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LATIN AMERICA to 1825
Course Syllabus: History 209
Fall, 1999

Texts: Keen, A History of Latin America, part 1, 5th edition.
Additional Readings: Townshend, The Aztecs, Minta, Aguirre, Lane, Pillaging the Empire

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Latin America is a disconcerting and fascinating place--Near and similar in some ways, very distant and different in others. Objectives of this class are to develop an understanding of the historical factors that have contributed to these paradoxical similarities and differences. In exploring the Latin American "other" we will learn something about our own history and ourselves.

Although both Latin America and the United States had their origins as European colonies, the pre-conquest past is much more alive and important in Latin America. Thus, the first third of this class is an archeological and anthropological look at pre-conquest cultures. The second third of the class focuses on the conquest and its legacy. The final third examines the institutions and patterns the Spanish and Portuguese brought to their colonies that again make Latin America similar, yet very different from British North America. The class ends with a look at the issues and conflicts that led most Latin American nations to establish their independence from Spain and Portugal after 1810.

GRADING:

Class attendance, participation, discussion and quizzes: 30%
Papers 30%
Exams 40%
TOTAL 100%

In borderline cases, grade trends will determine your final grade.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Class Participation: 30% of your final grade is based on class participation, although it may be the most important of all of the factors that determine your grade. Class participation means more than just attendance--it means being a listener, a discussion participant, and a questioner who is not afraid to challenge points that seem unclear or with which you do not agree. But at a minimal level, none of this is possible if you are not in class. One-third of your class participation grade is based on attendance, the other two-thirds on what you do when you are in class.

Your attendance grade begins at 100 and drops 5 points with each communicated absence and 10 points with each unexcused absence. You will not be penalized for excused absences. You can add up to 10 points to your attendance grade by attending certain campus events and turning in a paragraph telling what you gained from attending.

Excused absence—An absence for official school business that is cleared with me before class time, or for a health or family emergency excused by a note from the Dean of Students.

Communicated absence—An absence" about which you inform me by voice mail or e-mail on or before the day that you are absent.

Unexcused—An absence that you fail to communicate on or before the day you are absent.

If you are tardy, it is your responsibility to make sure that I have recorded the fact that you are in class.

Prompt, regular attendance brings its own intrinsic rewards and I do not want to waste your time or mine if you are doing poorly in this class because you fail to attend regularly. Therefore I want to clearly outline my policies at the outset.

--If you receive a grade of C- or below on the first exam and have missed more than two classes, (communicated or unexcused) you will receive a deficiency warning from the college.

--If you receive a D grade or below on the second exam and have missed more than four classes, (communicated or unexcused) you will receive a warning letter from me or from the Dean of Students.

--If you miss additional classes after receiving a warning letter from the Dean of Students, you will receive a WF and be removed from the class rolls.

Some of the final two-thirds of your participation grade will be based on less tangible measures of participation such as your participation in discussions and on whether you ask questions or answer questions raised in class.

Also affecting your participation grade are occasional quizzes over assigned reading. You are expected to complete assigned readings prior to class each day. (See the daily schedule) Quizzes on the reading will be given periodically—usually with warning. There will be no make-up quizzes, but a quiz is excused if you have an excused absence. Otherwise, if you miss a quiz, your grade is zero, but at the end of the class your two lowest quiz scores are dropped when calculating your final average. If you maintain a class attendance grade above 90%, your three lowest quiz grades will be dropped.

Writing Assignments: (30%) You will be asked to write several short papers over books we read together and films that you are assigned. In addition, you will write a brief research paper on a topic about which you would like to discover more. Details on these writing assignments will be forthcoming.

All written assignments should be neatly written, typed, or word processed, and free from errors. They will be graded in the same "holistic" way that your rhetoric exams are graded--for the overall impression they give of command of the material and command of the mechanics of writing.

