LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
HISTORY 151B, Winter 2016
Professor: Cecilia Méndez G.
Office: HSSB 4227
E-mail:
Office Hours: Monday 5-6 pm, Wednesday 10:30- 11:30, and by appointment
Web page: http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/cecilia-mendez-gastelumendi
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course surveys the history of the nineteenth century in Latin America, an era that witnessed the birth of the language of equality of rights and representative government, and where terms such as nation, citizenship, slavery, revolution, and liberalism, were hotly contested. The nineteenth century was the era in which the former European colonies of the region we now call Latin America became independent states. Most of them achieved independence during the first decades of the century, the first being Saint Domingue, rebaptized Haiti, in 1804, the last one being Cuba in 1898.
This course will go over the different changes and challenges experienced by Latin American societies in this fascinating and turbulent time of their history, an era marked by civil wars and the construction of states, which left enduring memories that still affect the present. The countries selected as case studies in this course are Haiti, Peru, Argentina and Cuba.
OBJECTIVES:
· Get a fundamental sense of the main historical processes of Latin America in the 19th century.
· Develop your ability to write and think and critically.
· Foment your awareness of the importance of the past to understand the present.
· Develop your ability to understand the world from different perspectives.
REQUIREMENTS
· 4 short typed papers handed in class, in hard copies, every other Wednesday; 550-600 word each (excluding footnotes and references): 40 % of your grade.
· Attendance and participation, including any reports, quizzes, homework, or class presentations, apart from the short papers: 20% of your grade.
· Final Paper, 2,000-2,100 words long (excluding footnotes and references), on a topic of your choice, or chosen from list of topics to be assigned. Students must decide their topics no later than week 5, and meet with the professor individually at least twice afterwards to discuss their paper progress. After week 7 no change of topic will be allowed. All topics must be approved by the professor. Late final papers will not be accepted: 40 %.
· Come to class in time, prepared, and bring the readings due for the week in hard copies. All readings are due on Mondays, except otherwise specified.
POLITIC ON ELECTRONIC DEVICES
The use of cell phones, tables, or laptops is not allowed in this class. Please keep them off and away. Make sure to bring hard copies or the readings and the course Reader to class.
POLICY ON SHORT PAPERS
Every other week you will hand in, in class, one short paper summarizing and commenting on the readings You are responsible for a total of 4 short papers. If your last name begins in A to L your papers are due on weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8. If your last name begins in M to Z, your papers are due on weeks 3, 5, 7, and 9. The papers are due in class, on the Wednesday of the corresponding week. Papers should be typed and double paced, no less than 550 and no more than 600 words long, excluding footnotes and references. Please include the word count below your name. Students who wish to improve their paper grades are encouraged to write as many weekly papers as they see fit. I will eliminate your lowest grades and consider your four highest grades only. However, in order to get full credit for an extra paper, you need to have submitted your mandatory paper in time. Late papers are strongly discouraged and they may not be accepted because they are necessary for class discussion. In the extreme cases that they are accepted, they are subject to penalties equivalent to one full letter grade less for every late day.
REQUIRED READINGS
- Mary Lyn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide for Writing in History, sixth edition. New York: Bedford, 2014 (210 or later editions are acceptable).
- Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (Boston: Beacon Press, 1995)
- Domingo F. Sarmiento, Facundo, or Civilization and Barbarism. University of California, 2004, English translation by Kathleen Ross (it has to be this edition).
- Ada Ferrer, Insurgent Cuba: Race, Nation and Revolution 1868-1898 (Chapell Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999).
- A Reader of articles and documents will be available for purchase from Associated Students in the UCen. Once the reader is made available, the reading materials may no longer be posted electronically.
WEEKLY READINGS AND TOPICS
Week 1: Haiti: The First Republic of Latin America (1790-1804)
M Jan 4 Course introduction
W Jan 6 The Haitian Revolution as a “Non-Event”. Discussion of Trouillot.
Required Readings Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past, Acknowledgements, preface, and chapters 2, and 3; Rampolla, chapter 1. Recommended Reading: Trouillot, chapter 1.
Week 2: Independence in Spanish America: Elite & Popular Participation (1810s-1820s)
Mond Jan 11 Independence Spanish America, The Constitution of 1812 and its impact.
Wed Jan 13 Contesting Interpretations: Creole or popular independence? Discussion.
Required Readings: John Lynch, The Spanish American revolutions, 1808-1826, chapters one, last and excerpts (New York: Norton, 1986); Marixa Lasso, “Revisiting Independence Day” in Mark Thurner and Andrés Guerrero, eds, After Spanish Rule, (Duke University Press, 2003); Henri Favre “Bolívar and the Indians” in UNISA, Latin American Report, vol 4, # I 1988: 4-16. Rampolla, chapters 2, 3, and 4.
In class readings (Monday): The 1812 Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (excerpts in Reader); José María Morelos, “Sentiments of the Nation” (The Congress of Chilpancingo, 1813), in Reader.
