Professor Gregory Weeks                                                                                       

Political Science 3144

Fall 2007

Office Hours:  MW 3:15-4:15 (Fretwell 435N)

E-mail: gbweeks@uncc.edu

www.politicalscience.uncc.edu/gbweeks

Latin American Politics

 

 

This course provides an overview of Latin American politics, focusing on the interplay between international, national, and local political factors.  Consideration of Latin American politics in the twentieth century focuses especially upon competing political ideologies, the relationship between socio-economic change, international political economy, and internal political change.  Attention is given to the generally unsuccessful efforts to institutionalize constitutional democracy in the region, and the challenges that would-be reformers continue to face.  The role of major political interests and groups is analyzed, including the role of the church, military institutions, business and labor organizations, agrarian elites, and a variety of political parties and movements.  We take a look at a number of different specific case studies to get a better appreciation of region-wide issues.

Required Texts and Readings

 

Sandra Benitez, The Weight of All Things

Charles H. Blake  Politics in Latin America   

Ariel Dorfman  Death and the Maiden

 

Examinations and Coursework

There will be two exams.  The midterm will take place on October 3 and the final will take place on Monday, December 10 from 2:00-4:45 p.m..  Each exam will constitute 30% of your grade.  Furthermore, there will be two in-class quizzes on the two works of fiction.  If he are unable to answer the quiz question intelligibly, two points will be taken off the next exam. (Benitez for the midterm, and Dorfman for the final exam).

 

A research hypothesis paper will be due on November 28 and will constitute 30% of the grade.  It should be approximately 10-12 pages in length (12 point font, normal margins, etc.). 

 

  1. Choose a topic that interests you.  Some possibilities:

 

--the effects of free trade

--the effects of women’s rights movements

--success of democratization

--subordination of the military to civilian rule

--the changing political influence of the Catholic church

--the effects of immigration

--the political effects of poverty

--the relative strength of Congress and the President

--the debate of market-based vs. state-led economic development

--the reasons for and/or effects of the rise of populism and left-leaning presidents

--you may also focus on an issue for a specific country

 

  1. Choose five books and/or academic journal articles on that topic.  You may use any book in the university library, but articles MUST come from one of the following academic journals, all of which are available with full text through the library:

 

    • Latin American Research Review
    • Journal of Latin American Studies
    • Bulletin of Latin American Research
    • Latin American Politics & Society
    • Latin American Perspectives
    • The Latin Americanist
    • American Political Science Review
    • Perspectives on Politics
    • American Journal of Political Science
    • Political Science Quarterly
    • Journal of Politics
    • Comparative Politics
    • Comparative Political Studies

 

If you wish to use a different journal, you MUST get prior approval.  It has to be a peer-reviewed academic journal.

 

  1. For each of those five books and/or articles, write a 2 page discussion of hypothesis, method(s), and conclusion.
  2. Then write a 1-2 page analysis of what hypothesis you believe is most appropriate for the topic, and the methods most appropriate to measure it.

 

Remember that plagiarism is a serious offense, and will not be tolerated.  Each student will upload their paper into turnitin.com, which checks for copied sentences, phrases, and paragraphs.  I will provide instructions for how to do this.  Copying without giving credit to the original author (or simply cutting and pasting from websites) will result in an automatic “F” in the course.

 

I strongly urge you to talk to me if you have any questions as you write your paper.  Our schedule is obviously crammed into a short time frame, so if you have any doubts about how to write the paper, how to find references, or anything else, just let me know and I can help you out.  I will also be happy to read a draft of a paper and give you comments.  We will be spending some class time in computer labs to search the university’s library databases.

 

The remaining 10% of your grade will be based on class participation.  This does not only mean attending class, but also offering your thoughts, opinions, or even questions about the topics we’re discussing, and bringing up relevant current events regarding Latin America.

