CPO 3303 Introduction to Latin American Politics – Draft IV
Fall 2017
Sebastián Sclofsky
Class Days: M, W, F Period 8 (3.00pm to 3.50pm)
Room: Matherly 018
Office: Anderson Hall 317
Office Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 10am to 12pm.
Course Description
“Nuestro norte es el Sur. No debe haber norte, para nosotros, sino por oposición a nuestro Sur. Por eso ahora ponemos el mapa al revés, y entonces ya tenemos justa idea de nuestra posición, y no como quieren en el resto del mundo. La punta de América, desde ahora, prolongándose, señala insistentemente el Sur, nuestro norte,” Joaquín Torres García.
“Our north is the South. There should not be north, for us, but only in opposition to our South. For this reason, we put the map upside down, and now we have a proper idea of our position, and not as the rest of the world wants it. The point of America, from now on, extends, and signals insistently the South, our north,” Joaquín Torres García.
Following the words of the famous Uruguayan painter, our north will be the South. Guided by its thinkers, poets, revolutionaries, artists, by its first inhabitants and the descendants of European, African, and Asian immigrants, by its leaders and common people, we will observe, listen, and feel the vast continent that extends from the Río Grande to Tierra del Fuego.
The aim of this course is to explore and examine the rich and tumultuous political and social history of a diverse continent, with varied geographies, ethnicities, races, economies, and histories, united by similar colonial pasts and political presents. We will engage with many of its political thinkers and actors, as well as important scholars from Latin America and outside of it, who have studied the region, some of them captivated by the magical realism of its politics, others as an intellectual challenge, and for many because the South is our north.
Learning Objective
James Barrett Reston once said, “The people of the United States will do anything for Latin America, except read about it.” In this course, we will not let that happen. The main goals for the class are:
- Increase students’ familiarity and general knowledge about Latin America.
- Provide the analytical tools that will allow students to better understand the social, economic, and political phenomena affecting the region.
- Analyze the complexities and ethnic, political, economic, and historical diversity of the region. In other words, understand that Latin America is not a country. At the same time, comprehend the commonalities that connect the continent and generates a broad sense of latinoamericanismo.
- Encourage students’ curiosity about the region through different texts, films, music, and stories.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Márquez, Iván. 2008. Contemporary Latin American Social and Political Thought: An Anthology. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Winn, Peter, 2006. Americas: The Changing Faces of Latin America and the Caribbean. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
All other reading material will be provided through Canvas
Course Requirements
The students will be evaluated through a mid-term exam (20%) a final exam (30%), in class participation (20%) country reports (15%) online discussion (10%) and attendance (5%)
Mid-Term Exam (20%):The mid-term will be a take-home essay exam and will cover all the materials studied up to that point. Students will choose from a series of questions/prompts and will be evaluated in their ability to synthetize and critically engage with the material studied. The exam will be no longer than 4 pages, 1.5 line spaced, 12pt font.The exam questions/prompts will be provided on October 2nd and the exam has to be uploaded to Canvas no later than October 15th.
Final Exam (30%):The final exam will be a take-home essay exam. Students will respond to a prompt from a series of options and will be asked to synthetize and critically assess all the material studied during the course, including the country reports. The exam will be no longer than 6 pages, 1.5 line spaced, 12pt. font. The exam questions/prompts will be provided on November 20th and the exam has to be uploaded to Canvas no later than December 10th.
Participation (20%):While we may read and study by ourselves, we learn by engaging and dialogue with others, including the author(s) and texts we read. Our class is a learning community in which we help each other to better understand the authors and subjects we are studying. Henceforth, participation is essential to the course. Any contribution, from comments and insights about the readings to sharing questions and doubts generated by the authors, the lectures, and other students’ comments, are part of what counts as participation. I expect students to read the assigned readings before coming to class and participate in the discussions.
Your comments and insights should be primarily about the topic we are discussing and should be based on the readings. Nonetheless, your own personal experiences or country/region knowledge may contribute to better understand the topic so feel free to share these experiences and knowledge, so long as they contribute to better understand the subject we are discussing. Personal anecdotes enrich the course, but they should not be a substitute to the readings.
Speaking in front of a large classroom full of peers is not easy, and some of you may struggle with this. My goal is to create an environment that allows everyone to speak up and share their insights with the rest of us. In order to do so, I require your help. For those who have no problem in speaking in class, be aware that others may not feel this way, you should support and encourage your fellow classmates. For those who do not feel comfortable speaking in large classrooms, it is important that you come to the office and tell me this. In this way, we can search for alternative ways in which you can contribute to the learning community and earn your participation grade. Do not wait until the last day of the semester to do this.
