Political Science 340 Spring 2016

Transcription

1 Political Science 340 Spring 2016 Latin American Politics UMass-Amherst Instructor: Professor Sonia E. Alvarez Class Time: TTh 4-5:15pm Classroom: Machmer W-27 Office: Thompson 424 Office hours: Mon. 1:30-3:30pm and by appt. Course Description: This course asks what we can learn about politics and the political by considering a diverse range of historical and contemporary Latin American experiences and, in turn, what we can learn about Latin America if we focus on its politics. Special attention will be given to the interplay of culture and politics, shifting discourses and strategies of domination, and social movements and strategies of resistance among women, workers, indigenous and Afrodescendant peoples, and other subaltern groups. Topics for 2016 include: Poverty and Inequality: Comparative Perspectives on Nationalism, Gender, and the Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion in Argentina; The Politics of Race, Racism, and Ethnodevelopment in Brazil, Mexico, and the Andes; Revolution, Reform and Reaction: Comparative Insights from 20th and 21st Century Cuba, Chile, and Venezuela; State Terror and Struggles for Indigenous and Human Rights Today: Spotlight on Mexico; and, Beyond Neoliberalism? Social Movements, Latin America s Left Turn, and Possible U-Turn, Reflections on Brazil. Learning Objectives: 1) Acquire working knowledge of Latin American politics, history, and culture, which is essential for the effective exercise of citizenship in the Americas in the 21 st Century; 2) Reconsider core concepts in the study of politics such as democracy, populism, revolution, social justice, social movements, racial and gender equity in the light of diverse contemporary and historical Latin American experiences; 3) Critically engage and productively dialogue with a range of empirical materials and theoretical perspectives that may extend beyond your customary political and cultural comfort zones. Course Requirements: Five 200-word reading responses; five in-class group exercises; in-class midterm; and 5-8pp final analytical essay on topic related to course themes; mandatory class attendance (you may not miss more than four class sessions); and attendance at 2 of 3 special events. Grading: 50 percent for reading responses, in-class exercises, class participation, special events attendance, and group work; 25 percent on mid-term exam; and 25 percent on final essay. House Rules : 1) Be respectful of all political perspectives/points of view represented in course readings and/or expressed by your peers; 2) Always strive to ground your opinions about politics in evidence/examples supplied by course materials; 3) Listen actively to your peers contributions to class discussion; and, 4) Please turn off your cell phones at the beginning of class and leave them off. On Academic Honesty: You are expected to adhere to the university s regulations regarding academic honesty, which you can find in the university s Academic Regulations, page 6. Most

2 2 importantly, you are expected to refrain from plagiarism, which the AC defines as knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own work in any academic exercise. This includes submitting without citation, in whole or in part, prewritten term papers of another or the research of another, including but not limited to commercial vendors who sell or distribute such materials. Disability Statement: The University of Massachusetts is committed to making reasonable, effective and appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities and help create a barrier-free campus. If you are in need of accommodation for a documented disability, register with Disability Services to have an accommodation letter sent to your faculty. It is your responsibility to initiate these services and to communicate with faculty ahead of time to manage accommodations in a timely manner. For more information, consult the Disability Services website at Course Materials: Students are expected to complete the required readings for each class session by the date specified in the Course Outline below. Many required readings are available on Moodle. These are indicated with an M in the Course Outline. The following books are available for purchase through the Amazon UMass agreement and are also on 2-hour reserve at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library. Required Books: De la Torre, Carlos and Cynthia J. Arson, eds Latin American Populism in the Twenty- First Century. Washington, D.C.; Baltimore: Woodrow Wilson Center; Johns Hopkins University Press. Kaplan, Temma Taking Back the Streets: Women, Youth and Direct Democracy. Berkeley: University of California Press. Levitsky, Steven and Kenneth M. Roberts, eds The Resurgence of the Latin American Left. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Stahler-Stolk, Richard, Harry E. Vanden, and Marc Becker, eds Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Radical Action from Below. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.

