Seth W. Garfield

To think like historians, students will explore different approaches to understand and write about the past. Our case study will be the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-85) and the nation’s path to democratization and transitional justice.  We will consider different approaches to socioeconomic and (geo)political origins of the breakdown of democracy in Brazil in the context of the Cold War. We will also explore the military’s national security doctrine and developmental goals, the regime’s civilian supporters and opponents, human rights abuses and victims’ struggles for accountability and justice.  Students will read secondary and primary sources including human rights and truth commission reports, documentaries, and feature films. They will also use on-line or campus archives to access primary source materials

Assignments:  Students will write brief responses to readings, several short papers, group research projects, and develop a research paper prospectus and bibliography. 

Brazil, the largest nation and economy in Latin America, is a country marked by geographic diversity, cultural complexity, and social inequality. This course examines modern Brazilian history with a focus on political movements and socioeconomic change.  It looks at how various social actors in Brazil--elites, peasants, slaves, workers, women, the military, and indigenous people--have contributed to and been affected by the process of nation-building since Independence.  Through a variety of texts (historic, ethnographic, literary, musical, and sociological) and visual material (film, documentaries, video clips) the course explores key issues in modern Brazilian history: the transition to Independence; slavery and emancipation; export agriculture and oligarchic rule;  social banditry and folk Catholicism; urbanization and marginality; regional disparities and rural poverty; racial discourse and inequality; frontier expansion, colonization and indigenous policy; popular culture and music; military dictatorship and repression; the foreign debt crisis of the 1980s and the turn to neoliberalism in the 1990s; the rise and fall of the Workers Party; and contemporary politics.

This course examines the history of Latin America's largest and most populous nation, shedding light on Brazil's political history, economic development, and cultural formation. The course looks at principal topics in postcolonial Brazilian history: Independence and Empire, slavery and post-emancipation society; formation of racial, class, and gender identities;  urbanization and industrialization; foreign relations; frontier expansion; and bureaucratic-authoritarianism.  We begin with the fundamental premise that nation-states are sociocultural constructions whose inclusiveness, legitimacy, and viability vary from one historical moment to another.  The challenges to nation-building that confronted Brazil--with its oligarchic, patriarchal, and slavocratic heritage, economic "underdevelopment," multiethnic population, and pronounced regionalism--are the matters to be interrogated through the readings.
In this readings course we will focus closely on questions of argumentation, evidence, and historiography.

Over the course of the semester, students will write eleven book reviews (2-3 pp. each). The essay should highlight the factual, methodological, and historiographical contributions of the text.    The final paper  (8 pp.) will consist of a comparative/historiographical essay that examines at least four texts to analyze divergences or overlaps in the treatment of a given historical theme..

Brazil, the largest nation and economy in Latin America, is a country marked by geographic diversity, cultural complexity, and social inequality. This course examines modern Brazilian history with a focus on political movements and socioeconomic change.  It looks at how various social actors in Brazil--elites, peasants, slaves, workers, women, the military, and indigenous people--have contributed to and been affected by the process of nation-building since Independence.  Through a variety of texts (historic, ethnographic, literary, musical, and sociological) and visual material (film, documentaries, video clips) the course explores key issues in modern Brazilian history: the transition to Independence; slavery and emancipation; export agriculture and oligarchic rule;  social banditry and folk Catholicism; urbanization and marginality; regional disparities and rural poverty; racial discourse and inequality; frontier expansion, colonization and indigenous policy; popular culture and music; military dictatorship and repression; the foreign debt crisis of the 1980s and the turn to neoliberalism in the 1990s; the rise and fall of the Workers Party; and contemporary politics.

Brazil, the largest nation and economy in Latin America, is a country marked by geographic diversity, cultural complexity, and social inequality. This course examines modern Brazilian history with a focus on political movements and socioeconomic change.  It looks at how various social actors in Brazil--elites, peasants, slaves, workers, women, the military, and indigenous people--have contributed to and been affected by the process of nation-building since Independence.  Through a variety of texts (historic, ethnographic, literary, musical, and sociological) and visual material (film, documentaries, video clips) the course explores key issues in modern Brazilian history: the transition to Independence; slavery and emancipation; export agriculture and oligarchic rule;  social banditry and folk Catholicism; urbanization and marginality; regional disparities and rural poverty; racial discourse and inequality; frontier expansion, colonization and indigenous policy; popular culture and music; military dictatorship and repression; the foreign debt crisis of the 1980s and the turn to neoliberalism in the 1990s; the rise and fall of the Workers Party; and contemporary politics.

