History 632: Twentieth-Century Latin America Spring 2015, T/R 11:10am-12:30pm

Prof. Julia E. Rodriguez Contact: 862-0354; juliar@cisunix. Office hours (in 411 Horton): Tues/Thurs. 12:30-1:15 and by appt.

This course provides a close examination of major topics in twentieth-century Latin American history, seen especially through the lens of first-person narrative and everyday life experiences. Topics examined include revolutions, dictatorship, popular culture, social movements, drugs, gangs, and migration. Recurring themes that run throughout the course include inequality, violence, human rights, social movements, identity, globalization, and the environment. Sources include first person accounts, memoirs, novels, and films, in addition to selected scholarly publications. Our goal is to understand some of the major transitions in Latin America in the last hundred years, and to further engage our curiosity about the region by delving into the details of some individual lives and how they were intertwined with larger events and processes.

This course fulfills Category III of the course distribution requirement for history majors. It is also cross-listed with Latin American Studies and Women's Studies.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, students will: • Be able to explain some of the main problems in 20th century Latin American

history, and how historians, novelists, and filmmakers have tried to understand them; • Demonstrate an understanding of the great diversity of experience in Latin American

societies; • Analyze and evaluate past and current events in Latin America from the perspective

of multiple historical actors; • Reflect on and develop thoughtful ideas about problems facing people in the region

today; • Hone their writing and speaking skills through written papers and oral presentations

about Latin American history and societies.

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Course Requirements • Weekly ungraded papers, class participation, and presentations, 50% (see below). • Mid-term essay on novel, 20% (due in-class on March 12). • Final paper, 30% (due May 1). • NB: Graduate students taking the class for 800-level credit will have an extra

assignment decided in conjunction with Prof. Rodriguez.

Weekly discussion papers. Ungraded but required; bring a hard copy to class. These are analytical/discussion papers on the reading and films. At times, will give you a specific question to consider in your paper; all other times you pick one idea or finding in the reading to expand upon and discuss in class. Due before each class, but you may drop two of them over the course of the semester.

Midterm paper on the assigned novel. Due March 12. Final paper on topic of your choice, focusing on a particular person or social

group, or an everyday type of experience/topic in cultural, material, or everyday history. Topics will be chosen after consultation with Prof. Rodriguez. Due May 1.

Required Readings (available at both bookstores)*:

• Guevara, Motorcycle Diaries. • Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies. • Benedita da Silva, Benedita da Silva: An Afro-Brazilian Woman's Story. • Levenson-Estrada, Adíos Niño. • Pick one memoir:

o Santiago, When I was Puerto Rican OR o R. Rodriguez, The Hunger of Memory OR o Sotomayor, My Beloved World.

*Plus articles, available under "course documents" on the course web site on Blackboard (articles in noted on syllabus with *).

Films: The following films are assigned to supplement the reading. Unless otherwise noted in the syllabus, they are required.

Motorcycle Diaries - Before Night Falls - Frida - Romero - Spoils of War - The Take - Maquilapolis - Maria, Full of Grace - Who is Dayani Cristal OR Quinceañera

Important class policies

This syllabus is a contract. Please read it and make sure you understand everything in it by the end of the first class. If you have any questions, make sure to ask me for clarifications as soon as possible. Attendance. You are permitted two unexcused absences in the semester. Absences beyond that, without a medical note or other documented emergency, will affect your grade. There will be an attendance sheet for you to initial at the beginning of each class. If you accrue five or more absences, you will be dropped from the class and “AF” will appear on your transcript.

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Lateness. If you are late for class more than once, further late arrivals will be counted as absences. Do not attend class unless you can be there on time. Classroom behavior and rules of discussion. Students are required to be prepared for class, to be attentive, and to contribute to thoughtful discussion of the class material. Discussion in small and large groups is crucial to your synthesis of the material. The instructor will lead the discussion and set the tone. Please exercise respect and civility at all times. Our goal is an atmosphere of open learning and exploration of ideas. No racist, sexist, homophobic, or other dehumanizing remarks will be made in class. If you have any questions about these policies, see me as soon as possible. Please do not carry on private conversations, pass notes, or do text messaging in class. This is extremely rude and will be called out in class by the instructor. DO NOT TEXT MESSAGE IN CLASS. No laptop use in class. If you have an urgent need to take notes on a computer, please talk to me for special permission before class. Late paper policy: Papers due in class unless otherwise noted. No extensions will be granted. One-half grade off for each day late. All assigned papers must be handed in to receive a final grade for the course. Grading. Papers will receive a letter grade. A detailed explanation of my grading criteria is available on Blackboard under “course documents.” Short discussion papers will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis, but all are required. Communication with the Instructor: Generally the best way to reach me is via e-mail (juliar@unh.edu). I will attempt to check my mail at least once a day, and to return your mail within 24 hours. Occasionally I am unable to check my e-mail due to travel and other work obligations. It is thus best to contact me well ahead of time. Academic honesty. All written work must be original, that is, not copied from other students or from written sources. There are serious consequences for plagiarism and cheating, most often failure of the course. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please refer to the UNH Student Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities. For questions about how to properly cite written sources, refer to the Chicago Manual of Style or the MLA Guidelines. Access. I value inclusion and strive to make the class as accessible as possible to all students. If you are a student with a documented disability who will require accommodations in this course, please register with Disability Services for Students in the Memorial Union Building, Room 118 (862-2607) for assistance in developing a plan to address your academic needs.

