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| History Department |
HISTORY 307 – LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY - FALL 2003
R. Whalen ofc: 209 Watkins
Ofc Hrs: MWF 9:00 – 9:50 337‑2208
& by app’t.
email: whalenb@queens.edu
I. History 307, Latin American History surveys the forces and events that have shaped Latin America from the sixteenth century to the present. History 307 meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, from 11:00 – 11:50.
II. Objectives.
History 307 has TWO OBJECTIVES:
(1) this course will enable students to master key materials about Latin American history, and
(2) will engage students in those methods of scientific thinking called “historical analysis.”
Latin American History – “America” is not just the United States. “America” includes North and Central and South America. This course will focus on the experience of Central and South America. The United States is bound to Central and South America in a thousand ways, economic, political, social, and cultural. “Hispanics” are, as of 2003, the single largest minority group in the United States, and are rapidly increasing. Latino and Brazilian music, literature, and art have achieved world importance. For United States citizens, therefore, some knowledge of the Latin American past is imperative for the present and for the future.
Historical analysis. This course will engage students in a specific form of scientific thinking called “historical analysis.”
“Scientific thinking” does not refer only to the physical sciences. Scientific thinking is the attempt to use your mind to understand your world. To think scientifically means to think in a disciplined, systematic, and thoughtful way. It means to think “carefully,” in which “carefully” means both that you think logically and that you “care about” how you think. History is a form of scientific thinking.
Scientific thinking is dedicated above all else to truth. Non-partisanship, open-mindedness, and objectivity are essential to good science. True, we all have our own agendas, perspectives, and psychologies, we all start from our own personal experience – nevertheless, what matters in history, as in all science, is not whether I’m right or you’re right, but rather whether what’s claimed is right. In doing scientific history, conservatives and liberals, believers and non-believers, everyone with this cause and that, must set aside their own perspectives and work together to determine the historical truth.
History is not about the “past.” History is about time.
Time is the unique environment of human beings. We live in time; it is the very air we breathe. If we are to understand anything about who we are we need to understand something about time.
History attempts to understand how time works by studying the inter-play of past – present – and future.
Note just a few of the puzzles history attempts to understand:
· We live in the “present” – and yet it’s clear that the present is profoundly shaped by the past. Many, if not most, of the issues we face, the attitudes we have, and the values we cherish we inherit from the past. It would seem, then, that to understand the present, we must understand the past.
· The past, then, is not dead, (as William Faulkner remarked), the past is not even past; “there is no such thing as ‘was.’” The past is actually a kind of current in the present, which continues to shape and mold the present whether we want it too or not. We are free to be ignorant of the past. Our ignorance of the past, though, does not make the past go away.
· We live, we say, for the future – ignore the past! And yet – the future will evolve out of the present. What we do today will profoundly shape what happens tomorrow. And from the point of view of tomorrow, today will be the past. The present, in other words, is the future’s past.
· Actions have consequences; you reap what you sow. Because we live in time, what we do today affects what happens tomorrow. No matter how hard we try to escape the consequences of our actions, those consequences will chase us wherever we go. To understand those consequences, we need to understand the actions that triggered them. To understand effects, we need to understand causes.
Thus, it seems, no matter where we look, past, present, and future are inextricably tied together.
HISTORY ATTEMPTS TO UNDERSTAND TIME BY EXAMING THE INTER-RELATIONSHIP OF PAST – PRESENT – AND FUTURE.
How?
There are four dimensions to the discipline of history – empirical, critical, imaginative, and normative.
1. Mastering the facts. History is an empirical science. It is built on facts. It is absolutely imperative that you develop a profound respect for facts. It is NOT enough to “hold strong opinions.” It is far more important to master “strong facts.” An excellent student will have a vigorous hold on a rich stock of fundamental facts and figures, names and dates.
