7 The Era of the Populists.
19. 3/4 M “The New Class Politics: Rise of the Populists..” Reading:
Chasteen, 213-255. Klubock, 101-187.
20. 3/6 W “The Assassination of Gaitán.” Reading: Klubock,
188-253.
21. 3/8 F “Not So Neighborly: United States Responses, 1933-1946.”
Reading:
Klubock, 254-295. Holden and Zolov, 141-181.
Week 8 SPRING BREAK!!!
Week 9 Reform or Revolution?
22. 3/18 M “Guatemala, 1920-1954.” Reading: Chasteen, 256-260. McCreery,
206-261. Jonas, 21-40. Holden and Zolov, 183-205.
23. 3/20 W “The Bolivian Revolution, 1952.” Reading: Klein, 188-245.
Holden and Zolov, 206-211.
24. 3/22 F MID-TERM EXAM!Week 10 Revolution and Counterrevolution, 1959-1989.
25. 3/25 M “The Cuban Revolution in Historical Perspective.” Reading:
Chasteen, 260-269. Knight, 169-184. Pérez-Stable, 153-173. Bengelsdorf,
166-180. Holden and Zolov, 211-237.
This class will feature a panel discussion between Joseph McCarthy and Che Guevara,
moderated by Rufus Jones.
26. 3/27W “Military Dictatorships in the “Southern Cone,” 1:
Brazil and Uruguay.” Reading: Chasteen, 275-292. Fagen, 39-71.
27. 3/29 F “To Remember and Forget: Chile and Argentina.” Reading:
Partnoy, entire.
The second two pg. critical review is due by the beginning of class on Friday,
3/29.
Note: Your second paper is due by next week’s class on Friday, 4/5 .
Week 11 Writing Papers, Odds and Ends
28. 4/1 M “An Alliance For Progress? US and Latin American Perspectives.”
Holden and Zolov, 238-288.
29. 4/3 W “Mirrors of the Heart: Race and Identity in Contemporary Latin
America.” (video).
30. 4/5 F Paper Due! “Chile, Obstinate Memory.” Patricio Guzmán,
1997. This powerful documentary runs 58 mins., so don’t be late for class
Unit IV Latin America in the Neoliberal Era, 1973-2001.
Week 12 The New Social Movements.
31. 4/8 M “The Neoliberal Era.” Chasteen, 306-321. Bauer, 165-219.
32. 4/ 10 W “Engendering Change? Feminism and Women’s Movements In
20th Century Latin America.” Readings: Miller, 187-237. Molyneux, 163-202.
33. 4/12 F “Liberation Theology and After.” Reading: Chasteen, 270-273.
Levine and Mainwaring, 203-240. Romero, xv-xvi, 185-206.
Week 13 Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency, I: Central America.
34. 4/15 M “The Struggle For Peace in El Salvador.” Reading: Danner,
entire.
35. 4/17 W “The Guatemalan Civil War.” Reading: Chasteen, 292-301.
Jonas and Walker, 3-24.
36. 4/19 F “Nicaragua: Revolution and Counter-Revolution.” Reading:
Holden and Zolov, 289-318. Walker, 1-19. Robinson, 23-42.Week 14 Insurgency
and Counter-Insurgency, II: Mexico, Peru and Colombia.
37. 4/22 M “Institutions and Revolutions: Mexico 1940-Present.” Reading:
Womack, 3-59.
38. 4/24 W “Shining and Other Paths: The Peruvian Crisis in Context.”
Reading: Starn, 224-257.
39. 4/26 F “Carnage in Colombia.” Reading: Bergquist, 195-212. Giraldo,
77-119. Pizarro Leongómez, 6-9. Chasteen, 302-305.FILM: A group showing
of “La boca del lobo” (The Lion’s Den) (Francisco J. Lombardi,
1988) will be scheduled for some time during this week.
Week 15 Past, Present and Future in Latin America.
40. 4/29 M “Authoritarian Populism? Venezuela in Crisis.” Reading:
Coronil, 37-55.
