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General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
ICSD038B
Course Title (CB02)
Modern Latin American History
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
This course examines Latin American history from post-colonialism to the present (1810 to the present) and focuses on understanding the region as a diverse geographic, political, and social reality. Special attention will be given to the contributions of various peoples and cultures, human communities in arts and literature.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course meets a general education requirement for °®¶¹´«Ã½, CSU GE, and IGETC and is UC/CSU transferable. It belongs on the Intercultural Studies AA degree. It was developed to provide students with an overview of the impact of conquest and colonization of indigenous civilizations and indigenous contributions to arts and literature.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GDX°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

(Not open to students with credit in the cross-listed course(s).)

(Also listed as HIST D007B.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Guest speakers

Collaborative projects

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

Homework and extended projects

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Assignments

  1. Reading:
    1. Critical reading or required texts
    2. Suggested supplementary readings. Two to three outside readings to deepen the understanding of students to various topics.
  2. Writing: Essay on historical interpretation where students ability to demonstrate comprehension, synthesize and interconnect between key concepts, theories, events and people discussed in class and readings will be applied.
  3. Participation in both written and oral presentation through collaborative groups where individual contributions will be assessed for clarity, critical analysis and demonstrated understanding of key concepts from readings and class discussion.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Midterm essay examination to test for recognition, identification, interpretation, synthesis, and analysis of key concepts.
  2. Written final examination which require analysis, interpretation, and synthesis.
  3. Written essays and oral presentations focused on analyzing texts, reflective analysis and synthesis of ideas in historical topics.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. One Hundred Years of Solitude. Harper Perennial, NY 2004
Frank, Dana. The Long Honduran Night: Resistance, Terror, and the United States in the Aftermath of the Coup. Haymarket Books, 2018.
Chomsky, Noam. Turning the Tide: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace. Haymarket Books, 2015.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Andrews, George Reid. Blacks and Whites in Sao Paulo Brazil 1888-1988, Wisconsin, 1991.
Arrom, Silvia Marina. The Women of Mexico City, 1790-1857, Stanford, 1985.
Benjamin, Jules. The United States and the Origins of the Cuban Revolution. Princeton, 1990.
Besse, Susan. Restructuring Patriarchy, chapel Hill, 1996.
Burns, E. Bradford, The Poverty of Progress: Latin America in the Nineteenth Century, University of California Press, 1983.
Cordoso, Fernando and Enzo Faletto. Dependency and Development in Latin America, UC Press, 1979.
Coatesworth, John. Central America and the United States, Twayne, 1994.
Cortes, Carlos. Gaucho Politics in Brazil, New Mexico, 1974.
Diacon, Todd. Millenarian Vision, Capitalist Reality, Duke, 1991.
Gootenbuerg, Paul. Between Silver and Guano, Princeton, 1989.
Graham, Richard. The Idea of Race in Latin America, 1870-1940, Texas, 1990.
Graham, Sandra Lauderdale. House and Street, Texas, 1988.
Guy, Donna. Sex and Danger in Buenos Aires, Nebraska, 1990.
Immerman, Richard. The CIA in Guatemala, Texas, 1982.
Keen, Benjamin. A History of Latin America, Vol. I: Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1996.
Knight, Alan. The Mexican Revolution, Cambridge, 1986.
Lafeber, Walter. Inevitable Revolution, Norton, 1993.
Monlineu, harold. US Policy Toward Latin America, Westview, 1990.
O, Jaime E. Rodriguez. Mexico in the Age of Democratic Revolutions, 1750-1850, Rienner, 1994.
Scott, Rebecca. Slave Emancipation in Cuba, Princeton, 1985.
*Skidmore, Thomas and Peter Smith. Modern Latin American History, 2nd ed., Oxford, 1989.
Stern, Steve. Resistance, Rebellion, and Consciousness in the Andean Peasant World, Wisconsin Press, 1987.
Vanderwood, Paul. Disorder and Progress, Scholarly Resources Inc., 1984.
Womack, John Jr. Zapata and the Mexican Revolution, Vintage, 1968.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Analyze and synthesize historical evidence as a means to understanding the discipline of being a historian.
  • Identify, compare and appraise the various paths taken by Latin American nations from the late colonial period to independence.
  • Identify and discuss the reasons for post independence political instability.
  • Examine and evaluate the impact of European neo-colonialism
  • Examine and summarize the resistance of traditional Latin American societies to modernism
  • Explain the declining influence of regionalism in modern Latin American economies and politics
  • Explain the complex nature of United States/Latin American relations in the twentieth century
  • Identify and explain the role of social and political revolution in 20th Century Latin America.
  • Explore 20th Century economic development and Latin American strategies.
  • Appraise, summarize, and assess the roles and influence of gender over time in Latin America

CSLOs

  • Describe and analyze the different paths taken by the Spanish New World Colonies to achieve independence.

