Latin American Studies (LAST) 201 - Lecture 01
Introduction to the Cultural and Historical Roots of Latin America
Fall 2006
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 08:00-09:15   

Instructor:	Mr. Shawn L. England
Office Location:	SS 615
Office Phone:	(403) 220-2987
E-Mail:	slengland@shaw.ca
Web Page:
Office Hours:	Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00–12:00

Additional Information

Graduate Grading Assistant: Marcela Frumusachi

Course Description

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the historic and cultural roots of diversity in modern Latin America. Beginning with an examination of Iberian and American civilizations prior to 1492, this course will show that these civilizations were anything but uniform in nature. Here we will see the origins of great complexity within a vast region that defies easy categorization.

This first section of the course will next trace the salient features of the Age of Conquest—encompassing the violent subjugation by Spanish adventurers of indigenous people throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America, as well as Portugal’s more gradual seizure of Brazil. The spiritual conquest of Latin America by Catholic missionaries will also be considered, as will the various ways that different indigenous peoples either bitterly resisted or eagerly collaborated with both forms of European imperialism.

The second part of the course will focus on the development of significant economic, political, social, and cultural institutions during the colonial period, including the establishment of African slavery. Full attention will be given to issues of race, gender, and labor relations, and this will include a look at day-to-day life within the colonies. Far from presenting a picture of sameness, the colonial age was one characterized by uneven development throughout the Portuguese and Spanish empires. The twenty very different republics of modern Latin America evolved out of these colonial differences.

The third and final part of this course will begin with an assessment of the homegrown and foreign challenges to imperial dominance that culminated with the wars of independence in the early nineteenth century. The course will conclude with the turn of the century, and the entry of U.S. power into the northern reaches of the region. This survey of the nineteenth century will cap our historic look at earlier times and lay the groundwork for better understanding more current events.

Objectives of the Course

This course will embrace a multidisciplinary approach in order to help students achieve the following three objectives:

1) To develop a recognition of and appreciation for the enormous complexity and diversity of this endlessly fascinating region of our world. 2) To develop an awareness of the historic processes that gave rise to this complexity, and to appreciate the immense importance of the past in shaping the present. 3) To develop the skills for looking at issues from a number of different perspectives while simultaneously retaining the ability to develop an informed and intelligent argument of one’s own.

Textbooks and Readings:

Cheryl E. Martin and Mark Wasserman, Latin America and Its People (Pearson Longman, 2005).

Supplementary readings will be made available through Blackboard.

Assignments and Evaluation

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.

Note: Please return assignments directly to the instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Map/Geography Quiz, worth 10 percent of course grade

Be able to identify each of modern Latin America’s twenty republics on a map, and be able to similarly name and correctly label the capital cities as well. The goal of this assignment is to help you develop a solid understanding of very basic Latin American geography.

Short Paper, worth 10 percent of final grade

Students will craft a critical review of one or more sessions of the 2006 Congress of the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS), “From Local to Global in Latin America and the Caribbean: Where Have We Come from and Where Are We Headed?” This academic conference will take place 28-30 September 2006 at the Rozsa Centre, University of Calgary. Class will be cancelled on 28 September 2006 to allow students an opportunity to attend this event during time regularly scheduled for class. Students will be informed of how to access a complete schedule of the conference either in-class or via Blackboard.

The goals of this assignment are (1) to encourage you to take part in an activity to do with Latin America outside of class and give you credit for it, (2) to encourage you to think about these activities in a critical perspective, and (3) to provide you with an opportunity to exercise formal writing skills.

This critical review will be a short (three to four double-spaced pages) in which you will offer the following:

1) A short recap or summary of the panel or panels that you attended (be sure to identify which panels you attended); this allows me to believe that you actually attended, watched, participated, and understood what went on.

2) A critical assessment about what you observed; possible lines of enquiry include but are not limited to these questions: How did the panel relate to something you read in the text, heard in class, or knew from elsewhere? How did you feel about it personally? How did it compare to some similar event you might have attended previously? What questions did it bring to mind, and were any actually answered? If not, then explain why you as an audience member did or did not ask questions of the panellists?

This will be graded for writing style, content, and evidence of critical thinking.

Five (5) points content/critical thinking; five (5) points writing style; (10 percent total)

Midterm Exam, worth 30 percent of the final grade

Will encompass all material covered in class and readings up to the date of exam. Format may include filling in blanks by drawing from list of potential answers as well as short answers to define terms. A short study guide might be made available leading up to the exam.