2. Thinking critically. History is an attempt to sort through these facts. Facts do not “speak for themselves.” It’s essential to sort the facts into meaningful patterns. Historians work, for example:
· to establish accurate chronologies so we know what happened first, and second, and third
· to distinguish cause from effect so that we can accurately decide what caused what
· to identify continuities as well as changes so that we can decide what the main trends were, are, and are likely to be at given times
· to sort facts into logical categories and sub-sets so that we can view them more clearly, sub-sets such as “political events,” and “social events,” and “cultural events,” and “economic events”
· to compare and contrast events and persons, the better to understand each shape human action.
An excellent student will demonstrate an ability to think critically about historical data in an especially sophisticated way.
3. Imagining sympathetically. History is a science but it’s also an art. Historians try to understand time by imaging other people’s experience. Imagination means mobilizing the five senses (what did an event look like? Sound like? Smell, taste, feel like?). Imagining means putting yourself into the facts, creating a story that “brings those facts alive.”
An excellent student will demonstrate the ability to evoke the past in an imaginative and compelling way.
4. Judging normatively. Sooner or later, historians have to decide whether some event or person was “good” or “bad,” “just” or “unjust,” “right” or “wrong,” “creative” or “destructive.” These are normative, that is, moral terms. Every historian needs not only to make such judgments (they are unavoidable) but to be careful and conscientious in making them.
An excellent student will demonstrate the ability to make careful, complex, and nuanced normative judgments about historical material.
III. A Labor Theory of Knowledge.
Knowledge is better than ignorance. Knowledge brings with it both power and pleasure. But - the acquisition of knowledge demands very hard work. We live, alas, in an age in which instant gratification and immediate entertainment are the norm. Anything which requires effort we often think of as “boring” or “too hard.” This course, however, will demand the kind of hard work athletes devote to sports or musicians devote to their instruments. Specifically, STUDENTS SHOULD INVEST FROM 2 1/2 TO 3 HOURS OF OUT-OF-CLASS WORK FOR EACH HOUR SPENT IN-CLASS. If you are unable to invest this amount of work, you should not take the class.
IV. The ATTENDANCE POLICY for this course is as follows: A student may miss three classes during the term without penalty. If a student exceeds this limit, the student’s final average will be reduced by 5 points (on a 100 scale) for each additional absence. Students who have reason to believe that because of some emergency they may have to miss a number of classes should consult the instructor as soon as possible.
V. Texts. The texts for this course are:
a. John Charles Chasteen, Born in Blood and Fire. A Concise History of Latin America.
b. Benjamin Keen, (ed.), Latin American Civilization..
Books will be available in the bookstore. It is YOUR responsibility to purchase or borrow the books and study them as assigned!
We will view FILMS, parts of films, and videos in class. These materials will NOT be on library reserve because in most cases they will be borrowed for a short time only and will have to be returned. The films are as important a part of the class as the readings and other materials and you will be tested on them.
Other readings will be available as Library Reserves (LR) in Everett Library, as handouts, and on the History Department web page.
VI. Internet Materials & Web Hunts. The syllabus, handouts, and supplementary readings will be found on the History Web Page at www.queens.edu.
VII. Tests. Just about every week, we’ll have a brief (10-20 question) objective test. The test will be on that week’s work AND will review earlier material. These tests are designed to measure your mastery of the class’s information. Students who come late to class will not be eligible to take the test for that class. There will be no make-up tests for any reason. Any missed test will count as a “zero.” At the end of the term, the TWO lowest scores will be dropped, and the average of the remaining scores will be your weekly test grade. This will count as 20% of your course grade.
VIII. Examinations. There will be two examinations in this course, the Mid-Term and the Final. Each will be primarily an “objective” test, that is, roughly 75% of each will consist of fill-in-the-blanks, multiple-choice, true/false, and other informational questions. Roughly 25% of each will be devoted to essay questions.
AN EXAMINATION MISSED FOR ANY REASON WILL COUNT AS A “ZERO.” MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS MAY BE POSSIBLE ONLY IN THE MOST EXTREME AND UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
The Mid-term counts 20% of your final course grade. The Final counts 30% of your final course grade. While the Final Examination will focus on material since the Mid-Term, it will include materials from the beginning of the course. The Final Examination will be scheduled by the University.