3 3 Course Outline Part I Introduction January 19 Why Study Latin American Politics? Course Overview Part II Poverty and Inequality: Comparative Perspectives on Nationalism, Gender, and the Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion in Argentina January 21 Evita, The Movie : Imagining Peronism in Argentina Films: clips from various filmic representations of Evita and Juan Perón de la Torre, Carlos and Cynthia J. Arson Introduction: The Evolution of Latin American Populism and the Debates over its Meanings. In Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century, Chapter 1. Horowitz, Joel Populism and Its Legacies in Argentina. In Populism in Latin America, Chapter 1. Edited by Michael L. Conniff. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, Second Edition. (M) January 26 and 28 Evita, The Lecture : Comparative Perspectives on Peronism and Its Legacies Navarro, Marysa Evita s Charismatic Leadership. In Latin American Populism in Comparative Perspective, ed. M. Conniff. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. (M) Taylor, Diane Disappearing Acts: Spectacles of Gender and Nationalism in Argentina s Dirty War. Durham: Duke University Press, pp (M) Assignment: Jan. 26, In-class group exercise I February 2 Anti-Peronism and State Terror Film: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Kaplan, Temma. Taking Back the Streets, pp February 4 Performing Evita in Neoliberal Times Weyland, Kurt Populism in the Age of Neoliberalism (Chapter 9). In Populism in Latin America, Second Edition (M) Auyero, Javier Performing Evita: A Tale of Two Peronist Women. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 27: (M) Assignment: Reading Response I February 5 Special Event I: Mass Violence and Human Rights: The Global Politics of Truth and Justice (details to be announced)

4 4 February 9 and 11 Neoliberalism s Decline, Populism s Resurgence? Crisis, Political Mobilization, and the Return of the National-Popular Film: The Take Schamis, Hector E From the Peróns to the Kirchners: Populism in Argentine Politics. In Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century, Chapter 6. Sutton, Barbara Bodies in Crisis: Culture, Violence, and Women s Resistance in Neoliberal Argentina. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, pp (M) For Feb. 11 Argentina s Right Turn in Comparative Perspective Serman, Ernesto The Taming of the Argentine Right? NACLA, 2 December (M, web link) Assignment: Feb. 11, In-class group exercise II Part III: The Politics of Race, Racism, and Ethnodevelopment in Brazil, Mexico, and the Andes February 16 No class (Monday class schedule) February 18 and 23 (Re)Making the Nation: Race, Class, and Populist Politics in Brazil Films: Quando o Crioulo Dança (about racial politics in Brazil, English subtitles); Brazil: A Racial Paradise (from PBS Series Black in Latin America. ) Bethel, Leslie. Populism, Neopopulism, and the Left in Brazil: From Getulio to Lula. In Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century, Chapter 7. Andrews, George Reid Afro-Latin America: New York: Oxford University Press, pp (M) Assignment: Feb. 23, In-class group exercise III February 25 Unmaking Racial Democracy and Reimagining the Brazilian Nation Film: Brazil in Black and White Telles, Edward E Race in Another America: The Significance of Skin Color in Brazil. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp (M) Caldwell, Kia Lilly Advocating for Citizenship and Social Justice: Black Women s Activism in Brazil. In Women s Activism in Latin America and the Caribbean: Engendering Social Justice, Democratizing Citizenship, edited by Elizabeth Maier and Nathalie Lebon. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, pp (M) Assignment: Reading Response II

5 5 March 1 The Indigenous Turn in Latin American Politics: the Zapatista Rupture in Mexico Films: Zapatista and other short films Kampwirth, Karen Also a Women s Rebellion: The Rise of the Zapatista Army in Chiapas. In Irrumpiendo en lo Público: Seis Facetas de las Mujeres en América Latina, ed. Sara Poggio and Monserrat Sagot. Pittsburgh, PA and San José, Costa Rica: Latin American Studies Association and Universidad de Costa Rica. (M) Women s Revolutionary Law and Women s Rights in Our Traditions and Customs. In Dissident Women: Gender and Cultural Politics in Chiapas, ed. Shannon Speed, R. Aída Hernández Castillo, and Lynn M. Stephen. Austin: University of Texas Press. (M) Stahler-Sholk, Richard Mexico: Autonomy, Collective Identity, and the Zapatista Social Movement. In Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Power from Below, Chapter 10. March 3 and 8 Ethnopolitics and Indigenous Movements in the Andes: Bolivia in Comparative Perspective Film: Even the Rain (to be streamed) Castro-Gomez, Santiago (Post)Coloniality for Dummies. Latin American Perspectives on Modernity, Coloniality, and the Geopolitics of Knowledge. In Coloniality at Large: Latin America and the Postcolonial Debate, edited by Mabel Moraña, Enrique Dussell, and Carlos A. Járegui. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. [NOTE: read especially pp ; the remainder is recommended.] (M) Crabtree, John. From the MNR to the MAS: Populism, Parties, the State, and Social Movements in Bolivia since In Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century, chapter 10. Oikonomakis, Leonidas and Fran Espinoza. Bolivia: MAS and the Movements That Brought It to State Power. In Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Power from Below, Chapter 15. Assignments: March 8, In-class group exercise IV March 7 Special Event II: Indigenous Women s Movements in Latin America (details to be announced) March 10 State Terror and Struggles for Indigenous and Human Rights Today: Spotlight on Mexico Guest lecture: Martha Balaguera, UMass Ph.D. candidate and Mexico specialist Zibechi, Raul. Mexico: Challenges and Difficulties of Urban Territories in Resistance. In Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Power from Below, Chapter 3.