This course explores the breakdown of democratic governments in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s and the emergence of bureaucratic authoritarian regimes committed to economic restructuring, political demobilization, and the abrogation of civil liberties. It examines the use of torture, disappearances, and other counterinsurgency methods by Latin American military officials, as well as various forms of resistance, including guerrilla warfare. Finally, it looks at the transition to democratic rule, efforts to reconstruct civil society and forge political reconciliation, and the struggle for justice among the victims and families of victims of human rights abuses.

The course focuses on the histories of the nations of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and seeks to address a number of questions. Why did some of the most "developed" nations in Latin America cede to such repressive governments?  How did authoritarian regimes legitimize their rule?  How can we make sense of the atrocities committed?  In what ways did citizens resist or acquiesce in the policies of military governments?  What role did the United States play in offering economic, political, and military assistance to military dictatorships?  Which factors spurred the military to relinquish power and what has been the nature of the transition to democratic rule?  How can social peace and justice be best achieved in societies that experienced such trauma?  How is this period of Latin American history remembered?

Texts:
•    Pamela Constable & Arturo Valenzuela        A Nation of Enemies: Chile under Pinochet
•    Course packet

Grading:
•    Class participation                20%
•    Four papers                    65%
•    Two short response papers        15%

This graduate course explores key topics in the historiography oftwentieth-century Latin America: "modernity" and technological innovation; agro-export economies and foreign consumption; urbanization, industrialization, and the rise of the welfare state; disease, public health policies and eugenics; constructions of crime and social deviance; U.S. intervention in the Caribbean basin; revolutionary alternatives and Cold War counterinsurgency; the(trans)formation of racial and gender identities; transnationalism and international migration. Readings focus on case studies from discrete Latin American nations and are designed to introduce students to some of the primary topics of historical inquiry for the twentieth century.

Grading:On most weeks, students will write a short essay (2-3 pp.) in the format of a critical book review that highlights the author’s argument, research methodology, and historiographical contributions Students are required to submit a total of 10 such reviews over the course of the semester. Each week, one student will be responsible for leading class discussion. S/he should present a brief overview of the author’s thesis and methodology and pose questions and/or critiques for further discussion. The final paper will consist of a historiographical essay that examines at least four texts to analyze divergences or overlaps in the treatment of a given historical theme. The selected topic should be one of those covered in class (and may make use of the required reading as one of the four texts) Students are encouraged to discuss their topics with me in advance.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing, reading knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese, and consent of the graduate adviser.

This graduate course explores key topics in the historiography oftwentieth-century Latin America: "modernity" and technological innovation; agro-export economies and foreign consumption; urbanization, industrialization, and the rise of the welfare state; disease, public health policies and eugenics; constructions of crime and social deviance; U.S. intervention in the Caribbean basin; revolutionary alternatives and Cold War counterinsurgency; the(trans)formation of racial and gender identities; transnationalism and international migration. Readings focus on case studies from discrete Latin American nations and are designed to introduce students to some of the primary topics of historical inquiry for the twentieth century.

Grading:On most weeks, students will write a short essay (2-3 pp.) in the format of a critical book review that highlights the author’s argument, research methodology, and historiographical contributions   Students are required to submit a total of 10 such reviews over the course of the semester.  Each week, one student will be responsible for leading class discussion.  S/he should present a brief overview of the author’s thesis and methodology and pose questions and/or critiques for further discussion. The final paper will consist of a historiographical essay that examines at least four texts to analyze divergences or overlaps in the treatment of a given historical theme.  The selected topic should be one of those covered in class (and may make use of the required reading as one of the four texts) Students are encouraged to discuss their topics with me in advance.

The course aims to acquaint students with the richness, complexity and diversity of historical experiences and cultural practices in Latin America through an array of source materials that include historical monographs, ethnography, testimonial literature, fiction, music, film, and documentaries.  Through a sample of case studies culled from throughout the region, the course will shed light on the processes, structures, and forces that have shaped Latin America.  Topics include:  pre-Columbian civilizations, Iberian expansionism and the Conquest of Latin America; Church in colonial Latin America;  sugar plantations in Brazil and the trans-Atlantic slave trade; Independence movements; agro-export economies; U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean Basin; populism, urbanization , and import-substitution industrialization; popular culture, art, literature and music; revolutionary alternatives; the Cold War in Latin America and state-sponsored violence; transnational flows of capital and labor.

