The Cold War and Beyond
13. Central America, three case studies of US intervention
Read: Skidmore 79-88 and 92-106
What course could the poor of Central America reasonably choose in the Cold War context?
14. Deep Dive: Liberation Theology
Read: Garrard-Burnett “Religion and Politics in 20th Century Central America;” Freire, “Conscientizing as a Way of Liberating”; Archbishop Oscar Romero, “The Church’s Mission” radio sermon excerpts (Docs).
Why did the Catholic Church in Latin America alter course in this way? What do you think of the Church’s involvement in social issues like poverty? Does this mean the Church is taking a political stance?
15. The case of the 1980 murders of 4 American women in El Salvador
Read: Bonner, “The Diplomat and the Killer” (Docs)
Bring questions to class. Be able to say what kind(s) of question it is.
16. Argentina
Read: Skidmore 240-256; Eva Peron, “Peronist Feminism in Argentina” (Docs)
What do we learn from Eva Peron’s feminism? How did Juan Peron rise to power? What did he stand for? What led to his demise?
17. Argentina II
Read: Skidmore, 256-267; and Krugman, excerpt from The Return of Depression Economics (Docs)
What are Peronistas today? Why has Argentina had persistent economic instability despite its overall wealth?
18. Economic overview and globalization
WATCH ONLINE: Commanding Heights. The first clips are in volume 2 of the series: Watch from 19:44 to 33:28 (Dependency Theory, and Chile); Then watch from 49:00 to 1:01 (Shock Therapy in Bolivia). Then move on to volume 3: Watch from 10:15 to 33:00 (This includes the Peso crisis in Mexico, but more largely is about globalization and money moving rapidly across borders, so bear with it as you hear from an American investment firm, the Malaysian president, etc).
Consider: Why did Latin America initially close off markets to foreigners in the early 20th century? What did Latin America have to gain by opening up to free markets? Were there costs? Why did the peso crisis occur? Should the US have made the loan to Mexico? What do we learn by the currency crises of the 1990's?
19. Study Session: A study guide in a word document is attached to the bottom of this page.
20. Exam
21. Weaving a life in Mexico.
Read: Handout: "America in the Twenty-first Century," Chapter 14 of A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present by Teresa Meade; and Online: "In Mexico, Weavers Embrace Natural Alternatives to Toxic Dyes" New York Times
Renowned Mexican traditional weaver Porfirio Gutiérrez will be visiting campus on Tuesday May 7, from 8:30 am until 2:30 pm in the Elting Room. The Modern Latin America course will meet during class on that day in the Elting Room. Señor Gutiérrez will speak about weaving and textile traditions of Oaxaca, Mexico, and current cultural trends in the country and his works will be on display. The textbook reading will serve as the background for the next few readings.
22. Mexico: Aftermath of NAFTA and a new president.
Read: Handouts: "Can Mexico Be Saved? The Peril and Promise of López Obrador," By Denise Dresser, Foreign Affairs; and "Pesos to the People," The Economist; "Did NAFTA Help Mexico?" report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. (The first three documents only, in the packet I gave you).
Has NAFTA been good for Mexico? Will López Obrador save Mexico?
23. Venezuela, Cuba, and the future of socialism in Latin America
Read: "Venezuela's Suicide: Lessons from a Failed State," by Moises Naim and Francisco Toro in Foreign Affairs, November/December 2018; and "Socialism from Above: Assessing the Cuban Experience," by Ailynn Torres Santana in Dissent, Winter 2019 (this one is in the packet with the Mexico documents)
In his State of the Union Address, President Trump said: "We stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble quest for freedom — and we condemn the brutality of the Maduro regime, whose socialist policies have turned that nation from being the wealthiest in South America into a state of abject poverty and despair. Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence — not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country. One of the most complex set of challenges we face and have for many years is in the Middle East. Our approach is based on principled realism — not discredited theories that have failed for decades to yield progress." Is Trump correct in judging Venezuela as proof that socialism is not the best way forward for Latin America?
24. Central American migration crisis
Read: "How Climate Change is Fueling the U.S. Border Crisis," by Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, April 3, 2019; and "Go Home and Don't Come Back," The Economist, April 6, 2019 (both are in the packet with the Mexico documents).
How is climate change driving migration from Guatemala? Can anything be done to stop it? Does the United States have a responsibility to addressing the problem?
25. Identity and Modernity
Read: Handout from class from the Penguin History of Latin America.
SEARCH: The internet for a piece of Latin American visual art that illustrates one of the preoccupations of the modernists we read about last night. Email me a link to the image and I will project it during class and ask you to explain what it illustrates.
What is the difference between modernity and modernism? How are the two related? Were the intellectuals successful in defining a unique Latin American identity? How did the modernists feel about modernity?
26. Meet in the library.
We will begin working on research for the final research project.
27. Meet in library to being on your assigned country.
28. Meet in the Library.
29. Final Exam Block – Turn in final country study. Also, before teh class, please email me a digital image showing a piece of artwork that is relevant to the reading we did for unit number 25 on Identity and Modernity.