Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Seminar on the Americas

LACS 320: Fall, 2004

Instructor: Dr. Nancy Mandlove

Olin 115 F, Ext. 4505

e-mail: mandlovenb@wofford.edu

Texts John Charles Chasteen, Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America Eduardo Galeano, We Say No (selected essays) NACLA Report on the Americas (selected articles available through Wofford College Library databases on line) Other articles and handouts Useful resources The Latin American Information Network Center (lanic) at the University of Texas is an excellent resource for all aspects of the study of Latin America. http://lanic.utexas.edu Library of Congress country studies (Excellent resources for detailed history of individual countries. Check dates-some are outdated for current situations.) Available for Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, DR, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru Uruguay, Venezuela http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html

Date

Class

Preparation

Lab Assignments

9/6 M	Introduction Sights & Sounds of Latin America
9/8 W	Stereotypes and Reality Land and People	List what you think are 10 common stereotypes concerning Latin America. Write 5 questions you have about L.A. List 5 topics you would like to know more about. BBF, "First Stop, the Present," 15-27	Lab 1: Film Due 9/15

Unit 1: The People and the Land

Home

Resources:American Roots

9/10 F	Race, Geography, Identity Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Brazil	Antonio Guimaraes, "Race, Class and Color Behind Brazil's 'Racial Democracy',"NACLA, XXXIV, 6, May/June, 2001, 38-39 Sheila Walker, "Africanity vs. Blackness: Race, Class and Culture in Brazil," NACLA, xxxv, 6, May/June, 2002, 16-20 Study maps: countries, capitals, major geographical features for countries at left.. General map sites: Atlapedia and National Geographic. For more detailed maps: UTLANIC
9/13 M	Mirrors of the Heart, Americas video #6 and Discussion  Guest Presenter: Professor Camille Bethea	Read: Americas Study Guide 6, 61-67 Read: "Only My Hairdresser Knows for Sure":Stories of Race, Hair and Gender," NACLA, XXXIV, 6, May/June, 2001, 35-37
9/15 W	Mirrors of the Heart, Americas video #6 and Discussion: Race, Geography, Identity the Andean countries	Explore web sites and links on Andean culture: Andes; Macchu Picchu Library Read: "Reconstructing Race: Racisim, Culture and Mestizaje in Latin America," NACLA, XXXIV, 6, May/June, 2001, 16-23 Lab 1 Due	Lab 2: Film Due 9/22
9/17 F	Test 1 : maps, land, people	Prepare for test

Unit 2: American Roots

Home

Resources:American Roots

9/20 M	Indigenous Culture and World View The Maya	Excerpts from the Popol Vuh (handouts). Explore these sites: Mayan sites map, Mayan civilization
9/22 W	The Maya	Explore these sites: Mayan history and culture; Maya Adventure for information on both ancient and modern Maya Lab 2 Due	Lab 3: Film Due 9/29
9/24 F	The Aztecs Guest Presentation: Dr. Susan Griswold	Read Aztec history; Conflict of the Gods. Explore Toltec/Aztec site of Teotihuacan. Explore links-Aztecs
9/27 M	The Inca	Explore links on these sites pertaining to the ancient Inca and their Quechua and Aymara speaking descendants.Ancient and modern Andean peoples Art, History, Culture of the Inca
9/29 W	Guest Presentation: Dr. Timothy Schmitz, The European World View	Read: The Mediterranean World (thru section "Europe Claims America." BBF, "Encounter," 29-43 Excerpts: Columbus, Cortez, Las Casas (handouts). Lab 3 Due	Lab 4: Film Due 10/6
10/1 F	The Encounter	BBF, "Encounter," 43-61 Galeano,We Say No, 227-235 ("The Blue Tiger and the Promised Land")
10/4 M	The Collision	Read: The Journey of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca
10/6 W	Life in Colonial America	Read: BBF, "The Colonial Crucible," 63-91 Lab 4 Due	Lab 5: Film Due 10/15
10/8 F	Life in Colonial America The Columbian Exchange	Read biography of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz Read information, including links Columbian Exchange
10/11 M	The Indigenous World Today	Read: "500 Years of Sacrifice before Alien Gods" Rigoberta Menchú We Say No, 303-316 ("Othercide: For Five Centuries the Rainbow Has Been Banned from America's Sky")
10/13 W	Test 2	Prepare for test Lab 5 Due	Lab 6: Film Due 10/20
10/15 F	Presentations
10/18 M	Presentations