Long Paper, worth 30 percent of the final grade

Reading (available through Blackboard): James Schofield Saeger. “The Mission and Historical Missions: Film and the Writing of History.” In Based on a True Story: Latin American History at the Movies, edited by Donald F. Stevens, 63-84. Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 1997.

In addition to reading this article, the class will enjoy a screening of The Mission, a well-regarded film released in 1986. Although the plot is loosely based on actual events that took place in South America during the eighteenth century, the director did not render a factually accurate depiction of these events. Some critics assert that the film is actually a meditation on religious and political conflicts based in Central America during the 1980s. Indeed, the plot speaks of a great injustice, and is not utterly devoid of truth. Can a fictionalized depiction of the past still be “true” in a broader sense, even if it sacrifices factual historic precision in the process? Each student will produce a short critical essay of between six to eight pages (approximately 1,500 to 2,000 words) in length. Drawing on readings, class discussions, and individual impressions of the film, you will advocate in favour of one or the other following positions:

1) Based upon what I know about "The Mission" and its content, I contend that cinema is a suitable medium to transmit accurate historic knowledge.

2) Based upon what I know about "The Mission" and its content, I contend that cinema is not a suitable medium to transmit accurate historic knowledge.

This will be graded for writing style, content, and evidence of critical thinking. It will also be graded according to what you do and do not know about "The Mission" and its content. I will also discuss the film in lectures.

Fifteen (15) points content/critical thinking; fifteen (15) points writing style; (30 percent total)

Final Exam (to be scheduled by registrar’s office); worth 20 percent of the final grade

The final exam will require students to synthesize lectures, readings, class discussions, and previous assignments to answer to question regarding important events, individuals, and themes covered since the midterm. Format may include filling in blanks by drawing from list of potential answers as well as short answers to define terms. A short study guide might be made available leading up to the exam.



Map/Geography Quiz, 10 percent

Short Paper, 10 percent

Midterm Exam, 30 percent

Long Paper, 30 percent

Final Exam, 20 percent

Total 100 percent of course grade

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination: Yes

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you wish help with your writing at any stage, including drafts, you are invited to contact the Writing Centre, SS110, 220-7255.

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people’s words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS110) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Additional Information

Please note: The instructor will not provide notes or lecture outlines to students who miss lectures. It is your responsibility to attend lectures regularly and get notes of missed lectures from a classmate. Consult the instructor during office hours (or via email) if you feel uncertain about anything covered in this class, or if you need help with any assignment.

Please shut cell phones off while you are in class. If you must take a call, leave the room immediately to do so. Those who arrive late to class or leave early are similarly encouraged to do so as quietly as possible.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

Lecture Themes and Readings

Week 1: September 12 and 14

Course introduction and geographic overview.

Week 2: September 19 and 21

Theme 1: The Origins of Diversity in Pre-Columbian America; readings: Chapter 1, Martin and Wasserman

Week 3: September 26 and 28

Map/Geography Quiz, September 26; class cancelled September 28; attend conference session!; theme 1 continued

Week 4: October 3 and 5

Theme 2: The Origins of Diversity in Iberia; readings: Chapter 2, Martin and Wasserman

Week 5: October 10 and 12

Theme 3: The Conquest; readings: Chapter 3, Martin and Wasserman

Week 6: October 17 and 19

Short paper due October 17; theme 4: From Conquest to early Colonies; readings: Chapter 4, Martin and Wasserman

Week 7: October 24 and 26

Midterm exam on October 24; theme 5: Indigenous Resistance and Acquiescence; readings: Chapter 5, Martin and Wasserman

Week 8: October 31 and November 2

Theme 6: The Demographic Disaster and Rise of African Slavery; readings: Chapter 6, Martin and Wasserman

Week 9: November 7 and 9

Theme 7: "The Mission" (lecture and film) and the Late Colonial Period; readings: (available through Blackboard), James Schofield Saeger. “The Mission and Historical Missions: Film and the Writing of History.” In Based on a True Story: Latin American History at the Movies, edited by Donald F. Stevens, 63-84. Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 1997.

Week 10: November 14 and 16

No class on November 14 (reading day); theme 7 continued; readings: Chapter 7, Martin and Wasserman

Week 11: November 21 and 23

Theme 8: Imperial Collapse; readings, Chapter 8, Martin and Wasserman

Week 12: November 28 and 30

Theme 9: The New Nations and Post-Colonial Chaos; readings: Chapter 9, Martin and Wasserman

Week 13: December 5 and 7

Long paper due December 7; theme 9 continued and summary; readings: Chapter 10, Martin and Wasserman

Final Exam scheduled by registrar