Online Discussion (10%):The course is divided into thematic units. During the time we cover each unit there will be an online forum for students to address the general content and the particular readings included in each unit. Students are expected to write at least one post on the online forum and respond to the post of another student (2 posts in total) for each of the thematic units.
Country Reports (15%):Students will be divided into groups and each group will be assigned a country. The group will review the news of that specific country and will present, at three different instances, a brief summary and analysis of the most important event(s) taking place in that country.
Before each presentation, each group will upload a two page written report on the news item(s) the group understood to be the most important event taking place in that country. The report should not be a copy/paste summary of the news. It should give a brief account of the facts, with a short introduction and contextualization of the news. It will then explain why this event is important in the present and for the future of the country. Include the news links in your report.
In further reports, the group can follow the same event(s) and expand on the news coverage and analysis. If something new has taken place, and the group finds to be important, the group should present this new topic and explain it.
Finally, the group will write a 5 page, 1.5 line spaced, 12pt font, final country report, which they will upload to Canvas no later than December 2nd. This final report, should include the news covered with their proper analysis and must include a future prediction of what will take place in the country in reference to the topic(s) analyzed during the semester.
Attendance (5%):Attending classes is mandatory, absents will be excused based on University policies. If a student has more than five unexcused absences the student will automatically fail the course.
Extra-Credits: Students will receive 5 extra-credit points for coming to office visits. Students will receive 5 extra-credit points if a certain number of students (TBD), fill-in the online evaluation forms. This number will be determined by the professor during the course.
Grade / Score / Grade / Score / Grade / Score / Grade / ScoreA / 94-100 / B / 83-86 / C / 73-76 / D / 63-66
A- / 90-93 / B- / 80-82 / C- / 70-72 / D- / 60-62
B+ / 87-89 / C+ / 77-79 / D+ / 67-69 / E / 0-59
University and Course Policies:
Academic honesty: Violations of the Student Honor Code (including, but not limited to, copying and plagiarizing) will be reported to the Dean of Students Office for consideration of disciplinary action. For more information, see: University of Florida Department of Political Science Page 5 of 10
Counseling and wellness: A variety of counseling, mental health and psychiatric services are available through the Counseling and Wellness Center, whose goal is to help students be maximally effective in their academic pursuits by reducing or eliminating emotional, psychological, and interpersonal problems that interfere with academic functioning. For more information, call 392-1575 or visit
Students with disabilities: The University of Florida is committed to providing academic accommodations for students with disabilities. Students requesting accommodations should register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565, as soon as possible by providing appropriate documentation. Once registered, students should present me with their accommodation letter.
Cell Phones, Facebook, Twitter, Social Media, etc.: I bought my first cell phone when I was 26 years old, if it is possible to live 26 years without a cell-phone, it is possible to spend 50 minutes without the cell phone on. It is even easier to spend 50 minutes without social media. So please, tell your family, friends, followers, and acquaintances that for 50 minutes you will be off-line. Your classmates and I will appreciate that.
Class Recording: You are not allowed to audio or video record this class. Exceptions to this rule will be considered on an individual basis.
Important Note: The instructor reserved the right to change any of the administrative information (syllabus, readings, exams, distribution of grades, and papers) throughout the course of the semester and will inform students of such changes with due time and consideration.
COURSE PROGRAM
Monday, August 21st
Course and syllabus introduction
UNIT 1: The Idea of Latin America
Wednesday, August 23rd: Why do you want study Latin America?
Mu, Enrique and Milagros Pereyra-Rojas (2015). “Impact on Society versus Impact on Knowledge: Why Latin American Scholars Do Not Participate in Latin American Studies,” Latin American Research Review, Vol 50(2). Pp. 216-238.
Winn, Peter (2006). Americas: Changing Faces of Latin America and the Caribbean. Pp. 1-32.
Friday, August 25th: The Idea of Latin America
Galeano, Eduardo (1973). The Open Veins of Latin America. Pp. 1-8.
Mignolo, Walter (2005). The Idea of Latin America. Pp. 51-93.
Monday, August 28th: Understanding Latin America
García Márquez, Gabriel (1970). One Hundred Years of Solitude. Pp. 1-36.
Winn, Peter (2006). Americas: Changing Faces of Latin America and the Caribbean. Pp. 420-442.