Topics and Reading Assignments

 

Week 1 (August 20 & 22) Introduction & Early Political Foundations

 

Blake, Chapter 1

 

Week 2 (August 27 & 29) Political & Cultural Legacies; Mexican politics as illustration

 

Blake, Chapters 2 & 10

 

Week 3 (September 5) Into the 20th Century

NO CLASS THIS WEEK – I WILL BE AT A LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES CONFERENCE

 

Blake, Chapters 3 & 4

 

Week 4 (September 10 & 12) Politics & Revolution in Cuba

 

Blake, Chapter 8

Julia Sweig, “Fidel’s Final Victory.”  Foreign Affairs 86, 1 (Jan/Feb 2007)

 

Weeks 5 & 6 (September 17 & 19; 24 & 26) The Cold War; Central America

SEPTEMBER 17 WILL BE LIBRARY PRESENTATION ON RESEARCH (ROOM 124)

 

Blake, Chapter 9 (Guatemala)

Susan Coutin, “The Odyssey of Salvadoran Asylum Seekers,” NACLA Report on the Americas 37, 6 (2004) on WebCT

Browse Guatemala documents: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/latin_america/guatemala.html  What do they tell us about international influence?

 

Benitez, The Weight of All Things Read entire novel, plus in-class quiz

 

Week 7 (October 1 and 3) Politics & Revolution in Cuba (cont.); Populism

MIDTERM EXAM ON OCTOBER 3

 

Blake, Chapter 5 (Argentina)

Blake, pp. 93-103 (on Peru)

 

Week 8 (October 8 &10) Political Development in Venezuela

NO CLASS ON OCTOBER 8

 

Weeks 9 (October 15 & 17) Political Development in Chile

 

Blake, Chapter 7 (Chile)

Weeks, “Inching Toward Democracy: Chilean Civil-Military Relations Under Lagos” in Silvia Borzutzy and Lois Hecht Oppenheim, After Pinochet: The Chilean Road to Democracy and the Market (2006) On Blackboard

 

Week 10 (October 22 & 24) The Long Term Role of the Military; Brazil

 

Blake, Chapter 6 (Brazil)

 

Week 11 (October 29 & 31) Brazil (cont.); Women and Politics in Latin America

 

Veronica Shcild, “’Gender Equity’ Without Social Justice: Women’s Rights in the Neoliberal Age,” NACLA Report on the Americas 34, 1 (2000) on Blackboard

 

Week 12 (November 5 & 7) Enduring Legacies of Dictatorship

 

Ariel Dorfman, read the entire play, in-class quiz

 

Week 13 (November 12 & 14; November 19) The Past/Future of Debt and Development

NO CLASS ON NOVEMBER 21

 

Blake, pp. 50-55; 80-92; 143-151; 190-200; 349-355; 390-396

 

Week 14 (November 26 & 28) Contemporary U.S. Policy Toward Latin America

HYPOTHESIS PAPER DUE NOVEMBER 28

 

William M. LeoGrande, “A Poverty of Imagination: George W. Bush’s Policy on Latin America.” Journal of Latin American Studies 39 (2007) on Blackboard

 

Week 15 (December 3 & 5) The Future of Democracy and Review

 

Mitchell A. Seligson, “The Rise of Populism and the Left in Latin America.”  Journal of Democracy 18, 3 (2007) on Blackboard

 

Academic Integrity

 

All UNC Charlotte students have the responsibility to be familiar with and to observe the requirements of The UNC Charlotte Code of Student Academic Integrity (see the Catalog). This Code forbids cheating, fabrication or falsification of information, multiple submission of academic work, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials (such as Library books on reserve), and complicity in academic dishonesty (helping others to violate the Code). Any further specific requirements or permission regarding academic integrity in this course will be stated by the instructor, and are also binding on the students in this course. Students who violate the Code can be punished to the extent of being permanently expelled from UNC Charlotte and having this fact recorded on their official transcripts. The normal penalty is zero credit on the work involving dishonesty and further substantial reduction of the course grade. In almost all cases, the course grade is reduced to "F." If you do not have a copy of the Code, you can obtain one from the Dean of Students Office or access it online at http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-105.html.  Standards of academic integrity will be enforced in this course. Students are expected to report cases of academic dishonesty they become aware of to the course instructor who is responsible for dealing with them.