IX. Essays.
Each student will write TWO short essays (5-7 pages) in this class. The AVERAGE of the two essays will count 30% of your final course grade.
These essays must be ARGUMENTS, not simply DESCRIPTIONS.
A “description” attempts to provide basic information about some topic.
An “argument” goes much further, and makes a CLAIM about some topic, and then provides REASONS for that claim.
Thus, since you’re writing an “argument,” your job is not simply to describe some person or event (“this happened, then this happened, then this …”). Instead, your job is to interpret and analyze that event (and, for instance, explain its importance; its causes; its consequences; or perhaps investigate the motives or character or ambitions of some person). The first essay must be on material studied before the mid-term; the second essay must be on material studied after the mid-term. With that simple rule in mind, you are entirely free to select your own topic.
Be sure that you write GREAT essays! Here are some guidelines:
1. Have a sharp FOCUS. Don’t try to do too much (you can’t report on the whole Chinese Revolution in a single essay!) or too little. Instead, whether you’re writing about a person or an event, find a moment, an action, a controversy that you honestly can deal with in 5 short pages. An “excellent” paper will have a very precise focus.
2. Have lots of good sources. Imagine that you’re a reporter. A reporter has to have strong sources. That means EYEWITNESSES; historians call these “primary sources.” You should have several eyewitness sources. You might also use some expert testimony too—from people, who are NOT eyewitnesses, but who are well-informed students of the subject; historians call these kind of expert witnesses “secondary sources.” Be critical of your sources! Are they reliable? What are their strengths and weakness? Who are they anyway? Be sure to cite these sources in end/ or footnotes. Be sure to list your sources in your bibliography. An “excellent” paper will be based on lots and lots of eyewitness and expert witnesses.
3. Have A THEME TO YOUR PUDDING. Your essay must be ABOUT SOMETHING. In other words, you’ve got to have a THESIS. PLEASE PLACE YOUR THESIS AT THE END OF YOUR INTRODUCTION. And of course, repeat your thesis at the beginning of your conclusion. An “excellent” paper will have a precise thesis, which the body of the paper then proves.
4. DO NOT SIMPLY WRITE A DESCRIPTION OF A PERSON OR EVENT! Do NOT simply write “this happened, then this, then this, and so on until the end.” Anyone can find such a description on the Internet or in an encyclopedia. But your job is NOT to write this sort of thing. Instead, your job is to write CRITICAL ESSAYS in which you say SOMETHING INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT about your subject. An “excellent” paper doesn’t just parrot data; an “excellent” paper comments smartly and compellingly on that data.
5. What interesting and important thing? You might block out the key chronology of some event (“the key events leading up to X were …”). You might sort through the causes and effects of some event. You might want to identify key “turning points” where things changed; or you might want to argue that things, over a space of time, didn’t really change at all. You might want to sort important facts into logical categories (“the key political events of Peter the Great’s reign were …; the key economic events were …”). You might explain what someone’s motivations were; you might identify someone’s central character traits; you might argue that some event was (or wasn’t important). You might want to explain where some practice or artifact came from; you might want to compare and contrast two persons or events. Notice that in each case, YOU NEED TO MAKE A CLAIM AND BACK UP THAT CLAIM WITH YOUR EVIDENCE. An “excellent” paper is a powerful exercise in critical thinking; it makes a CLAIM and then provides convincing EVIDENCE for that claim.
6. IMAGINATIVELY EVOKE your topic. How? Include LOTS OF ARRESTING IMAGES AND ANECDOTES. Be concrete and specific. Include materials that mobilize your, and your reader’s senses; make sure that your reader can see, feel, and even taste, touch, and smell, what you’re talking about. Beware of sweeping generalizations! Remember: truth resides in CONCRETE DETAILS, not in vague abstractions. Don’t talk too much about “Germans;” talk about specific Germans. Don’t talk about “liberals” or “conservatives;” talk about specific liberals and conservatives.
