HTY 110: Introduction to Modern Latin America
Instructor: Professor Stefano Tijerina
Days/Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00-3:15 p.m.
Course Number: 42305
Description: This course will introduce students to the local, regional, hemispheric, and global events that shaped Latin America and the Caribbean since independence. We begin with an overview of the different independence movements that took place in the region, and the social, economic, political, racial and cultural dynamics that resulted in the formation of nation states. The course then centers on the relationships between imperial powers, Latin American and Caribbean nations, paying close attention to the geopolitical shift from a Eurocentric to an America-centric hemisphere, as the United States emerged as a regional leader during the early stages of the twentieth century. The course then continues with an analysis of the region’s reaction to democratic and capitalist values promoted by western industrialized nations, including issues such as nationalism, sovereignty, populism, economic development, modernization, institutional development and policy. It concludes with the Cold War and its aftermath, centering on issues such as social revolution, secularism, economic dependency, national security, human rights, neoliberalism, the Drug War, regionalism, globalization, the emergence of the new left and its future after Chavez.
General Education Requirements: Satisfies the Western Cultural Tradition and Cultural Diversity and International Perspectives requirements.