History 120: Early Latin America
Fall Semester 2009
Mon/Wed/Fri 2:10-3:00
Samuel Mather Hall 215
Prof. Ray Ball
Email:
Office hours: Mon/Wed 1-2pm
Office: Seitz House #2
Phone: x5327
I am also available to meet with students by appointment. The best way to reach me is via email. Please be advised that it may take up to 24 hours to receive a response to an email.
Required Readings for the Course:
Boyer, Richard and Spurling, Geoffrey, Colonial Lives: Documents on Latin American History, 1550-1850, Oxford, 1999.
De Erauso, Catalina, Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World, translated by Michele and Gabriel Stepto, Boston: Beacon Press, 1996.
Portillo, Miguel-Leon, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, Beacon Press, 1992.
Recommended Readings for the Course:
Burkholder, Mark and Johnson, Lyman, Colonial Latin America, 6th edition, Oxford, 2007.
Course Description:
This course surveys Latin American history from its pre-Columbian origins to the Era of Independence. It offers narrative structure of major events in early Latin American History. It will also introduce you to religious and political ideas, the art, literature, and gender roles, and the social and cultural history of the region. The course objectives are to familiarize you with some of the major cultural roots of our own modern world, including the problem of poverty in Latin America and the foundations of the relationship between the United States and Latin American countries. Other objectives of this course are to provide you with a background to make you a more informed inhabitant of this world and to improve your critical thinking and communication skills. This class is also intended to be an introduction to the discipline of History, to the assumptions about what History is that we as a society make, and to give you the basic tools to engage with and analyze historical texts. The readings are integrated closely with the lectures and both give insights into how people lived and thought in Latin America to 1825.
Course Requirements:
The course is designed not only to acquaint students with cultural and historical background of Latin American civilization to 1825, but also to teach skills in reading, critical thinking, exam preparation, and public speaking. Attendance at lectures and participation in discussions is the only way to fully assimilate the materials and skills of this course. I have selected readings that will complement the lectures. We will spend time discussing these texts and how they illuminate greater historical themes. The assigned readings from the recommended Burkholder textbook will not be discussed in class. I have listed them in parentheses on the schedule of lectures and readings. The other readings will be up for discussion on the day that they are due.
Grading and Policies:
Breakdown of Course Credits:
Attendance and Participation30%
Film Reviews10%
Midterm Exam15%
Paper 25%
Final Exam20%
Policy on Attendance and Participation:
The only acceptable reasons for missing a class are medical excuses from a doctor, an official Kenyon event such as music or athletic competitions, or personal tragedies. Official participation in college events requires official notification in advance. Anyone with more than three unexcused absences may be subject to grade penalties. Personal vacations are not an acceptable excuse to miss a class.
Participation is mandatory, and it helps you to fix the facts and trends in history in your mind because you have articulated them aloud. You are expected to be in class and ready to discuss the day’s assigned readings. Please arrive on time. Turn off cell phones and computers and go to the restroom before class. I reserve the right to occasionally give brief quizzes to test your knowledge of the material covered in the lectures and readings. Any quizzes given will be factored into your attendance and participation grade.
Policy on the Midterm and Final:
The midterm and final exams must be taken on the announced dates and times. Both exams will include a take-home essay portion, which will be handed out one week before the exam is due and an in-class portion, which will include multiple choice, IDs, and possibly a map quiz portion. The take-home essay will have specific requirements as to length and formatting. They will be due in classon the day scheduled.
Film Reviews and Paper Topic:
Film Reviews
We will watch two movies in class. Each student will write a film review of both Aguirre: The Wrath of God andHow Tasty Was My Little Frenchman. The film reviews should include a very brief plot synopsis and a critical reaction to each of the films, including some assessment of the films’ historical accuracy. (Feel free to check out newspapers’ archives of their movie reviews to find models for writing movie reviews.) If you are absent when a film is shown it is your responsibility to find the film and watch it. Film reviews must be uploaded to Moodle by midnight on the scheduled due date. Any review submitted after midnight is subject to late penalty.
1-3 pages, 12-point TNR font, standard format
Paper
The paper will test your comprehension of primary sources and your ability to write a historical analysis. Please read over the following guidelines. I am giving them to you now so that you are aware of all the work required for this class. Papers must be uploaded to Moodle by midnight on the scheduled due date. Any paper submitted after midnight is subject to late penalty.
Paper Topic:
Assess the role of gender in Lieutenant Nun and how typical Catalina de Erauso’s behaviors were for women living in colonial Latin America.
4-5 pages 12-point font, standard format and style (see Handout)
Use proper citations (MLA, APA, or Chicago Style), for all quotations and paraphrased ideas not your own. Do not use external sources for these papers. This includes all Internet sources that are not listed on the syllabus.