Texts:

Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, Modern Latin America

Mark Danner, The Massacre at El Mozote

Grading:

- Attendance and Classroom Participation (10%)

- Two in-class exams (30%)

-One 2-3 pp. book review (20%).  Essay topic for book review will be handed out one week in advance of due date.  Grade for book review will be based on organization, development and clarity of argument; substantiation of thesis through textual material; and elegance of prose.

-Final Exam (40%)

This course examines the history of Latin America's largest and most populous nation, shedding light on Brazil's political history, economic development, and cultural formation. The course looks at principal topics in postcolonial Brazilian history: Independence and Empire, slavery and post-emancipation society; formation of racial, class, and gender identities;  urbanization and industrialization; foreign relations; frontier expansion; and bureaucratic-authoritarianism.  We begin with the fundamental premise that nation-states are sociocultural constructions whose inclusiveness, legitimacy, and viability vary from one historical moment to another.  The challenges to nation-building that confronted Brazil--with its oligarchic, patriarchal, and slavocratic heritage, economic "underdevelopment," multiethnic population, and pronounced regionalism--are the matters to be interrogated through the readings.

As a graduate course in history, we will explore not only events and processes in the past but focus closely on questions of argumentation, evidence, and historiography.  

Assignments

Over the course of the semester, students will write eleven book reviews (2-3 pp. each). The essay should highlight the factual, methodological, and historiographical contributions of the text.    The final paper  (8 pp.) will consist of a comparative/historiographical essay that examines at least four texts to analyze divergences or overlaps in the treatment of a given historical theme.  

Readings      

Emilia Viotti da Costa, The Brazilian Empire: Myths and Histories

         João José Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil

Zephyr Frank, Dutra’s World

João José Reis, Death is a Festival

Julyan Peard, Race, Place, and Medicine

Paulina Alberto, Terms of Inclusion:  Black Intellectuals in Twentieth-Century Brazil

Brodwyn Fischer, A Poverty of Rights: Citizenship and Inequality in Twentieth-Century Rio de Janeiro

Barbara Weinstein, For Social Peace in Brazil: Industrialists and the Remaking of the Working Class in São Paulo, 1920-1964

Susan Besse, Restructuring Patriarchy

Amy Chazkel, Laws of Chance:  Brazil’s Clandestine Lottery and the Making of

         Urban Public Life

The course aims to acquaint students with the richness, complexity and diversity of historical experiences and cultural practices in Latin America through an array of source materials that include historical monographs, ethnography, testimonial literature, fiction, music, film, and documentaries.  Through a sample of case studies culled from throughout the region, the course will shed light on the processes, structures, and forces that have shaped Latin America.  Topics include:  pre-Columbian civilizations, Iberian expansionism and the Conquest of Latin America; Church in colonial Latin America;  sugar plantations in Brazil and the trans-Atlantic slave trade; Independence movements; agro-export economies; U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean Basin; populism, urbanization , and import-substitution industrialization; popular culture, art, literature and music; revolutionary alternatives; the Cold War in Latin America and state-sponsored violence; transnational flows of capital and labor.

Texts:

Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, Modern Latin America

Mark Danner, The Massacre at El Mozote

Grading:

- Attendance and Classroom Participation (10%)

- Two in-class exams (30%)

-One 2-3 pp. book review (20%).  Essay topic for book review will be handed out one week in advance of due date.  Grade for book review will be based on organization, development and clarity of argument; substantiation of thesis through textual material; and elegance of prose.

-Final Exam (40%)

This course explores the breakdown of democratic governments in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s and the emergence of bureaucratic authoritarian regimes committed to economic restructuring, political demobilization, and the abrogation of civil liberties. It examines the use of torture, disappearances, and other counterinsurgency methods by Latin American military officials, as well as various forms of resistance, including guerrilla warfare. Finally, it looks at the transition to democratic rule, efforts to reconstruct civil society and forge political reconciliation, and the struggle for justice among the victims and families of victims of human rights abuses.

The course focuses on the histories of the nations of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and seeks to address a number of questions. Why did some of the most "developed" nations in Latin America cede to such repressive governments?  How did authoritarian regimes legitimize their rule?  How can we make sense of the atrocities committed?  In what ways did citizens resist or acquiesce in the policies of military governments?  What role did the United States play in offering economic, political, and military assistance to military dictatorships?  Which factors spurred the military to relinquish power and what has been the nature of the transition to democratic rule?  How can social peace and justice be best achieved in societies that experienced such trauma?  How is this period of Latin American history remembered?

