Weekly readings range from 75 to 130 pages, or about 100 pages on average. Readings include articles from the popular press, literary works, and scholarly research from the social sciences.
If your first language is not English, you should still try to read the non-literary works in English. For literary works (such as García Márquez and Allende), however, please feel free to read them in the original.
Readings are normally due on the first day of class of the week in which they are assigned. Where the first day is entirely occupied by a lecture, however, you may wait until later in the week.
Many weekly readings are accompanied by videos or films, which are an integral part of the course. Videos from the Americas series, produced in part by WGBH-Boston, are one hour each. Please note that the film The Battle of Chile is very long, so you should plan in advance.
Required Texts
Winn, Peter. Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, ISBN: 9780520201811.
Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994, ISBN: 9780520080836.
Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. Translated by Magda Bogin. New York, NY: Everyman’s Library, 2005, ISBN: 9781400043187 (English).
Colburn, Forrest D. Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN: 9780691091815.
Readings by Session
L = Lecture R = Recitation
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | Introduction and Pop Quiz | Course Packet and Pop Quiz. |
| I. Historical Inheritances and Current Realities | ||
| L2 | Finish Pop Quiz. Latin America as a “Living Museum” |
Márquez, Gabriel García. “Big Mama’s Funeral (short story, 1962).” No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories. Translated by J. S. Bernstein. New York, NY: Harper Colophone, 1979, pp. 153-70. ISBN: 9780060907006. Winn, Peter. “A View from the South,” and “Legacies of Empire.” Chapters 1 and 2 in Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 2-83. ISBN: 9780520201811. Colburn, Forrest D. “Latin America as a Place,” “Urban Bias,” and “The Poor.” In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 9-24 and 82-88. ISBN: 9780691091815. |
| R1 | Show and Tell | |
| L3 | Class Discussion of Big Mama’s Funeral | |
| II. The Legacies of Conquest and Slavery | ||
| L4 | Conquest, Bourbon “Reconquest,” and The Post-Colonial Period |
Winn, Peter. “Children of the Sun,” and “A Question of Color.” Chapters 7 and 8 in Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 234-303. ISBN: 9780520201811. Begin reading: Allende, Isabel. House of the Spirits. (Note names of the women.) FilmAmericas Television Series: Julia, Raul, narrator. “Mirrors of the Heart: Color, Class, and Identity.” Program 4_. Americas_. Produced by Judith Vecchione with WGBH (Boston). South Burlington, VT: Annenberg/CPB Collection, 1993, ISBN: 1559467487. |
| R2 | Americas Video: Mirrors of the Heart: Color, Class, and Identity | |
| L5 | Class Discussion of Race | |
| III. Development and Underdevelopment in Latin America | ||
| L6 | Lecture: Theories of Development |
Klaren, Peter F. “Lost Promise: Explaining Latin American Underdevelopment.” In Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Edited by Peter F. Klaren and Thomas J. Bossert. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1986, pp. 3-33. ISBN: 9780813300078. [Skip part on “corporatism”] Frank, André Gunder. “The Development of Underdevelopment.” In Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Edited by Peter F. Klaren and Thomas J. Bossert. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1986, pp. 111-23. ISBN: 9780813300078. dos Santos, Teodoro. “The Structure of Dependence.” The American Economic Review 60, no. 2 (May 1970): 231-6. Haber, Steven. “Assessing the Obstacles to Industrialization: The Mexican Economy, 1830-1940.” Journal of Latin American Studies 24, no. 1 (February 1992): 1-32. Colburn, Forrest D. “The Business of Being in Business.” In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 45-54. ISBN: 9780691091815. Continue reading House of the Spirits. (Be sure to read the story about the chinchillas.) |
| R3 | Prepare for Individual Class Presentations | |
| L7 | Economic Development | |
| IV. Underdevelopment and What to Do About It | ||
| L8 | The Latin American Debt Crisis, Structural Adjustment, and Market-oriented Reform |
Gereffi, Gary. “Drug Firms and Dependency in Mexico: The Case of the Steroid Hormone Industry.” International Organization 32 (1978): 237-86. Haber, Steven “Assessing the Obstacles to Industrialization: The Mexican Economy, 1830-1940.” Journal of Latin American Studies 24, no. 1 (February 1992): 1-32. |
| R4 | Breakout Groups in Preparation for Extemporaneous Presentations | |
| L9 | Steroid Hormone Industry and Mexican Development Strategies Today | |
| V. Development, Underdevelopment and Politics in Chile | ||
| R5 | The Battle for Chile (Part I) |
Finish reading The House of the Spirits. Valenzuela, Arturo. “Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime.” In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Edited by Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1989, pp. 194-216. ISBN: 9781555870447. FilmVideo: Guzmán, Patricio. The Battle of Chile (Part I). New York, NY: First Run / Icarus Films, 1978. |
| L10 | Class Discussion of The House of the Spirits | |
| VI. Development, Democratic Breakdown, and Military Rule | ||
| L11 | Lecture: The Breakdown of Chilean Democracy |