Late Papers:
Late papers and film reviews will be accepted, but they will be penalized one letter grade per day late. No late midterms or final exams will be accepted.
Statement on Academic Integrity:
All work turned in for this course must be your own. Plagiarism is a form of property theft. Any form of academic misconduct, such as cheating on exams is an extremely serious offense. It may result in the grade of “zero” for the project, a directed grade of F for the entire course, suspension from the College, or permanent dismissal. All suspected incidents of academic dishonesty will be dealt with through the procedures established by the Academic Integrity Board.
Students with Disabilities:
Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation due to a disability should contact me privately to discuss his or her specific needs.If you have a disability, you must register with the Coordinator of Disability Services (Erin Salva, , x 5145), who is responsible for coordinating accommodations and services for students with disabilities. All documentation regarding this matter is strictly confidential. No accommodations will be granted in this course without notification from the Office of Disability Services.
Schedule of Lectures, Readings, and Assignments:
I. Native America meets Iberia
31 August Course Introduction, Lecture: “What is History?”
2 September Lecture: “Pre-Columbian Societies: Mesoamerica, the Maya, and the Mexica”
(Burkholder, pp. 1-23)
4 September Film: Popul Vuh
7 September Lecture: “Pre-Columbian Societies: South America”
9 September Lecture: “Spain and the Reconquista”
(Burkholder, pp. 23-32)
11SeptemberLecture: “Imperial desires: Spain and Portugal”
(Burkholder, pp. 40-48.)
14SeptemberLecture: “The Conquest of Mexico”
(Burkholder, pp. 52-70)
16 September Discussion: The Broken Spears
18 September Lecture: “The Conquest of Peru”
(Burkholder 78-90.)
21 September Film: Aguirre: The Wrath of God
23 September Film: Aguirre: The Wrath of God
25 September Lecture: “Further Conquests: The Yucatan”
Discussion: Boyer and Spurling Ch. 3, pp. 18-31.
28 SeptemberNo Class
30 September Lecture: “Iberian Administration: The Spanish and the Portuguese”
(Burkholder, pp. 93-102.)
Film Review of Aguirre due by midnight
2 October Lecture: “The Church in Latin America: Evangelism and Missions”
(Burkholder, pp. 106-116.)
5 October Lecture: “New World Christianity: Catholicism and Idolatry”
(Burkholder, pp. 116-119.)
7 October Discussion: Boyer and Spurling Chs. 4, 5, & 6 pp. 32-76.
9 October Review Session
12 October Reading Day, No Class
14 October Midterm Exam
III. Early Colonial Society, Economy, and Culture
16 October Lecture: “What about Brazil?”
(Burkholder, pp.102-106, 162-165, 171-172, 188-192)
19 October Film: How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
21 October Film: How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
23 OctoberLecture: “The Organization of Colonial Society: Slavery and Indian Labor”
(Burkholder, pp. 123-153)
26 October Lecture: “The Mining Economy”
28 October Discussion: Boyer and Spurling, Chs. 11 & 20, pp. 141-154 and 249-268.
30 October Lecture: “Women in Colonial Society”
(Burkholder, pp. 240-245)
Film Review of How Tasty due by midnight
2 November Discussion: Lieutenant Nun
4 November Lecture: “Popular Religion and Culture in Colonial Society”
(Burkholder, pp. 260-294)
6 NovemberDiscussion: Boyer and Spurling, Chs. 7 & 9, pp. 77-100 and 112-129,
9 November Lecture:“Family and Daily Life in the Colonies”
(Burkholder, pp. 225-240)
11 November Discussion: Boyer and Spurling, Chs.10 & 15, pp. and 185-200.
13 November Discussion: Boyer and Spurling, Chs. 12 & 13, pp. 155-177.
IV. The Eighteenth Century
16 November Lecture:“Imperial Crises: The Spanish”
Paper due to Moodle by midnight
18 November Lecture:“The Bourbon Reforms”
(Burkholder, pp. 298-308 and 321-336)
20 November Lecture: “Reactions to Reform”
23, 25, 27 November No Class, Happy Thanksgiving!
30 November Lecture: “Reforming Brazil”
(Burkholder, pp. 308-321)
2 December Lecture “On the Edge of Insurrection?”
(Burkholder, pp. 336-356)
4 December Discussion: Boyer and Spurling, Ch.14 & 16, pp. 178-184 and 201-215.
V. Independences
9 December Lecture “Rebellion and Independence in Mexico”
(Burkholder, pp. 382-394)
11 December Lecture: “Rebellion and Independence in South America”
(Burkholder, pp.357-382)
14 DecemberDiscussionBoyer and Spurling, Ch 23, pp. 294-308
Wrap-up and Review
21 December Final Exam 6:30pm
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