Week 3: Creoles, Indians, and the Nation (1780s-1840s)
Mond. Jan 18th HOLIDAY, NO CLASS. Martin Luther King’s day.
Wed Jan 20th Creole Nationalism, Race and Nation: The Peruvian Bolivian Confederation
Required Readings Cecilia Méndez G. “Incas Sí, Indios No: Notes on Peruvian Creole Nationalism and its Contemporary Crisis,” in Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 28, I, February 1996: 197-225; Simón Bolivar [The Jamaica Letter, ca. 1815 or “An American’s Convictions”], in John Lynch editor, Latin American Revolutions (Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press), 1994, 308-318; Rampolla, chapters 5, 6 and 7.
Week 4 Caudillo Rule, Plebeian Republics: The Case of Huanta Province (Peru)
Mond Jan 25th Aftermath of Independence: Challenges /Contradictions of Republican Liberalism
Wed Jan 27th The State and the Indigenous Peasants: The Case of Huanta Province
Required Readings. All due by Monday: Cecilia Méndez, The Plebeian Republic (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2005) intro pp. 1-13, 22- 29, chapters 6 and 7 (Reader); Rampolla, chapters 5, 6, and 7.
Week 5: Caudillos, Gauchos and Montoneros: La Rioja Province (Argentina)
Mond Feb 1st Ruralization of Power in Argentina: Unitarios vs. Federales
Mond Feb 3rd Gauchos and Caudillos in La Rioja Province.
Required Readings. De la Fuente: Children of Facundo ( Duke U. Press 2000), intro, chapters 4, 5, and conclusions; Peter. Winn: “Perils of Progress” (from Americas, 1999, pp. 88-98 (Reader).
Homework (Monday). Decide your final paper topic. Bring to class one typed page indicating what is your topic, and how do you plan to approach it.
Week 6: From Countryside to City: Export Boom, Immigration, State Centralization
Mond Feb 8th Late-19th Century Ideas of Progress: Material and Ideological Transformations
Wed Feb 10th Economic Growth and Transatlantic Migration: the Changing face of Argentina
Required Readings: Peter Winn, “Perils of Progress”, excerpts from Americas, 1999, pp. 98-118 (Reader). Domingo F. Sarmiento: Facundo, or Civilization and Barbarism, Introduction by Roberto González Echevarría, Translator’s Introduction, Author’s Note, Introduction, and chapters I-VI .
Homework (Monday). Confirm your final paper topic. Bring to class two typed paragraphs with the introduction and main thesis you want to develop (follow Rampolla’s guidelines). Bring a list of at least 5 sources (articles, books, media, films, music, or art), you would like to use in your paper, in addition to those indicated in the final paper prompts.
Week 7 Civilization and Barbarism? The Birth and Endurance of 19th Century Paradigms
Mond Feb 15th HOLYDAY, PRESIDENT’S DAY. NO CLASS
Wed Feb 17th Continued discussion of Sarmiento, Facundo, or Civilization and Barbarism
Required Readings: Sarmiento: Facundo, or Civilization and Barbarism, chapters VII-XV.
Homework (Monday). Bring to class, typed, your revised introduction and thesis, your revised list of sources, and an outline that indicates how you plan to organize your paper. Follow Rampolla’s guidelines.
Week 8 War and Nationalism: The War of The Pacific (1879-1883)
Mond Feb 22nd War and Nationalism: the Big Picture.
Wed Feb 24th Popular Participation in the War of the Pacific. Discussion on Bonilla and Mallon.
Required Readings. Peter Klarén “War of the Pacific and Reconstruction”;; Heraclio Bonilla, “The Indian Peasantry and 'Peru' during the War with Chile”; Florencia Mallon, “Comas and the War of the Pacific” (reader). Get started with Ada Ferrer’s Insurgent Cuba, in preparation for next week.
Homework: Continue writing your final paper.
Week 9: War, Race, Nationalism, and Revolution in Cuba (1868-1898).
Mond Feb 29th Cuba’s War of Independence: Background, Context, and Outcome
Wed March 2nd Discussion of Ada Ferrer’s book.
Required Readings. Monday: Ada Ferrer, Insurgent Cuba: intro, chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5; José Martí, “Our America” (Reader). Wednesday: Ada Ferrer, Insurgent Cuba, chapters 6, 7, and conclusions.
Homework, Continue writing your final paper.
Week 10: The “Spanish-American War”, and the Rise of U.S. Imperialism.
Mond March 7th The Spanish American War and the Rise of US Militarism/ Class presentations.
Wed March 9th Nineteenth-century lessons and legacies: An overview / Class presentations.
Required Readings. All due by Monday , Eric Williamson, “The American Mediterranean” (pp.209-213).
Homework: Finish a draft of your final paper.
MONDAY MARCH 14TH: FINAL PAPER IS DUE ELECTRONICALLY NO LATER THAN MIDNIGHT.
Note: This syllabus is subject to modifications. Shall you miss any class, it is your responsibility to catch up with any materials and information provided.
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