Texts:

•    Pamela Constable & Arturo Valenzuela        A Nation of Enemies: Chile under Pinochet

•    Course packet

Grading:

•    Class participation                20%

•    Four papers                    65%

•    Two short response papers        15%

The course aims to acquaint students with the richness, complexity and diversity of historical experiences and cultural practices in Latin America through an array of source materials that include historical monographs, ethnography, testimonial literature, fiction, music, film, and documentaries.  Through a sample of case studies culled from throughout the region, the course will shed light on the processes, structures, and forces that have shaped Latin America.  Topics include:  pre-Columbian civilizations, Iberian expansionism and the Conquest of Latin America; Church in colonial Latin America;  sugar plantations in Brazil and the trans-Atlantic slave trade; Independence movements; agro-export economies; U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean Basin; populism, urbanization , and import-substitution industrialization; popular culture, art, literature and music; revolutionary alternatives; the Cold War in Latin America and state-sponsored violence; transnational flows of capital and labor.

Texts:

Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, Modern Latin AmericaMark Danner, The Massacre at El Mozote

Grading:

- Attendance and Classroom Participation (10%)

- Two in-class exams (30%)

-One 2-3 pp. book review (20%).

Essay topic for book review will be handed out one week in advance of due date.  Grade for book review will be based on organization, development and clarity of argument; substantiation of thesis through textual material; and elegance of prose.

-Final Exam (40%)

This course explores the breakdown of democratic governments in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s and the emergence of bureaucratic authoritarian regimes committed to economic restructuring, political demobilization, and the abrogation of civil liberties. It examines the use of torture, disappearances, and other counterinsurgency methods by Latin American military officials, as well as various forms of resistance, including guerrilla warfare. Finally, it looks at the transition to democratic rule, efforts to reconstruct civil society and forge political reconciliation, and the struggle for justice among the victims and families of victims of human rights abuses.

The course focuses on the histories of the nations of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and seeks to address a number of questions. Why did some of the most "developed" nations in Latin America cede to such repressive governments?  How did authoritarian regimes legitimize their rule?  How can we make sense of the atrocities committed?  In what ways did citizens resist or acquiesce in the policies of military governments?  What role did the United States play in offering economic, political, and military assistance to military dictatorships?  Which factors spurred the military to relinquish power and what has been the nature of the transition to democratic rule?  How can social peace and justice be best achieved in societies that experienced such trauma?  How is this period of Latin American history remembered?

Texts (subject to final confirmation):

• Pamela Constable & Arturo Valenzuela                        A Nation of Enemies: Chile under Pinochet
• Course packet

Grading:

• Class participation                                           20%
• Four papers                                                      65%

Two short response papers                               15%

This course examines the history of Latin America's largest and most populous nation, shedding light on Brazil's political history, economic development, and cultural formation. The course looks at principal topics in postcolonial Brazilian history: Independence and Empire, slavery and post-emancipation society; formation of racial, class, and gender identities;  urbanization and industrialization; foreign relations; frontier expansion; and bureaucratic-authoritarianism.  We begin with the fundamental premise that nation-states are sociocultural constructions whose inclusiveness, legitimacy, and viability vary from one historical moment to another.  The challenges to nation-building that confronted Brazil--with its oligarchic, patriarchal, and slavocratic heritage, economic "underdevelopment," multiethnic population, and pronounced regionalism--are the matters to be interrogated through the readings.

This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of Latin America.

With 20 nations and a total population of over 500 million, Latin America is an area of fascinating cultural diversity as well as troubling socioeconomic inequality.

The course aims to acquaint students with the richness, complexity and diversity of historical experiences and cultural practices in Latin America through an array of source materials that include historical monographs, ethnography, fiction, music, film, and documentaries.   Through case studies culled from throughout the region, the course will shed light on the processes, structures, and forces that have shaped Latin America.  Topics include:  pre-Columbian civilizations, Iberian expansionism and the Conquest of Latin America; the Church in colonial Latin America;  sugar plantations in Brazil and the trans-Atlantic slave trade; Independence movements; agro-export economies; U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean Basin; populism, urbanization , and import-substitution industrialization; popular culture, art, literature and music; revolutionary alternatives; the Cold War in Latin America and state-sponsored violence; transnational flows of capital and labor.

