Modern Latin America

Please note that the book by John Chasteen, Problems in Modern Latin America, that was place in reserve is (I have to check) is an old edition. Make sure to look at the chapter on populism, that is the one you need to read. I will make the necessary corrections in the schedule to reflect that correct copy.

In our lectures this week we have discussed how around 1930 neocolonialism gave way to nationalism and eventually led to the rise of populist governments in Latin America. Nationalism took a skeptical view of foreign investment and enterprise. For the most part nationalists believed that such investment and enterprise in their countries amounted to economic imperialism, which exploited rather than developed the region’s potential. A new type of leadership, dubbed Populist, was able to tap into this frustration, and into the growing dissatisfied urban laboring groups, to propel itself into power.

Populism and nationalism are terms difficult to define because the different meanings scholar apply to them. So for our discussion I will like to explore how scholars, according to Dix, have define and contextualize populism in Latin America. What condition we see taking place in nations such as Costa Rica that could led to the emergence of populist movements? Why did women and men join populist movements?

For our discussion you should come prepare to examine how scientific racism shaped the economic and political policies throughout Latin America between 1870s and 1920s.  Also,  I will like for us to discuss how North American and European views towards Latin American intersected with local elites perceptions about the laboring classes in this region.  Furthermore, our discussion will examine how issues of gender, race and class were use to construct identities that at times were contradictory to the projects of dominant groups.

A new posting with major points and questions for our lectures and discussions can be found in the page title Lecture.

The History Department has re-located for the rest of the semester at Mather Massion’s 3rd Floor.  My office is 306 and the my phone number continues to be the same.

I will be photocopying the reading by Chasteen that focus on the Caudillos and I will have copies for you tomorrow.  Also, remember to read E. Bradford Burns for class.  This reading will set the foundation for our discussions in the coming weeks.

For our discussion we should consider the following questions:

How historians define Liberalism and Conservatism in Latin American? To what degree this ideologies plunged the new nations into a series of crises? And What role Caudillismo played in creating an unstable national situation?

How was/is Caudillo define?

What are the major problems faced by the Brazilian and Peruvian groups involved in their struggle to create a stable nation?

Check the page on written work . I have placed the group and individual position papers assignments.  If you have questions please see me or make a comment on the page.

After careful consideration I have adjusted the number of Group Position Papers from TWO to ONE.  This was done to acomodate the individual position papers.