HIST G150: History of Latin America

Course Outline of Record
Item	Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date	09/19/2017
Top Code	220500 - History
Units	3 Total Units
Hours	54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54)
Total Outside of Class Hours	0
Course Credit Status	Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee	No
Basic Skills	Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable	No
Grading Policy	Standard Letter (S), Pass/No Pass (B)
Diversity Requirement (GCD)	Yes
California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)	Cal-GETC 3B Humanities (3B) Cal-GETC 4 Social & Behavioral Sciences (4) Cal-GETC 4F History (4F)
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)	IGETC 3B Humanities (3B) IGETC 4 Social&Behavioral Sci (4) IGETC 4F History (4F)
California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth)	CSU C2 Humanities (C2) CSU D3 Ethnic Studies (D3) CSU D6 History (D6)

Course Description

This course navigates Latin American history in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. It emphasizes the complex political, economic, social, environmental, and cultural developments between Indigenous American, African, and European societies. Topics, including settlement patterns, trade and interaction, the rise of civilizations, colonialism, slavery, nationalism, independence, and globalization will be explored from the pre-colonial period to the 21st century utilizing primary and secondary sources. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

Course Outcomes
Analyze primary and secondary sources in the history of Latin America.
Evaluate the relevance of Latin American history from the pre-Columbian era to the present.
Assess written research using historical evidence in Latin American history.

Course Objectives

1. Identify the major historical periods (pre-colonization, colonial era, independence, post-independence, nation-state, and 20th/21st century) as well as the changing course of politics (pre-colonial/post-colonial, isolationism, fascism/eugenics, populism, socialism/communism, neo-liberalism, etc.) in the region.
2. Assess Latin Americas complex relationship between local level developments and the transnational processes, including the influence of the United States in the region, while also taking into consideration the development, identification, and transformation of race, gender, class, and environment.
3. Analyze a series of primary sources such as personal narratives, maps of the era, speeches, photographs, monuments, art, music, and film as well as secondary sources from literature and academic articles and monographs.
4. Formulate essential questions, pose new interpretations, and conduct research using historical evidence.
5. Recognize the importance of conflicting interpretations and contextualize the past on its own terms.
6. Analyze the dynamics of change over time in order to explain historical causality and preserve contingency in the past.
7. Evaluate the consequences of historical decisions and reflect on the relevance of debatable issues in the modern day.

Lecture Content

Part One: Pre-/Colonization (15th-16th Century): 1. Social and political environments in Europe prior to 1492 and the rise of the merchant class2. Mesoamerica, prior to 14923. Christopher Columbus and voyages to Western Hemisphere4. Colonization and control of commodities5. Role of religion in the "New World"6. Native enslavement and native wars against colonizers7. African enslavement and forced exportation to the "New World" Part Two: The Colonial Era (16th-19th Century): 1. Role of the mission system in Spanish America2. Role of sugar and coffee in the "New World" economic market3. Gender roles and social expectations in Spanish and Portuguese colonial society4. Rise of escaped-slave communties, resistance, and "Whiteness"5. Role of syncretism in different parts of Latin America6. Viceroyalties in the "New World" and changing political factions in Europe7. Local identity and the creoles of the "New World" Part Three: The Independence Period (19th Century): 1. Transformations of political identities and the Imagined Community2. Rise of Liberalism and its effect on the population3. Rise of major revolutionary creoles throughout Spanish America4. The "bloodless" revolution in Brazil5. Abolition and stratification in post-independence Latin America6. Wars for independence in Latin America7. U.S. expansion and Latin Americas engaging of the international market Part Four: The 20th/21st Century: 1. European and United States economic and political colonialism 2. The role of European and U.S. businesses in Latin America3. The Mexican Revolution, World War I and Latin America4. The rise of indigenismo and artisitc productions of the era5. The role of Populism, import substitution, Fascism, World War II in Latin America6. R evolution, Anti-Communism/Socialism, Third World Liberation7. Neo-liberalism, Dependency Theory, and Magical Realism 8. Late 20th Century Dictatorships and the Cold War in Latin America9. Changing economies, LGBT rights, indigenous rights, womens rights10. Role of the black market: the Drug Wars11. The success and failure of the Bolivarian Revolution, the Socialist Democracies, and Latin Americas Left

Method(s) of Instruction

Lecture (02)
DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
DE Online Lecture (02X)

Reading Assignments

Readings for History G150 will generally include a college-level survey textbook, a collection of separate readings, and a book-length primary source. The survey textbook will serve as a secondary source and as a supplement to course lectures. The collection of separate readings will serve as analysis of primary source documents and comprehension of historical argument/theory. The book-length primary source will serve as extended analysis and a research paper assignment in the context of the assigned readings or other secondary source background.

Writing Assignments

Objective multiple-choice tests: the multiple choice tests will assess the students historical comprehension of the course lectures and secondary source readings.Short essay exams and class assignments: the short essay exams will assess the students analysis of historical people, events, ideas, and issues and their interpretation of historical primary sources. Students will be directed to focus on the analysis of historical significance rather than the memorization of historical facts.Blue-book essay examinations and research paper: the in-class blue-book essay examinations will assess the students ability to take a stance on a controversial question/issue in the History of Latin America and to formulate a cogent historical argument corroborated by concrete historical evidence and primary sources. The take-home research paper will assess the students ability to analyze a book-length primary source, formulate historical questions, acquire information concerning the historical time and place, and to report on historical implications.

Out-of-class Assignments

Required readings from primary and secondary sources, exercises, and written responses as required by the instructor.Term paper or class presentation on topic approved by instructor. Preferred emphasis on multi-cultural aspects. The take-home research paper will assess the students ability to analyze a book-length primary source, formulate historical questions, acquire information concerning the historical time and place, and to report on historical implications. The instructor will choose a book-length primary source from the section Optional Textbooks in this course outline and assign an in-depth document analysis/research paper of approximately 6-8 pages/1,800-2,500 words.

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Students shall demonstrate their ability to think critically by means of essay examinations and written research assignments which will require them to analyze, compare, contrast, explain, evaluate, and synthesize historical information and material as directed by the course instructor. Such essay examinations and written research assignments will be an important and integral component of every History G150 course.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Eligible Disciplines

History: Masters degree in history OR bachelors degree in history AND masters degree in political science, humanities, geography, area studies, womens studies, social science, or ethnic studies OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Benjamin Keen and Keith Haynes. A History of Latin America, ed. Wadsworth Publishing, 2012 Rationale: Update text 2. Required John Charles Chasteen. Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America, ed. W.W. Norton Company, 2016 3. Required Eduardo Galeano. Open Veins of Latin America, ed. Monthly Review Press, 2013

Other Resources

1. Alicia Partnoy, The Little SchoolRigoberta Menchu, I, Rigoberta: An Indian Woman in GuatemalaBartolome de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoIsabel Allende, The House of SpiritsGabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of SolitudeErnesto Guevara, Motorcycle DiariesOctavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude Carlos Fuentes, The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait

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