- Attendance and Participation in Lectures, Debates, and Discussion (20%*),

- Take-Home Midterm Exam -  40%

- Take-Home Final Exam   -  40%

This course explores the breakdown of democratic governments in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s and the emergence of bureaucratic authoritarian regimes committed to economic restructuring, political demobilization, and the abrogation of civil liberties. It examines the use of torture, disappearances, and other counterinsurgency methods by Latin American military officials, as well as various forms of resistance, including guerrilla warfare. Finally, it looks at the transition to democratic rule, efforts to reconstruct civil society and forge political reconciliation, and the struggle for justice among the victims and families of victims of human rights abuses.

The course focuses on the histories of the nations of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and seeks to address a number of questions. Why did some of the most "developed" nations in Latin America cede to such repressive governments?  How did authoritarian regimes legitimize their rule?  How can we make sense of the atrocities committed?  In what ways did citizens resist or acquiesce in the policies of military governments?  What role did the United States play in offering economic, political, and military assistance to military dictatorships?  Which factors spurred the military to relinquish power and what has been the nature of the transition to democratic rule?  How can social peace and justice be best achieved in societies that experienced such trauma?  How is this period of Latin American history remembered?

Texts (subject to final confirmation):

• Pamela Constable & Arturo Valenzuela                        A Nation of Enemies: Chile under Pinochet
• Course packet

Grading:

• Class participation                                           20%
• Four papers                                                      65%
• Two short response papers                               15%

The course aims to acquaint students with the richness, complexity and diversity of historical experiences and cultural practices in Latin America through an array of source materials that include historical monographs, ethnography, testimonial literature, fiction, music, film, and documentaries.  Through a sample of case studies culled from throughout the region, the course will shed light on the processes, structures, and forces that have shaped Latin America.  Topics include:  pre-Columbian civilizations, Iberian expansionism and the Conquest of Latin America; Church in colonial Latin America;  sugar plantations in Brazil and the trans-Atlantic slave trade; Independence movements; agro-export economies; U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean Basin; populism, urbanization , and import-substitution industrialization; popular culture, art, literature and music; revolutionary alternatives; the Cold War in Latin America and state-sponsored violence; transnational flows of capital and labor.

Course Requirements

Students final grade will be computed according to the following criteria:

- Attendance and Classroom Participation (10%) 

- Two in-class exams (30%)

-One 2-3 pp. book review (20%).  Essay topic for book review will be handed out one week in advance of due date.  Grade for book review will be based on organization, development and clarity of argument; substantiation of thesis through textual material; and elegance of prose.

-Final Exam (40%)

Required Readings:

Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, Modern Latin America

Mark Danner, The Massacre at El Mozote (Available at University Co-op) 

Course Packet available Speedway 

Please check back for updates.

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

Please check back for updates.

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

Please check back for updates.

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

Please check back for updates.

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

Please check back for updates.

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

Please check back for updates.

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

This course surveys the history of Latin America from the period of the Wars for Independence in the early nineteenth century until the present. While the course aims to provide students with an understanding of the region as a whole, due to time constraints it will focus primarily on the histories of select countries, including Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, and Colombia. Drawing upon primary documents, audio/visual materials, and works produced by historians, the class will explore the racial, class, and gender hierarchies that emerged out of the region’s colonial and precolonial past and their impact on the lives of Latin American people. We will explore the struggle to create “nations” and the emergence of a neocolonial order in the nineteenth century. We will also examine the ways that popular mobilization against neocolonial social hierarchies led to the refashioning of the “nation” throughout the twentieth century. The course will conclude with an examination of the ways Latin Americans are navigating the increasingly transnational world of the early twenty-first century. Thus, the arc of the class prompts students to think about the history of the Americas as a history of transnational processes. 

Course Objectives:

(1) Enable students to develop a working knowledge of the key social, political, economic, and cultural developments in Latin American history since the Wars for Independence.

(2) Expose students to the complex relationship between local level developments and transnational processes across time and space.

(3) Encourage students to interrogate nationalism as a historical phenomenon, rather than a transhistorical given that stands outside of history

Required Readings:

John Chasteen, Born in Blood and Fire

José Vasconcelos, La Raza Cósmica/The Cosmic Race

C. Peter Ripley, Conversations with Cuba

Coursepack Readings

Grading

The breakdown of your grade is as follows: 

First two tests at 25% each 50%

Final Exam 30%

Active Class participation 20%

Please check back for updates.

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

Please check back for updates.

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.