Topics and Reading Assignment:

Introduction: Geography, Demography, History

Jan. 20: Introduction to the course; getting to know each other and setting goals. Jan. 22: Models, themes, questions, methods. Reading: TBA Jan 27: Lecture/discussion on LA geography, demography, and historical overview. Reading: TBA Jan 20: Historical overview continued. Reading: TBA

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Development Hopes and Failures Feb 3: Motorcycle Diaries, read all prefaces and introductions and up to p. 86. Feb 5: Motorcycle Diaries, p. 86-163.

Film: Motorcycle Diaries (you can watch this after class; we will mostly discuss the book in class)

The Mexican Revolution

Feb 10: Politics. Reading: *”For Land and Liberty.” Plus, Articles and primary sources TBA. Feb 12: Culture. Reading: *Pilcher, "Tortilla Wars"; Lopez, “The India Bonita Contest.” Film: Frida.

Mid-century Populism and Dictatorships

Feb 17: Argentina. Reading: TBA; Primary sources. Feb 19: Mexico. Reading: *Carey, Plaza of Sacrifices or TBA.

Revolutions and Counter-Revolutions

Feb. 24: Reading: Guevara, "Appendix" from Motorcycle Diaries and re-read prefaces. Primary sources. Feb. 26: Reading: TBA; Film Before Night Falls. [Discussion paper topic: compare the "journeys" of Ernesto Guevara and Reynaldo Arenas.]

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Cultural Revolutions -- Latin America in the 1960s.

March 3: *Zolov, Refried Elvis, chs. 1-3; *Dunn, "Desbunde and Its Discontents." March 5: *Manzano, "The Blue Jean Generation" and "Rock Nacional."

Mid-term: Novel.

March 10: In the Time of the Butterflies. March 12: Discuss papers.

March 12: 3-4 page essay on novel due. Answer the following related questions: How does this work of fiction help to illuminate one or more of the main themes of the course? What is the overall meaning of the story and how does it add to our understanding of important human events? Illustrate your answers with descriptions of characters and events in the novel, firmly locating your examples in concrete time and space. Make sure to include at least 6-7 direct quotations (with citation) in the text.

March 17 and 19: Spring Break

Social Movements - Labor, Poverty, Religion, Environment.

March 24: Benedita da Silva book. March 26: Reading: TBA. Film: The Take OR Maquilapolis.

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Social Movements - Gender, Race, Human Rights. March 31: Argentina. Reading" *Guzman Bouvard, “Revolutionary Mothers”; *”Mothers of the Disappeared"; Film: Spoils of War. April 2: Central America. Reading: TBA. Film: Romero.

International Drug Wars.

April 7: Gootenberg, "Between Coca and Cocaine." April 9: Gootenberg and Campos, "Toward a New Drug History of Latin America"; Britto, "Hurricane Winds."

Film: Maria, Full of Grace (optional).

Gangs and Violence. April 14: Adíos, Niño, Intro and chs. 1, 2. April 16: Adíos, Niño, chs. 3-5.

Migration in the Americas

April 21: Reading: *Ngai, "The Liberal Critique and Reform of Immigration Policy"; selected NYT articles; Film: Who is Dayani Cristal? OR Quinceañera. April 23: Memoirs (pick one).

Course wrap-up

April 28: Final presentations. April 30: Final presentations and course review.

Final paper due by 4:30 p.m. on Friday May 1 in my mailbox in the History department.

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Film list: The Last Zapatistas (documentary interviews with surviving soldiers from Mex. Revolution). Like Water for Chocolate (whimsical, romantic movie about women in the Mexican Revolution). Miss Mary (British governess in 1930s Buenos Aires). Carmen Miranda: Bananas are My Business (documentary about the film star). Frida (2002 feature film about the life and work of Frida Kahlo); Frida Still Life (1986; better than the 2002 version but harder to find). Evita (film version of musical about Eva Peron; not fully accurate but fun and great music). Los Olvidados (Buñuel movie about poverty, crime and gangs in the 1950s). Kiss of the Spider Woman (based on novel by Manuel Puig; about prisoners in Brazil). Romero (Feature film about murdered Catholic Bishop in El Salvador 1980s). Before Night Falls (feature film based on memoir by Cuban author Reinaldo Arenas). Strawberry and Chocolate (about being gay in Cuba in the 1980s). Las Madres (about Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo). Spoils of War (documentary about children of the disappeared in Argentina). Herod's Law (Feature film about corruption in the PRI in Mexico). The Take (documentary about workers taking over a factory in Argentina). Orfeu (Artistic remake of class tale of Orpheus, set in Brazilian favela 2000s). Maria, Full of Grace (feature film about drug trafficking). Selena (biopic about the famous Mexican-American singer). Danzón (feature film about a Mexican woman finding herself in mid-life). The Secret in their Eyes (Argentine thriller involving the Dirty War and current attempts to come to grips with it). Mercedes Sosa (biopic on Latin American folk music). Central Station (children and poverty in Brazil). La Nana (Feature film about the life and perspective of a domestic maid in Chile). Señorita Extraviada (documentary about mass murder of women and girls near the U.S.-Mexico Border). XXY (feature film about an intersex Argentine teenager). Quinceañera (recent coming-of-age story set in U.S. Latino community). Cesar Chavez (biopic of Chicano labor movement leader).