An “excellent” paper uses lots of concrete detail to bring a topic alive.
7. Use LOTS OF DIRECT QUOTES from your sources. You need lots and lots of eyewitness and expert witness testimony. Each page (almost) should have one or two direct quotes. An “excellent” paper uses lots and lots of direct quotes—all properly end- or footnoted, from sources properly listed in the bibliography—and thus is a kind of “chorus” of voices.
8. Be sure that your essay has a compelling and logical structure. Your paper should, of course, have three basic parts—your introduction + thesis; your body which includes all your evidence and arguments; your conclusion. Your paper must be a kind of Claim/ Reasons (“I think this BECAUSE of these reasons”) paper. You can organize your body in a variety of ways: thematically, or chronologically, or from least important point to most important point—but be sure that your reader knows exactly how your essay is developing.
INTRODUCTION
(1-2 pages)
Open with an attention-getting anecdote, story, or image
Prove general introductory background
CLEARLY STATE YOUR THESIS (“I claim that … and my reasons are …)
BODY
(4-6 pages)
Reason 1: state your reason. Provide your data, quotations, other evidence.
Reason 2: state your second reason. Provide your data, quotations, other evidence.
Reason 3: state your final reason, provide data, quotations, evidence.
BE SURE ALL THREE (OR HOWEVER MANY) REALLY DO SUPPORT YOUR THESIS!
The more evidence – statistics, quotations, etc., the better!
Be fair – do NOT ignore possible objections to your thesis! Be sure to give ALL sides to the issue (there may be more than just two sides!), and then explain why you think the way you do.
Be sure to move smoothly from reason to reason; write a single argument, not three disconnected arguments.
CONCLUSION
(1-2 pages)
Repeat your THESIS (“what I wanted to prove in this paper is that …” )
Then place your Thesis back in a more general background (“the general significance of all this is …” “here are some other issues to be investigated …”)
An “excellent” paper is very carefully organized. It moves along smartly; it doesn’t ramble or digress; at every moment the reader knows exactly where the paper is and where it’s going.
9. Write correctly! Grammatical and mechanical errors seriously detract from an essay’s quality. Even more important—write well! It’s simply not enough to be correct. Your essay should be witty, distinctive, compelling, and unique. Don’t use jargon, or clichés, or worn-out metaphors; don’t be frivolous, but don’t be tedious either. Don’t simply parrot someone else’s ideas but express your own ideas powerfully.
An “excellent” paper is more than a paper without grammatical errors; an “excellent” paper is powerfully, uniquely, and arrestingly written.
10. Don’t be boring! Write an essay that is crisp, clean, well structured, and fast moving. Include lots of really interesting anecdotes and surprising and compelling facts. Be honest: when you’ve finished, re-read your essay. Is it really interesting? If not—re-write it! An “excellent” paper is one that the reader really can’t put down because it’s SO interesting!
11. Of course: be sure that the essay really is YOUR OWN WORK. Plagiarism—whether intentional or not intentional—is theft and is a grievous violation of the Honor Code.
PAPERS ARE DUE AS SCHEDULED ON THE CALENDAR. You are expected to complete your work on time. Late essays will be reduced by one grade for every day late. Each essay will receive a letter grade from “A” to “F.”
X. Grades. The grading system for this course is as follows:
A
94 – 100
4.0
“superior”
A-
90 – 93
3.7
B+
87 – 89
3.5
“good”
B
83 – 86
3.0
B-
80 – 82
2.7
C+
77 – 79
2.5
“satisfactory”
C
73 – 76
2.0
C-
70 – 72
1.7
D+
65 – 69
1.5
“poor”
D
60 – 64
1.0
F
59 and below
0
“failing”
Your Final Grade will be computed as follows:
Quiz Average 20%
Mid-Term Exam 20%
Final Exam 30%
Essay Average 30%
XI. Calendar.
Note: readings marked by quotation marks are available on the History Department web page (as part of the material for this course) and in printed form in Everett Library.
