Political Science 174 Latin American Politics Spring 2015, TTh 2:30-3:45, Hills 122

Political Science 174
Latin American Politics
Spring 2015, TTh 2:30-3:45, Hills 122
Instructor: Professor Caroline Beer
Office: 533 Old Mill
Telephone: x68384
Office Hours: MW 11-12, Th 10-11
(or by appointment)
email: [email protected]
url: http://www.uvm.edu/~cbeer
Course Objectives
Why has political and economic development south of the Rio Grande diverged so dramatically
from the experience of the United States and Canada? This course attempts to answer this
fundamental question of comparative politics with an overview of contemporary Latin American
politics. The course begins with a brief overview of Latin American history and then examines
competing theoretical explanations for Latin America’s political economy. We will study
revolution, military dictatorship, democratization, and contemporary political issues. The
semester also includes in-depth case studies of Brazil, Cuba and Mexico.
Requirements
The general expectation (and UVM policy) for college level courses is that students spend at
least two hours preparing for class for every one hour in class. Thus a full time load of classes
(15 hours) is equivalent to a full time job with 45 hours of work a week. Therefore, I expect
students to dedicate six hours a week to this course outside of class time. Although most class
sessions will consist of lectures on theoretical issues, classroom discussion is also a vital part of
the learning process. Therefore the class meetings will be designed around a participatory
format. The participatory approach requires that assigned readings be completed before class
sessions are held, and also requires that students attend all class meetings. Course evaluation
will be based on the following assignments weighted as indicated:
Attendance and participation (5%)
Thesis ID exercises, news summaries, and quizzes (15%)
Critical Book Review (15%)
Current events paper (15%)
Midterm exam (25%)
Final exam (25%)
Required texts:
Lessons from Latin America:Innovations in Politics, Culture, and Development, by Felipe
Arocena and Kirk Bowman, University of Toronto Press 2014, ISBN 978-1-4426-0549-7
Midnight in Mexico, by Alfredo Corchado, Penguin Books 2014, ISBN 978-0143125532
Brazil:The Troubled Rise of a Global Power, by Michael Reid, Yale University Press 2014,
ISBN 978-0300165609.
These books are available for purchase at the university bookstore. The Corchado and Reid book
are also available on 2 hour reserve at the Bailey-Howe Library.
Please note: The bookstore has had some trouble getting sufficient quantities of the Reid book.
If there are not enough copies available at the UVM bookstore, you can purchase an ebook
version at Phoenix books http://www.phoenixbooks.biz/ or at amazon.com.
I would also recommend you purchase the book Modern Latin America 7th ed, by Skidmore,
Smith, and Green, Oxford University Press, 2014.
A number of chapters from Modern Latin America , are required for this class. You will also
need to read the chapter from this book for the country you are writing your papers on. There is
a copy of this book on 2 hour reserve at the Bailey-Howe Library Reserve Desk. You could also
probably buy a very inexpensive used copy of an earlier edition of this book online.
Course Schedule:
Readings should be completed before class meets on the assigned date.
Week 1
Introduction
Jan. 13
Go over syllabus, blackboard, introduction to Latin America
Jan. 15
Arocena and Bowman, Intro and ch. 1
Skidmore, Smith, and Green, “The Colonial Foundations” in Modern Latin
America, 2010 on BlackBoard
Week 2
Historical Background
Jan. 20
Skidmore, Smith, and Green, “Strategies for Economic Development” in
Modern Latin America, 2010 on BlackBoard
MAP QUIZ (countries and major cities)
Jan. 22
Skidmore, Smith, and Green, “Dynamics of Political Transformation” in
Modern Latin America, 2010 on BlackBoard
Reading Response 1 Due on BlackBoard
Week 3
Introduction to Brazil, Brazilian History, and Populism
Jan. 26
Last day to add or drop
Jan. 27
Reid, ch 1-3
Jan. 29
Reid ch 4-5
Reading Response 2 Due on Blackboard
Week 4
Explanations of Underdevelopment
Feb. 3
John Isbister “Explanations of Underdevelopment” in Promises Not Kept,
On BlackBoard
Feb. 5
“Factor Endowments, Institututions, and Differential Paths of Growth
Among New World Economies” by Engerman and Sokoloff in How Latin
America Fell Behind, by Stephen Haber, Stanford U.P. 1997. On
BlackBoard.
Reading Response 3 Due on BlackBoard
Week 5
The Cuban Revolution
Feb. 10
Skidmore, Smith and Green, ch. 5, pp 121-149
Feb. 12
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/09/23/magazine/cuba-andrewmoore.html?ref=magazine#1 “Fidel in the Evening” in Looking for
Week 6
Feb. 17
Feb. 19
Week 7
Feb. 24
Feb. 26
Mar. 2-6
Week 8
Mar. 10
Mar. 12
Week 9
Mar. 17
Mar. 19
Week 10
Mar. 24
Mar. 26
Week 11
Mar. 31
Apr. 2
Week 12
Apr. 7
Apr. 9
Week 13
Apr. 14
Apr. 16
Week 14
Apr. 20
Apr. 21
Apr. 23
Week 15
Apr. 28
Final Exam
History by Alma Guillermoprieto. On BlackBoard
LADB News Summary Due on BlackBoard.
Cuba, contemporary issues
“Cuban Comrads” in Foreign Affairs, December 21, 2014
Film Battle of Chile, on reserve in basement of Bailey-Howe library.
The Military and Bureaucratic Authoritarianism: Brazil, Chile,
Argentina
Reid, ch. 6
Arocena and Bowman, ch. 4
Midterm Exam.
Spring Break
Democratization
Reid ch 7,
Arocena and Bowman, ch. 3
Critical Book Review Due
Resurgence of the Left
Guest lecture, James McCann, expatriate voting.
Reid ch. 8, Film, The Hugo Chavez Show
Reading Response 4 Due on BlackBoard
Mexico: Drug Trade
Corchado, Intro and pp. 1-80
Corchado, pp. 83-144
LADB News Summary Due on BlackBoard
Mexico: Immigration
Corchado, pp. 145-217
Corchado, pp. 218-278, Arocena and Bowman, ch. 7
Reading Response 5 Due on BlackBoard
Social Inequalities
Arocena and Bowman ch. 2
Arocena and Bowman ch. 5-6
Economic Inequalities
Reid, ch 9
Arocena and Bowman, ch. 8-9
Current Events Paper Due
Student Protests, Chile, Mexico, Brazil.
Gilberto Gil Concert!
“Reimagining Brazil” by Ed Morales, On Blackboard.
Reid, Ch 13.
“Camila Vallejo, World’s Most Glamorous Revolutionary”, New York
Times Magazine, April 5, 2012. “#YoSoy132” by Francisco Goldman, On
Blackboard
The Future of Democracy in Latin America
Reid, ch. 14. Arocena and Bowman, ch. 10
07-MAY-2015
1330
1615 HILLS 122(Same room as usual)