Boston University John Galante Pardee School of Global Studies jgalante@bu.edu IR 568/PO 565: U.S.-Latin American Relations Office: 156 Bay State Rd, Room #305 Meetings: Monday, 2:30-5:15 Office Hours: Monday 5:15-6:15 PSY B49 Friday by Appt. Course Description: This course reviews a diverse set of interactions, connections and exchanges that have existed and, often, continue to occur between Latin America and the United States. Its chronology runs from the period of the Atlantic Revolutions to the recent past, its geographical scope reaches from Patagonia to the U.S.- Canadian border, its readings cross disciplinary boundaries throughout the social sciences and beyond, and its subject matter ranges from the top-down points of view found in geopolitics to the bottom-up perspectives of cross-border migrant networks. While its effort to be comprehensive is sure to fail, the course should provide students with the contours of a set of relations that are fundamental to historical and present-day circumstances in Latin American, the U.S. and the modern world. Each week, assigned readings focus on a different theme in a roughly chronological framework. Using these sources, the class will examine and integrate U.S. and Latin American perspectives (understanding that those perspectives can be diverse, contested and contradictory within themselves). Students are expected to participate actively in analyzing and evaluating the readings and issues addressed by the readings, including in student-led class discussions. Each student will develop a research topic, produce a paper related to the topic and present findings in a conference panel format at the end of the term. Expectations: Participation: Active involvement in class discussions is an essential element in a successful class and for individual student success. The expectation is that students will have read all assigned materials before class. By Sunday night, students should post two questions related to the readings that can be used in class on Monday, and a link to a news story that is relevant to the week s readings. Please bring a print out of that news article to class. Because of the limited number of meetings, unexcused absences are not permitted. Please contact me if there is a legitimate reason that you cannot come to class. Communication: Do not hesitate to come to me with any questions that arise during or outside of class. If you need an accommodation for any type of physical or learning disability, medical needs or any other reason, you should contact the student disability services office and meet with me privately to discuss necessary modifications to course expectations and assignments. Academic Conduct: Please review the undergraduate and graduate student academic conduct policies. Cases of suspected misconduct will be reported to the Dean s Office. Readings: https://www.bu.edu/academics/policies/academic-conduct-code/ https://www.bu.edu/cas/students/graduate/grs-forms-policies-procedures/ Required: Robert Holden and Eric Zolov, eds., Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, Second Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). Other required readings will be made available in class, online or through the Blackboard course website
Assignments and Grading: Different aspects of the research project make up the bulk of the assessment of student performance. Research Proposal 20% -- Due in Class: Tuesday, October 10 A 2-3 page summary of the proposed research topic that includes a research question, a prospective research plan, and information on primary resources to be used for the project. More detailed instructions will be provided early in the term. Draft Bibliography 5% -- Due in Class: Monday, October 30 A 2-3 page list of prospective primary sources and secondary literature to be used for the project. More detailed instructions will be provided during the term. Grading will be pass/fail. Panel Presentation 15% -- In Class: Monday, December 4 and Monday, December 11 A 15-minute presentation of the research question, background, academic context and research findings included in the research paper. A 500-word abstract must be submitted to the instructor via email on the Friday before the presentation. More detailed instructions will be provided during the term. Final Paper 35% -- Due in Electronic Format by Friday, December 15 at Midnight A research paper of 8-10 pages for undergraduate students and 15-20 pages for graduate students. You must take a draft of your paper to the CAS Center for Writing (100 Bay State Rd, 3 rd Floor) before you turn in the final draft. Be sure to reserve an appointment ahead of time. More detailed instructions will be provided during the term. Participation will be assessed based on (1) the degree of active and effective discussion during weekly meetings, (2) weekly posting of questions on Blackboard, (3) the selection of relevant news articles that relate to the course content, and (4) the quality of student-led discussions. Early in the term, students will select a week during which they will co-lead discussion with the instructor and any other students assigned to that week. Class discussion will begin with a roughly 15-minute review of the readings by student discussion leader(s), followed by the posing of an initial question by the discussion leader(s). Participation 25%
Schedule of Classes: September 11 Introductions and Introductory Exercises José Enrique Rodó, Ariel, Holden and Zolov, p. 79 Theotonio Dos Santos, The Structure of Dependence, The American Economy Review, 60:2 (1970) Livio Sansone, The Transnational Origin of Afro-Brazilian Studies, The Black Scholar 41:1 (2011) Excerpt from Thomas Paterson, Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) September 18 Revolutionary Liberalisms Simón Bolívar, The Congress of Panama, Holden and Zolov, p. 16 Simón Bolívar, The United States: Destined to Plague America with Torments, Holden and Zolov, p. 19 Eliga Gould, Entangled Histories, Entangled Worlds: The English-Speaking Atlantic as a Spanish Periphery, The American Historical Review 112:3 (2007) Herbert Bolton, The Epic of Greater America, The American Historical Review 38:3 (1933) Excerpt from Brooke Larson, Trials of Nation Making: Liberalism, Race, and Ethnicity in the Andes, 1810-1910 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004) September 25 Entangled Imperialisms James Monroe, The Monroe Doctrine, Holden and Zolov, p. 13 Hamilton Fish, Santo Domingo Seeks Annexation by the United States, Holden and Zolov, p. 47 Richard Olney, The Olney Memorandum, Holden and Zolov, p. 66 The Congress of the United States, The Platt Amendment, Holden and Zolov, p.82 Brian Delay, Independent Indians and the U.S.