17.55J | Fall 2006 | Undergraduate

Introduction to Latin American Studies

Lecture Notes

SES # TOPICS HANDOUTS
L1

Introduction and Pop Quiz (PDF)

Slides (PDF)

Course Packet and Pop Quiz
I. Historical Inheritances and Current Realities
L2

Finish Pop Quiz

Latin America as a “Living Museum.” (PDF)

 
L3 Class Discussion of Big Mama’s Funeral (PDF)  
II. The Legacies of Conquest and Slavery
L4 Conquest, Bourbon “Reconquest,” and The Post-Colonial Period  
L5 Class Discussion of Race (PDF)  
III. Development and Underdevelopment in Latin America
L6

Lecture: Theories of Development (PDF)

Slides (PDF)

 
L7 Economic Development (PDF)  
IV. Underdevelopment and What to Do About It
L8 The Latin American Debt Crisis, Structural Adjustment, and Market-oriented Reform  
L9 Steroid Hormone Industry and Mexican Development Strategies Today  
V. Development, Underdevelopment and Politics in Chile
L10 Class Discussion of The House of the Spirits (PDF)  
VI. Development, Democratic Breakdown, and Military Rule
L11

Lecture: The Breakdown of Chilean Democracy (PDF)

Slides (PDF)

The Cast of Characters in Chile (PDF)

Chilean Chronology (PDF)

Expanded Chronology of the Fall of Salvador Allende (PDF)

L12 Class Discussion of Chilean Experience  
VII. Re-Democratization in Chile (and Elsewhere)
L13

Lecture: Bureaucratic Authoritarianism in Chile and Elsewhere (PDF)

Slides (PDF)

Military Rule in Brazil (PDF)

Repression under Military Regimes in the Southern Cone (PDF)

Overt Military Interventions in Latin America (PDF)

L14

Lecture: The Transition to Democracy in Chile and Elsewhere (PDF)

Slides (PDF)

Transitions from Authoritarian Rule in Latin America (PDF)
VIII. Civil-Military Relations in Latin America and Accountability for Past Abuses
L15

Establishing Civilian Control Over the Military and Transitional Justice (PDF)

Slides (PDF)

 
L16

Day of the Dead and Religion in Latin America (PDF)

Slides (PDF)

 
IX. Accountability for Past Abuses and the Rule of Law
L17 Preparations for Class Debate  
L18

Prosecute and Punish or Forgive and Forget? (PDF)

 
X. Rule of Law: Corruption and Criminal Justice in Mexico
L19 Lecture: The Rule of Law in Latin America: “Guilty Until Proven Rich.” (PDF)  
L20

Lecture: One-Party Rule, Democratization, and Corruption in Mexico (PDF)

Slides (PDF)

 
XI. Policing Mexico City
L21 Police Reform in Mexico City (PDF)  
XII. The Rule of Law in Brazil
L22

Class Discussion of de Soto’s Argument

Prepare for Class Presentations

 
L23 How Should Land Disputes in Brazil be Resolved? (PDF)  
XIII. The New Populism in Latin America
L24 Lecture: Revolution, Reduction: The New Populism in Latin America  
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 (PDF)

 
A1 Appendix: Political Transition in Mexico (PDF) Key Terms and Individuals (Mexico) (PDF)
A2 Appendix: United States Foreign Policy in Latin America (PDF)  
A3 Appendix: Argentina (PDF) Argentina Timeline (PDF)

Course Info