UNIT 2: The Conquest and Rebellions
Wednesday, August 30th: The Conquest and its Heritage I
Movie “The Mission”
Friday, September 1st:The Conquest and its Heritage II
Movie “The Mission”
Monday, September 4th: NO CLASS (US Labor Day)
Wednesday, September 6th: The Conquest and its Heritage III
End of Movie “The Mission”
Bartolomé de las CasasAn Account, Much Abbreviated, Of The Destruction of the Indies. Pp. 2-8, 21-25, 28-30.
Galeano, Eduardo (1973). The Open Veins of Latin America. Pp. 11-22, 38-42.
Winn, Peter (2006). Americas: Changing Faces of Latin America and the Caribbean. Pp. 39-44, 46-61, 74-85.
Friday, September 8th:Indigenous and Slave Rebellions
Walker, Charles (2008). “Introduction” in Stavig & Schmidt (eds) The Tupac Amaru and Catarista Rebellions. Pp. xxiii-xxxiii.
Walker, Charles (2014). The Tupac Amaru Rebellion. Pp. 267-278.
Cheney, Glenn Alan (2014). Quilombo dos Palmares: Brazil’s Lost Nation of Fugitive Slaves. Pp. 1-4, 35-43, 80-90, 219-230.
Knight, Franklin W. (2000). “The Haitian Revolution,” The American Historical Review105(1), pp. 103-115.
UNIT 3: A Latin American People?
Monday, September 11th: Is There a Latin American People?
Ernesto “Che” Guevara “Saint Guevara’s Day” in Ernesto Guevara The Awakening of Latin America. Pp. 63-64.
Larrain, Jorge (2000). Identity and Modernity in Latin America. Pp. 191-207.
Wednesday, September 13th: Mestizaje and Race
Helland, Janice (1992). “Culture,politics, and identity in the paintings ofFrida Kahlo,” pp. 397-406.
Martínez-Echazábal, Lourdes (1998). “Mestizaje and the Discourse of National/Cultural Identity in Latin America, 1845-1959,” Latin American Perspectives25(3), pp. 21-42.
Vasconcelos, José. “The Cosmic Race” Pp. 9-16.
Ribeiro, Darcy (2000). The Brazilian People: The Formation and Meaning of Brazil. Pp. 1-6, 146-158.
UNIT 4: Independence and its First Challenges
Friday, September 15th: In Search for Independence
José Martí (1891). “Nuestra América.”
Simón Bolivar (1815) “Letter from Jamaica.”
Monday, September 18th: Creating the State and Nation
Anderson, Benedict (1983). Imagined Communities. Pp. 1-7, 47-65.
Chasten, John Charles (2003). “Introduction: Beyond Imagined Communities,” in Castro-Klarén & Chasten (eds.) Beyond Imagined Communities. Pp. ix-xxv.
Sarmiento, Domingo. Facundo or Civilization and Barbarism. Pp. 9-27.
Vargas Llosa, Mario (1985). The War of the End of the World. Pp. 3-16.
Wednesday, September 20th: Central America
Perez-Brignoli, Hector (1989). A Brief History of Central America. Pp. 1-32, 66-97.
Mahoney, James (2001). The Legacies of Liberalism: Path Dependence and Political Regimes in Central America. Pp. 3-4, 11-27, 29-48.
UNIT 5: Dependency and Populism
Friday, September 22nd:Dependency Theory
Galeano, Eduardo (1973). The Open Veins of Latin America. Pp. 28-37.
Faletto & Cardoso “Dependency and Development in Latin America,” in Márquez Contemporary Latin American Social and Political Thought. Pp. 218-230.
Theodonio dos Santos “The Structure of Dependence,” in Márquez Contemporary Latin American Social and Political Thought. Pp. 231-239.
Kingstone, Peter (2011). The Political Economy of Latin America. Pp. 19-44.
Monday, September 25th: Populism and its Legacies
Conniff, Michael L. (2012). “Introduction,” in Michael L. Conniff (ed) Populism in Latin America. Pp. 1-22.
Meade, Teresa (2010). A History of Modern Latin America. Pp. 193-211.
Weyland, Kurt (2001). “Clarifying a Contested Concept: Populism in the Study of Latin American Politics,” Comparative Politics34(1), pp. 1-22.
Winn, Peter (2006). Americas: Changing Faces of Latin America and the Caribbean. Pp.133-160.
Country Reports I
Wednesday, September 27th: Country Reports I
Friday, September 29th: Country Reports I
UNIT 6: Coups and Revolutions
Monday, October 2nd: The US in The Tropics
Galeano, Eduardo (1973). The Open Veins of Latin America. Pp. 107-115.
Smith, Joseph (2005). The United States and Latin America. Pp. 15-17, 66-68, 71-75, 117-123.