-Mexican War, The American Historical Review 112:1 (2007) Excerpt from Rebecca Scott, Degrees of Freedom: Louisiana and Cuba after Slavery (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005) Excerpt from Frank Andre Guridy, Afro-Cubans and African Americans in a World of Empire and Jim Crow (Chapel Hill: University of North Caroline Press, 2010) October 2 Atlantic Economies William Walker, Filibuster, Holden and Zolov, p. 41 The Governments of the United States and Panama, The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, Holden and Zolov, p. 86 Excerpt from Jeremy Adelman, Republic of Capital: Buenos Aires and the Legal Transformation of the Atlantic World (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999) Excerpts from Steve Striffler and Mark Moberg, eds, Banana Wars: Power, Production, and History in the Americas (Durham: Duke University Press, 2003)
October 10 (Tuesday) Wartime Alliances Woodrow Wilson, The Mobile Speech, Holden and Zolov, p. 104 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, The Good Neighbor Policy, Holden and Zolov, p. 133 The Delegates to the Third Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics, Confronting the Fascist Threat, Holden and Zolov, p. 155 Cordell Hull, Just Compensation for the Good Neighbor, Holden and Zolov, p. 142 Excerpt from Stefan Rinke, Latin America and the First World War (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017) Excerpts from Leslie Bethell and Ian Roxborough, eds, Latin America between the Second World War and the Cold War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992) Due in Class: Research Proposal October 16 Breaking Dependencies Rubén Darío, To Roosevelt, Holden and Zolov, p. 91 Victor Haya de la Torre, A Latin American Doctrine of Anti-Imperialism, Holden and Zolov, p. 122 Carleton Beals, With Sandino in Nicaragua, Holden and Zolov, p. 126 Ernesto Ché Guevara, Two, Three, Many Vietnams, Holden and Zolov, p. 251 Excerpt from Tulio Halperín Donghi, The Contemporary History of Latin America (Durham: Duke University Press, 1993) Excerpt from Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Enzo Faletto, Dependency and Development in Latin America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979) Louis Perez, Fear and Loathing of Fidel Castro: Sources of U.S. Policy toward Cuba, Journal of Latin American Studies 34 (2002) October 23 Counter-Revolutions The Delegates of the Ninth International Conference of American States, The Menace of Communism, Holden and Zolov, p. 184 Vernon A. Walters, The United States and the Brazilian Coup, Holden and Zolov, p. 243 Nelson A. Rockefeller, The Rockefeller Report, Holden and Zolov, p. 265 The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Teaching Sabotage, Holden and Zolov, p. 307 The U.S. Department of Defense, A School of the Americas Study Manuel, Holden and Zolov, p. 327 Excerpt from John Dingis, The Condor Years: How Pinochet and his Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents (New York: New Press, 2003) Excerpt from Eric Thomas Chester, Rag-Tags, Scum, Riff-Raff and Commies: The U.S. Intervention in the Dominican Republic, 1965-1966 (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2001)
October 30 Neo-Liberalisms The Governments of Colombia and the United States, The Drug War: Plan Colombia, Holden and Zolov, p. 378 Excerpt from Jorge Castañeda, Utopia Unarmed: The Latin American Left after the Cold War (New York: Knopf, 1993) Paul Rich, NAFTA and Chiapas, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 550 (1997) Paul Cooney, Argentina s Quarter Century Experiment with Neoliberalism from Dictatorship to Depression, Revista de Economia Contemporânea 11:1 (2007) Due in Class: Draft Bibliography November 6 Pink Tides Juan Evo Morales Ayma, We Indigenous People, Holden and Zolov, p. 393 Hugo Chávez Frías, The Devil Came Here Yesterday, Holden and Zolov, p. 397 Kenneth Jameson, The Indigenous Movement in Ecuador: The Struggle for a Plurinational State, Latin American Perspectives 38:1 (2011) Nancy Postero, The Struggle to Create a Radical Democracy in Bolivia, Latin American Research Review 45 (2010) Excerpt from Barry Cannon, Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution: Populism and Democracy in a Globalised Age (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009) November 13 Energy Excerpts from Daniel Yergin, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power (New York: Free Press, 2009) Excerpt from Miguel Tinker Salas, Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015) Luis Giusti, La Apertura : The Opening of Venezuela's Oil Industry, Journal of International Affairs 53:1 (1999) Daniel Hellinger, Oil and the Chavez Legacy, Latin American Perspectives 44:1 (2017) November 20 Environment The Delegates to the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Holden and Zolov, p. 338 Excerpts from Warren Dean, With Broad Axe and Firebrand: The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995) Jeff Tollefson, A Light in the Forest: Brazil s Fight to Save the Amazon and Climate- Change Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs 92:2 (2013) Ana Flavia Barros-Platiau, When Emergent Countries Reform Global Governance of Climate Change, Revista Brasileira de Politíca Internacional 53 (2010)
November 27 Migration The Voters of California, Proposition 187, Holden and Zolov, p. 348 Organización Regional Interamericana de Trabajadores, Sweat-Shop Labor, Holden and Zolov, p. 363 The Governments of Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic and Colombia, Unauthorized Immigration to the United States, Holden and Zolov, p. 380 Michael Light and Dimeji Togunde, The Mexican Immigration Debate: Assimilation and Public Policy, International Review of Modern Sociology 34:2 (2008) Michael Snodgras, Patronage and Progress: The Bracero Program from the Perspective of Mexico, In Workers across the Americas: The Transnational Turn in Labor History, edited by Leon Fink (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) John Flores, A Migrating Revolution: Mexican Political Organizers and Their Rejection of American Assimilation, 1920 1940, In Workers across the Americas: The Transnational Turn in Labor History, edited by Leon Fink (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) December 4 Conference Panels I, II and III December 11 Conference Panels IV, V and VI Final Papers Due December 15