41. 5/1 W “Argentine Meltdown.” Reading: Handouts.
42. 5/3 F “New Directions in the 21st Century?” Reading: Holden and
Zolov, 319-350.
The third and final two pg. critical review is due by the beginning of class
on Friday, 5/1.
Note: The comprehensive final exam is due by the end of the exam period: Saturday,
May 11, 5 p.m. for seniors; and Friday, May 17, 12 noon for everyone else.
Course Requirements
There are six course requirements: class participation, a map quiz, three 2
pg. critical reviews, and two 6-8 pg. papers. They are weighted towards the
final grade as follows: class participation, 8 pts.; map quiz, 2 pts.; mid-term
exam 15 pts.; critical reviews 10 pts.; two 6-8 pg. papers, 40 pts. (20 pts.
each); comprehensive final exam 25 pts., total possible points for course equals
100 pts. All grades will be given according to Haverford grading scale (i.e.,
4.0, 3.7, 3.3, 3.0, 2.7, 2.3, 2.0, 1.7, 1.3, 1.0. 0.0) and as a point value
towards the final grade. Thus, an exceptional student might receive a 4.0/20
pts. for her first paper, etc.
Class participation means contributing your presence, thoughts and voice to
class meetings. Obviously, this can’t be done if you aren’t in class!
To participate effectively requires that one keep up with readings and lectures,
think about the issues posed by the materials of the week, and discuss the concerns
raised by readings, lectures, films and documents.
The map quiz is a basic and simple test of your geographic knowledge.
The mid-term exam will include an identification section and an essay question.
It will cover all of the assigned materials through the fist half of the semester.
The three critical reviews are interpretive papers no shorter than two pages
or longer than three. In these short papers, students will evaluate the key
arguments, contributions, and/or weaknesses of that day’s reading, stressing
those aspects most pertinent for classroom discussion and debate. The critical
reviews are to be based on the assigned materials for a particular day, and
are to be handed in prior to classroom discussion. Students may write the reviews
on the days of their choosing, though you must meet the deadlines listed in
the syllabus. The films assigned in the class present vivid images and strong
arguments. Thus, they can also serve quite usefully for this exercise. Ideally,
critical reviews, and the instructor’s comments on them, will facilitate
the writing of the longer papers.
The two papers, each about 1500-2000 words (6-8 pages), do not entail extra
reading or research, but rather a careful and critical analysis of assigned
material.
The comprehensive final exam will cover materials from the entire semester.
It will consist of an identification section, a long essay question covering
the entire semester and a shorter essay question covering the materials from
the mid-term to the final exam. The long essay question will be handed out on
the final day of class. Students may bring in one page of notes (one side of
an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper, any size font) to assist them with the final
exam.
Paper Policy
Late papers (those handed in after the deadline on the syllabus, without an
extension negotiated in advance) will be subjected to a one full grade penalty.
Thus, a 4.0 will become a 3.0, and so on. Note: Students are required to submit
hard copies of their papers and critical reviews, i.e. typed or computer printed.
It is the student’s responsibility to make a copy of their papers in case
they are lost or misplaced. I strongly recommend making a hard copy for yourself,
in addition to the one you hand in to the instructor. This allows you to avoid
software disasters, printing problems, etc.Film Policy
Viewing the films prior to classroom discussion is a requirement of History
209b. Students with pressing and legitimate reasons to miss the scheduled films
can miss them, but they are required to watch the films on their own time prior
to classroom discussion. All films will be on reserve at Magill Library, Haverford
College.
Social Justice Requirement
The Haverford College social justice requirement can be met by taking “at
least one course which focuses on one or both of the following:
- the nature, workings and consequences of prejudice and discrimination, including
those which arise from confrontations with radical difference, otherness, or
foreignness, or
- efforts at social and cultural change directed against, and cultural achievements
that overcome, prejudice and discrimination.”
History 209b Modern Latin America fulfills the Haverford College social justice
requirement.