10/19 Tues. 6:30

Mark your calendar Latin American Studies Student-Faculty Dinner at Dr. Mandlove's house

Foods of the Columbian Exchange

10/20 W	Africa in the Americas: the African Diaspora	"Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Cultures in the Americas," Kenneth Bilby and Diana Baird N'Diaye Lab 6 Due	Lab 7: Film Due 10/27
10/22 F	Fall Break
10/25 M	Africa in the Americas: the Caribbean	Americas Anthology, pp. 28-40
10/27 W	Africa in the Americas Guest Presentation: Dr. Caroline Cunningham, Haiti and the Haitian Revolution	Franklin W. Knight, "The Haitian Revolution," in The American Historical Review Vol. 105, Issue 1 Lab 7 Due	Lab 8: Film Due 11/3
10/29 F	The Diaspora and Afro-Indian cultures: Brazil (Palmares), Garífuna, Surinam, Esmeraldas, Florida	Read information on Afro-Cuban history Problems, "The Black Legions," 29-34
11/1 M	African Cultural Contributions:individual presentations	We Say No, "God and the Devil in the Favelas of Rio," 88-103
11/3 W	African Cultural Contributions:individual presentations	Lab 8 Due	Lab 9: Film Due 11/10

Unit 3: Dilemmas of Development

Home

Resources: Argentina

Brazil

11/5 F	Overview: Independence to Today; The legacy of colonialism; Development issues	Use the information studied in the unit on American Roots to write a one page paper "predicting" the legacy of colonialism. What do you see in those "roots" which will lead to long-term consequences? Read: BBF, "Independence," 93-117
11/8 M	Economic systems	SG, Unit 3, 22-34 Read: BBF, "Postcolonial Blues," 119-147
11/10 W	Argentina: A Case Study From Perón to the Dirty War	NACLA, "The Unofficial Story," Mar/Apr 94, 11-14; NACLA, "Minefields of Memory," Sept/Oct 98, 23-29 Lab 9 Due	Lab 10: Film Due 11/29
11/12 F	Argentina in Crisis Video: "Argentina: Growth or Disappearance"	(short articles)
11/15 M	Globalization	BBF, "Neoliberalism," 307-321 Anthony Giddens, Runaway World, "Globalisation," 24-37
11/17 W	Test 3	Prepare for test
11/19 F	Social issues and development: Argentina	Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and Its Discontents, "The Promise of Global Institutions," 3-22
11/22 M	Authoritarianism-Democracy-Sovereignty: Brazil Guest Presenter: Professor Camille Bethea
11/24 W	Social issues and development Brazil: a Case Study	NACLA, "Indigenous Land Rights," Mar/Apr 96, 36-42; NACLA, Edges Magazine, "Street Children in Brazil," 27, Nov. 2001
11/26 F	Thanksgiving Vacation

Unit 4: Development Issues and the Rainforest

Home

Resources: Rainforest

11/29 M	The Brazilian Amazon	Wade Davis, Shadows in the Sun, "The Forests of Amazonia," 104-122 Lab 10 Due
12/1 W	Biodiversity and the Rainforest	Biodiversity; Saving the Rainforests; Medicinal plants; Rainforest facts
12/3 F	Development and the Rainforest	Elizabeth R. DeSombre, The Global Environment and World Politics, "Amazonian Biodiversity," 143-63
12/6 M	Project Work
12/8 W	Project Work
12/10 F	Project Work

Exam week

Class Project Presentation

Final Paper Due

Grading