Valenzuela, Arturo. “Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime.” In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Edited by Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1989, pp. 216-226. ISBN: 9781555870447. Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California press, 1994, pp. 1-6, 56-77, 83-104, 113-159. ISBN: 9780520080836. FilmDocumentary: Guzmán, Patricio. The Battle of Chile (Part II). New York, NY: First Run / Icarus Films, 1978. |
| R6 | The Battle for Chile (Part II) | |
| L12 | Class Discussion of Chilean Experience | |
| VII. Re-Democratization in Chile (and Elsewhere) | ||
| L13 | Lecture: Bureaucratic Authoritarianism in Chile and Elsewhere |
Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California press, 1994, pp.163-267. ISBN: 9780520080836. Valenzuela, Arturo. “Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime.” In Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset, Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1989, pp. 227-240. ISBN: 9781555870447. FilmDrama: Bortnik, Aida, and Luis Puenzo. La Historia Oficial. Directed by Luis Puenzo. Argentina: Historias Cinematograficas, 1985. |
| R7 | La Historia Oficial | |
| L14 | Lecture: The Transition to Democracy in Chile and Elsewhere | |
| VIII. Civil-Military Relations in Latin America and Accountability for Past Abuses | ||
| L15 | Establishing Civilian Control Over the Military and Transitional Justice |
Hunter, Wendy. “Continuity or Change? Civil-Military Relations in Democratic Argentina, Chile, and Peru.” Political Science Quarterly 112, no. 3 (Autumn, 1997): 453-475. Colburn, Forrest D. “Fragile Democracies.” In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 33-44. ISBN: 9780691091815. Langguth, A. J. Hidden Terrors: The Truth about U.S. Police Operations in Latin America. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1979, pp. 160-64. ISBN: 9780394738024. Huntington, Samuel. “The Torturer Problem,” and “The Praetorian Problem”. In The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993, pp. 211-51. ISBN: 9780806125169. |
| R8 | Recent Events in Chile | |
| L16 | Day of the Dead and Religion in Latin America | |
| IX. Accountability for Past Abuses and the Rule of Law | ||
| L17 | Preparations for Class Debate |
Cohen, Stanley. “State Crimes of Previous Regimes: Knowledge, Accountability, and the Policing of the Past.” Law and Social Inquiry 20, no. 1 (Winter, 1995): 7-50. |
| R9 | Prosecute and Punish or Forgive and Forget? | |
| L18 | Prosecute and Punish or Forgive and Forget? | |
| X. Rule of Law: Corruption and Criminal Justice in Mexico | ||
| L19 | Lecture: The Rule of Law in Latin America: “Guilty Until Proven Rich” |
Davis, Diane E. “Undermining the Rule of Law: Democratization and the Dark Side of Police Reform in Mexico.” Latin American Politics and Society 48, no. 1 (2006): 55-86. Montiel, López, and Angel Gustavo. “The Military, Political Power, and Police Relations in Mexico City.” Latin American Perspectives 27, no. 2 (March 2000): 79-94. Magaloni, Beatriz, and Guillermo Zepeda. “Democratization, Judicial and Law Enforcement Institutions, and the Rule of Law in Mexico.” In Dilemmas of Political Change in Mexico. Edited by Kevin J. Middlebrook. London, UK: Institute of Latin American Studies, LSE and La Jolla, CA: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UCSD, 2004, pp. 166-95. ISBN: 9781900039451. Colburn, Forrest D. “Crime” in Latin America at the End of Politics . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 73-80. ISBN: 9780691091815. |
| R10 | Criminal Justice in Mexico | |
| L20 | Lecture: One-Party Rule, Democratization, and Corruption in Mexico | |
| XI. Policing Mexico City | ||
| L21 | Police Reform in Mexico City |
Recent articles on police reform in Mexico. On-line sources on police reform in Mexico. See:
|
| XII. The Rule of Law in Brazil | ||
| L22 | Class Discussion of de Soto’s Argument. Prepare for Class Presentations |
Holston, James. “The Misrule of Law: Land and Usurpation in Brazil.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 33, no. 4 (October 1991): 695-725. de Soto, Hernando. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. London, UK: Bantam Press, 2000. pp. 1-37, 208-218. ISBN: 0593046641. FilmDrama: Carneiro, João Emanuel, and Marcos Bernstein. Central Station. Directed by Walter Salles. New York, NY: Sony Pictures Classics, 1998. |
| R11 | Central Station | |
| L23 | How Should Land Disputes in Brazil be Resolved? | |
| XIII. The New Populism in Latin America | ||
| L24 | Lecture: Revolution, Reduction: The New Populism in Latin America |
Winn, Peter. “Latin America and the Caribbean at 2000: A New Millennium?” In Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 498-521, 527-549. ISBN: 9780520201811. |
| R12 | Venezuela | |
| L25 | Discussion of Venezuela. Prepare for Final Exam | |
| XIV. Conclusion: Latin America After Big Mama | ||
| L26 | Class Discussion of “Big Mama’s Funeral”. Lecture: Latin America after Big Mama |
Márquez, Gabriel García. “Big Mama’s Funeral (short story, 1962).” In No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories. Translated by J.S. Bernstein. New York, NY: Harper Colophone, 1979, pp.153-170. ISBN: 9780060907006. Peter Winn, Epilogue, “Latin America and the Caribbean at 2000: A New Millennium?” In Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 601-608. ISBN: 9780520201811. Colburn, Forrest D. “Conclusion.” In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 127-134. ISBN: 9780691091815. |
| R13 | Optional. Discussion of Final Exam | |