 

**Points will be deducted from any writing assignment handed in late**

Examinations: (50%) There will be two noncumulative mid-term exams and a final covering the last third of the class with a short cumulative section. You are expected to take all exams when scheduled, so please check the schedule in this syllabus to make certain you have no conflicts.

Tests include objective and essay questions and will cover both the readings and lectures. Before each exam I will give you a review sheet. There are only three ways exams can be taken outside the schedule:

with my permission, you may take an exam before the hour or day it is scheduled;

in emergency cases that can be verified by a letter from the Dean of Students or a call to the Student Health Center, you may take the exam as soon as possible after the hour or day it is scheduled;

in all other cases, exams taken out of schedule will be graded on a pass/fail basis, meaning the maximum grade you can receive is 75%.

DAILY CLASS SCHEDULE

Date

 Topic Assignment to be Completed

Aug. 25:

 Introduction

27:

 The Geographical Setting Keen, x-xvi and 1-5

30:

 First Americans and the Origins of Culture Keen 6-12, and Townshend, chap. 3

Sept.1:

 Meso-American Origins Keen 12-17, and Townshend, chapter 4

3:

 Classic Culture—Teotihuacán Townshend, chapter 5

6:

 Mayan History Townshend, chapter 6

8:

 The Mayan World Keen, 24-30

10:

 Aztec History Keen, 17-24; Townshend, chapter 7

13:

 The Aztec World Townshend, chapters 8

15:

 A discussion of the Aztec World and Way of Life Be prepared for a quiz over Townshend, chapters 3-8

17:

 Andean Precursors Townshend, chapter 9

20:

 Incan History Keen, 30-37

22:

 The World of the Incas Townshend chapter 10

24:

 The "New World" on the Verge of Encounter Townshend, chapter 11 and epilogue

27:

 First Examination: covers Keen, Preface and chapter 1; Townshend, chapters 3-11; and class discussions and lectures

29:

 Columbus Film Start Minta, Aguirre

Oct. 1:

 Iberian Ways—Why Spain Keen, 38-47

4:

 Europe at the verge of Modernity—Why Columbus?  

6:

 The Unequal Encounter Keen 54-64

8:

 The Colombian Exchange Keen, 64-68
  FALL BREAK  

13:

 Cortés and the Conquest of the Aztecs Townsend, chapters 1 and 2.

15:

 Vision of the Vanquished  

18:

 Pizarro and the Conquest of the Incas Keen 68-71

20:

 Why Did Atahualpa die? A discussion Assignment on Atahualpa

22:

 Quest for El Dorado  
25: Those Who Failed—Discussion of Aguirre by Minta Be finished with Minta

27:

 Second Examination: over Keen, chapter 2, pp 38-48 and chapter 3; Minta, Aguirre; lectures; and discussions  

 

Oct. 29:

 Spain under the Hapsburgs Keen 48-52

Begin Lane, Pillaging

Nov.1:

 Instruments of Spanish Control--I Keen, 99-105

3:

 Instruments of Spanish Control--II Keen, 81-88

5:

 Instruments of Spanish Control--III Keen 88-98

8:

 Structures of Colonial Life--I Keen 105-112

10:

 Structures of Colonial Life--II Keen 112-119

12:

 Amerindians: Death and Survival Be reading Lane, Pillaging

15:

 Amerindians: Patterns of Resistance Be reading Lane, Pillaging

17:

 The Portuguese Variant Keen, chapter 6

19:

 Spain: From Hapsburgs to Bourbons Keen, 135-148

22:

 Bourbon Reforms and their Ambivalent Result Keen 148-158
  Thanksgiving Break  

29:

 The European Context of Independence and the Constitutional Crisis Keen 160-64

Dec. 1:

 The First War of Independence, 1810-1814 Keen 164-77

3:

 The Second War of Independence, 1815-1825 Turn in your research project

6:

 The Legacy of Colonialism Finish Lane, Pillaging

 

  

Final Exam: TBA