CLASSES WILL TYPICALLY BE BUILT AROUND A SET OF QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE ASSIGNED MATERIAL. YOU MUST BE ABLE TO ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS FULLY AND ACCURATELY. NORMALLY, WRITTEN ANSWERS WILL NOT BE REQUIRED – HOWEVER – YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO WRITE ANSWERS TO THE ASSIGNED QUESTIONS AS PART OF HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS, QUIZZES, AND EXAMS.
THESE QUESTIONS WILL PROVIDE US WITH AN “AGENDA” FOR EACH DAY’S CLASS. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS ONLY A PARTIAL AGENDA – THE ACTUAL WORK DONE IN CLASS MAY VARY FROM THE ASSIGNED QUESTIONS.
WE MIGHT NOT GET TO EVERY ASSIGNED QUESTION. HOWEVER, YOU MUST BE ABLE TO ANSWER EACH FULLY, EVEN IF IT IS NOT DISCUSSED SPECIFICALLY IN CLASS!
IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT YOU BE FULLY PREPARED FOR CLASS!
TO BE FULLY PREPARED, FOR EACH CLASS, YOU MUST:
1. READ, ANNOTATE, AND STUDY THE ASSIGNED MATERIAL
2. IDENTIFY AND MASTER THE KEY EMPIRICAL DATA (NAMES, DATES, FACTS, AND FIGURES) (In introductory level classes, instructors often provide lists of “terms to identify.” However, in an upper-level class, it is YOUR responsibility to read materials carefully and cull out the material you need to know).
YOU’VE SIMPLY GOT TO MASTER THIS EMPIRICAL INFORMATION BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO ANSWER OUR CRITICAL QUESTIONS!
3. PREPARE ANSWERS FOR THE ASSIGNED QUESTIONS, AND BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY IN CLASS DISCUSSION OF THESE – AND OTHER POSSIBLE – QUESTIONS!
DATE
TOPIC
READING
OTHER
1. M 25 Aug
2. W 27 Aug
Chasteen: 1; Keen: 1 (1-7)
3. F 29 Aug
Keen 1 (8-11)
Test 1
4. W 3 Sep
Keen 2
5. F 5 Sep
Chasteen 2
Test 2
6. M 8 Sep
The Conquest
Keen 3 (1-6)
Test 3
7. W 10 Sep
Keen 3 (7-12)
8. F 12 Sep
Keen 4
Test 4
9. M 15 Sep
Chasteen 3; Keen 5
10. W 17 Sep
Keen 6
Test 5
12. F 19 Sep
NO CLASS MEETING TODAY
Colonial America: Class & Caste
Keen 7
12. M 22 Sep
Keen 8
Test 6
13. W 24 Sep
Keen 9
14. F 26 Sep
Keen 10
15. M 29 Sep
Keen 11
Test 7
16. W 1 Oct
Keen 12
17. F 3 Oct
Keen 13
18. M 6 Oct
Chasteen 4; Keen 14 (1-5)
Test 8
19. W 8 Oct
The Wars of Liberation
Keen 14 (6-10)
20. F 10 Oct
Review
20. M 13 Oct
Mid-term Examination
21. W 15 Oct
22. M 20 Oct
Chasteen 5; Keen 15 (1-3)
Test 9
23. W 22 Oct
Keen 15 (4-6)
24. F 24 Oct
Keen 16
ESSAY ONE DUE IN CLASS
25. M 27 Oct
Chasteen 6
Test 10
26. W 29 Oct
Chasteen 7; Keen 17 (1-4)
27. F 31 Oct
The Mexican Revolution
Chasteen 8; Keen 17 (5-8)
Test 11
28. M 3 Nov
Keen 18
29. W 5 Nov
Argentina’s struggle for democracy, 1880-1994
Test 12
30. F 7 Nov
Case Study: Argentina’s “Dirty War”