6 6 Magaña, Maurice Rafael. Mexico: Political Cultures, Youth Activism, and the Legacy of the Oaxacan Social Movement of In Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Power from Below, Chapter 4. March 15 and 17 SPRING BREAK Part IV: Reform, Revolution, and Reaction in the 20 th and 21 st Centuries March 24 IN-CLASS MIDTERM EXAM March 22, 29, and 31 Cuba: Past, Present and Future Film: Cuba: The Next Revolution, from PBS Series Black in Latin America. (read for March 22) Sawyer, Mark. Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba. Cambridge University Press, 2006, chaps 5-7. (M) Hellinger, Daniel C The Cuban Revolution. In Comparative Politics of Latin America: Democracy at Last? NY: Routledge, pp (M) Sweig, Julia Cuba: Everything Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press, After Fidel, Under Raul. (M) Pérez, Louis A. Jr a. Change Through Impoverishment: A Half- Century of Cuba-U.S. Relations. NACLA, 14 December. (M, web link) Pérez, Louis A. Jr b. Change Through Empowerment: A Half-Century of Cuba-U.S. Relations. NACLA, 17 December. (M, web link) Assignment March 31: Response III April 5 and 7 Chile: The Making, Unmaking and Remaking of the Chilean Road to Socialism Film: In Women s Hands Loveman, Brian and Thomas M. Davies, Jr. Introduction to Guerrilla Warfare by Ernesto Che Guevara, 3rd ed. Wilmington, Del: SR Books, (M) Kaplan, Taking Back the Streets, PP Roberts, Kenneth Chile: The Left after Neoliberalism. The Resurgence of the Left in Latin America, Chapter 14, pp Assignment April 7: In-class group exercise V April 15 Special Event III: Gender and Race Movements and Politics in Brazil, lecture by former Minister of Racial Equality, Luiza Helena Bairros. April 12, 14 and 19 Venezuela: Radical Neopopulism or 21 st Century Socialism? Film: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Corrales, Javier Hugo Boss. Foreign Policy 152 (Jan.-Feb.): (M)

7 7 López Maya, Margarita Venezuela: Hugo Chávez and the Populist Left. In The Resurgence of the Left in Latin America, pp Ciccariello-Maher, George. Venezuela: Bolivarianism and the Commune. In Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Power from Below, Chapter 13. Panizza, Franciso What Do We Mean When We Talk About Populism? In Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century, Chapter 4. Peruzotti, Enrique Populism in Democratic Times: Populism, Representative Democracy, and the Debate about Democratic Deepening. In Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century, Chapter 3. Arson, Cynthia and Carlos de la Torre Conclusion: The Meaning and Future of Latin American Populism. In Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century, Chapter 13. To be determined. Analyses of Venezuela s December 2015 parliamentary elections and beyond. (M) Assignment: April 19, Response IV Part V: Beyond Neoliberalism? Social Movements, Latin America s Left Turn, and Possible U-Turn : Reflections on Brazil April 21 and 26 On Contemporary Brazil o Levitsky and Roberts, eds., The Resurgence of the Left in Latin America, chapter 13 o Lebon, Nathalie Brazil: Popular Feminism and its Roots and Alliances. In Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Power from Below, Chapter 8. o Vanden, Harry E. Brazil: Taking to the Streets, Swarming Public Spaces: The 2013 Popular Protests. In Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Power from Below, Chapter 13. On the Left Turn o Levitsky and Roberts, eds., The Resurgence of the Left in Latin America, Introduction and Conclusion [recommended: Chapters 1, 3, 7, 8] o Mota, Sara C. Latin America: Reinventing Revolutions, an Other Politics in Practice and Theory. In Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Power from Below, Chapter 2. On the U-Turn o Baiocchi, Gianpaolo and Marcelo K. Silva Brazil s Elites are Revolting. Al-Jazeera America, 22 March. (M, web link) Assignments: April 26, Response V May 3 Individual Final Papers and Group Work Self- and Peer-Evaluations due by noon