Dunkerely, James (1988). Power in the Isthmus: A Political History of Modern Central America. Pp. 115-152.
Pablo Neruda. “Treason”, “Death”, The Traitor Dies”, “Monarchs”, “In Guatemala”.
Wednesday, October 4th:The Cuban Revolution and Its Impact
Ernesto “Che” Guevara “Socialism and Man in Cuba,” in Márquez Contemporary Latin American Social and Political Thought. Pp. 265-276.
Winn, Peter (2006). Americas: Changing Faces of Latin America and the Caribbean. Pp. 530-549.
Wright, Thomas C. (2001). Latin America in the Era of the Cuban Revolution. Pp. 39-56.
Friday, October 6th: Liberation Theology
Petrella, Ivan (2016). “The Intellectual Roots of Liberation Theology,” in Garrard-Burnett, Freston & Dove (eds.) The Cambridge History of Religions in Latin America. Pp. 359-371.
Gustavo Gutierrez “Toward a Theology of Liberation” in Márquez Contemporary Latin American Social and Political Thought. Pp. 93-106.
Leonardo Boff “The Church and the Struggle for Justice and the Rights of the Poor,” in Márquez Contemporary Latin American Social and Political Thought. Pp. 107-116.
Monday, October 9th: Allende and the Democratic Path to Socialism
Winn, Peter (1986). Weavers of Revolution: The Yarur Workers and Chile's Road to Socialism. Pp. 53-69, 197-205.
Wright, Thomas C. (2001). Latin America in the Era of the Cuban Revolution. Pp. 129-148.
Salvador Allende (1973). “Final Speech.”
Wednesday, October 11th: Revolucionarios!
Vanden, Harry E. & Becker, Marc. José Carlos Mariátegui: An Anthology. Pp. 11-18; 69- 74; 237-242.
Sandino, Augusto “Political Manifesto” Nicaragua, July 1927.
Ojeda Ríos, Filiberto (2002). “The Boricua-Macheteros Popular Army: Origins, Programs, and Struggle,” Latin American Perspectives. Pp. 104-116.
Emiliano Zapata “Plan Ayala”
EZLN “The First Declaration of the Selva Lacandona.”
Friday, October 13th: NO CLASS (Homecoming)
UNIT 7: Military Coups and The Return of Democracy
Monday, October 16th: The Military Coups in the Southern Cone
Dorfman, Zach (2017). “How Henry Kissinger Conspired Against a Sitting President,” Politico.
McSherry, J. Patrice (2005). Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America. Pp. 1-33, 69-78, 107-110, 118-122.
Wright, Thomas C. (2001). Latin America in the Era of the Cuban Revolution. Pp. 149-164.
Wednesday, October 18th: Human Rights Violations
Movie “Olvidados”
Friday, October 20th: Human Rights Violation
Movie “Olvidados”
McSherry, J. Patrice (2005). Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America. Pp. 139-143, 152-157.
Monday, October 23rd: Back to Democracy
Loveman, Brian (1994). “’Protected Democracies’ and Military Guardianship: Political Transitions in Latin America, 1978-1993,” Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs36(2), pp. 105-189.
Winn, Peter (2006). Americas: Changing Faces of Latin America and the Caribbean. Pp. 194-199.
UNIT 8: Integration and Economic Challenges and The Left Turn
Wednesday, October 25th: Latin American Integration
Malamud, Andrés & Gardini, Gian Luca (2012). “Has Regionalism Peaked?The Latin American Quagmire and its Lessons,” The International Spectator47(1), pp. 116-133.
Riggirozzi, Pía (2012). “Region, Regionness and Regionalism inLatin America: Towards a New Synthesis,” New Political Economy 17(4), pp. 421-443.
Friday, October 27th: Economic Challenges
Harvey, David (2005).Neoliberalism. Pp. 1-4
Naim, Moises (2015). “The Coming Turmoil in Latin America,” The Atlantic.
Breene, Keith (2016). “5 things to know about Latin America’s economy,” World Economic Forum.
Monday, October 30th: The Left Turn and the New Models of Government
Castañeda, Jorge G. (2006). “Latin America’s Left Turn,” Foreign Affairs85(3), pp. 28-43.
Corrales & Penfold (2011). Dragon in The Tropics. Pp. 1-13.
Kingstone, Peter (2011). The Political Economy of Latin America. Pp. 91-126.
UNIT 9: Religion, Identity, and Mobilization
Wednesday, November 1st: Indigenous Movements
Rigoberta Menchu “An Indian Woman in Guatemala” in Márquez Contemporary Latin American Social and Political Thought. Pp. 32-49.