  • Describe, assess and interpret the different paths taken by the Independent Nations of Latin America to achieve modernization.

Outline

  1. Analyze and synthesize historical evidence as a means to understanding the discipline of being a historian.
    1. Theoretical frameworks, methodologies and assumptions used in analyzing historical processes and events
    2. Analyzing, judging, and synthesizing historical evidence such as oral traditions and written documents
    3. Defining sources in history
      1. Primary sources
      2. Secondary sources
    4. Cultural/Political uses of historical interpretation
      1. Objectivity and Relativism in historical analysis
      2. Interpretation and critical reflection
    5. Theoretical methodologies in Latin American History
      1. Cultural determinism
      2. Economic determinism
      3. Postmodern relativism
  2. Identify, compare and appraise the various paths taken by Latin American nations from the late colonial period to independence.
    1. Examining, evaluating, and interpreting the nature and development of the history between the Latin American people, their environment and the world.
    2. Paths to Latin America independence
      1. Differences between Spanish and Portuguese colonialism
      2. Bourbon and Pombaline reforms
      3. Demographic and economic development (mining, slavery, indigenous populations, urban and rural development)
  3. Identify and discuss the reasons for post independence political instability.
    1. Development of Caudillismo
      1. Colonial economy v. liberal economy
      2. Political liberalism v. conservatism
    2. Political and economic role of the Catholic Church
    3. European invasion during the 19th century
    4. 19th Century conflicts
      1. Chaco War
      2. Peru/Chile
    5. Role of Caudillos in political instability
  4. Examine and evaluate the impact of European neo-colonialism
    1. European investment in Railroads and national development (Great Britain, France, United States, Germany)
    2. Integration into the industrial world economy (Mexico; copper, henequin, silver, Brazil; coffee, rubber, Argentina; cattle, wheat, Peru; guano, nitrates, Bolivia; tin)
    3. Environmental conquest
  5. Examine and summarize the resistance of traditional Latin American societies to modernism
    1. Persistence of slavery and maroon societies
    2. Nomadic resistance and conquest (Argentine Patagonia, Mexico; Apache/Comanche/Yaqui, Peru;Quechua)
    3. Sedentary resistance/Second conquest (Yucatan Maya, highland societies)
  6. Explain the declining influence of regionalism in modern Latin American economies and politics
    1. Nation building concluded, end of national conflicts
    2. Rise of liberalism and defeat of caudillos
    3. Foreign investment in industrial infrastructure
    4. National dictatorships (Mexico; Porfiriato)
  7. Explain the complex nature of United States/Latin American relations in the twentieth century
    1. Invasions by US in 19th and 20th Centuries (Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama)
    2. Political and National Security (Cuba; US/Spanish/Cuban war, Platt Amendment, Mexico; Conquest of 1846, immigrant issues, NAFTA, LA; School of the Americas, CIA; Chile, Guatemala, Mexico)
    3. Diplomacy (Good Neighbor Policy, Alliance for Progress, Peace Corp)
    4. Cuban Missile conflict (Fidel Castro, refugees)
  8. Identify and explain the role of social and political revolution in 20th Century Latin America.
    1. Economic and political factors (Mexico; Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Francisco Madero, PRI, Cuban; Castro, Chile; Allende)
    2. Socialist resistance to liberal development (Peru; Tupac Amaru, "the Shining Path", Mexico; Zapatistas)
    3. Environmental resistance (Brazilian indigenous groups, Central American eco-tourism)
    4. Importance of counter-revolution in Latin American political organization.
      1. Role of military in politics; Military coups (Brazil; Vargas, Argentina; Evita and Juan Peron, Chile; Pinochet)
      2. Foreign sponsored coup d'etat
    5. Noirism and the Duvaliers of Haiti
  9. Explore 20th Century economic development and Latin American strategies.
    1. WWI and WWII and shift to import substitution
    2. Military coups (Brazil; Vargas, Argentina; Evita and Juan Peron, Chile; Pinochet)
    3. Rise of multi-national corporations
    4. Oil crisis of 1973
  10. Appraise, summarize, and assess the roles and influence of gender over time in Latin America
    1. Native American roles and influences
      1. Development of Colonial gender relationships and their evolution in the national period
      2. The enlightenment and the role of women
      3. Development of the national Latin American female identity
      4. Continuity in women's roles
    2. National identity and the role of women
      1. Utilizing mestizje in national identity (Argentina; Gaucho, European immigrations, Mexico; indigenismo)
      2. Female dominated production in domestic and urban issues, female revolutionary participation
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