Latin American Studies 600
Seminar in Latin American Studies
Fall 2015
Professor: Ramona L. Pérez, PhD
Office: AL 377 Center for Latin American Studies
Email: perez@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday 1:00 to 3:00pm, and by appointment
This course is a seminar introducing graduate students to Latin American Studies. It
provides a theoretical, historical, and conceptual survey of Latin American Studies
from the first European conquests in the Western Hemisphere to the beginning of
the Twenty-first century.
The seminar considers: (1) definitions of "Latin America;" (2) the historical
development of writing and research on Latin America; and (3) disciplinary
approaches to the study of Latin America.
Two principal objectives are to provide students with an understanding of the
diversity of intellectual and disciplinary approaches to the study of Latin America
and to develop an understanding of the academic organization of Latin American
Studies programs. To achieve these objectives, the course offers students an
opportunity to sample literary, artistic, historical, social science, popular,
environmental, and other writing and research on Latin America from the fifteenth
century to the present.
The course is organized as a seminar. Each week students will read assigned
material from the “required text” list. Students are expected to come to class each
week with all assigned readings and additional tasks completed and thoroughly
prepared for presentations and discussion. Short weekly analysis papers on the
assigned readings will be required for most of the weekly meetings. Students will be
expected to give organized oral presentations related to their weekly assignments
as well. The schedule of the seminar follows.
Required Readings
The following are required texts for the course and are available online at various
booksellers, including Amazon.com:
Black, J. K. (2011). Latin America: Its problems and its promise : a multidisciplinary
introduction. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Delpar, H. (2008). Looking South: The evolution of Latin Americanist scholarship in
the United States, 1850-1975. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.
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Fischer, Brodwyn, Bryan McCann, and Javier Ayuero, eds. (2014). Cities from
Scratch: Poverty and Informality in Urban Latin America. Duke University Press.
Goodale, Mark and Nancy Postero (2013). Neoliberalism, Interrupted: Social Change
and Contested Governance in Contemporary Latin America. Stanford University
Press.
Kingstone, P. R. (2011). The political economy of Latin America: Reflections on
neoliberalism and development. New York: Routledge.
Lehoucq, Fabrice (2012). The Politics of Modern Central America: Civil War,
Democratization, and Underdevelopment. Cambridge University Press.
Postero, Nancy Grey and Leon Zamosc, eds. (2004). The Struggle for Indigenous
Rights in Latin America. Sussex University Press.
Wade, Peter, Carlos Lopéz Beltrán, Eduardo Restrepo, and Ricardo Ventura Santos,
Eds. (2014). Mesitzo Genomics: Race Mixture, Nation, and Science in Latin America
Duke University Press.
*Other Essays to be determined/assigned in PDF format
Recommended Reading
A useful 1-volume survey of Latin American history:
Julie A. Charlip and E. Bradford Burns. Latin America: An Interpretive History. 9th
Edition. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. Earlier editions are
acceptable as well.
Course Outline: Please note: all articles are available through the SDSU
Library.
Week 1 (8/26) – Introduction to the Seminar: Expectations; research paper
discussion; and what is Latin America. Presentation and facilitation assignments.
Required Reading: Delpar, Looking South, entire book; Price, Marie D. and
Catherine W. Cooper, Competing Visions, Shifting Boundaries: The Construction of
Latin America as a World Region. Journal of Geography, 2007, 106:113-122. Please
be sure that you have written the 2-3 page summary for the readings of the week
when you come to class.
Week 2 (9/2) – Required Reading: Black, Chapters 1-9.
Week 3 (9/9) – Required Reading: Black, Chapters 10-14
Week 4 (9/16) – Required Reading: Kingstone, entire book (153 pp)
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Week 5 (9/23) – Required Reading: Goodale and Postero, Chapters 1-6
Week 6 (9/30) – Required Reading: Goodale and Poster, Chapters 7-9 and
Postscript; Medina, Laurie Kroshus, Governing through the Market: Neoliberal
Environmental Government in Belize, American Anthropologist, V. 117(2): 272-284.
Week 7 (10/7) – Required Reading: Postero and Zamosc, entire book (231 pp)
Week 8 (10/14) – Required Reading: Wade, et al, Chapters 1-3 and
Review/presentation of topics for Final Paper and turn in annotated bibliography.
Week 9 (10/21) – Required Reading: Wade, et al, Chapters 4-Conclusion; FarfánSantos, Elizabeth. “Fraudulent” Identities: The Politics of Defining Quilombo
Descendents in Brazil. Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, V.
20(1): 110-132.
Week 10 (10/28) – Required Reading: Fischer, et al Chapters 1-4
Week 11 (11/4) – Required Reading Fischer, et al, Chapters 5-9: McSweeney,
Kendra and Brad Jokisch, Native Amazonionas’ Strategic Urbanization: Shaping
Territorial Possibilities through Cities, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean
Anthropology, 2015, V. 20(1): 13-33.
Week 12 (11/11) – No Class, Veteran’s Day
Week 13 (11/18) – Lehoucq, entire book.
Week 14 (11/25) – No Class for Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 15 (12/2) – Student Presentations
Week 16 (12/9) – Student Presentations
General Objectives
This course provides a historical, conceptual, and theoretical survey of Latin
American Studies. By the end of the semester, it is expected that students will have a
good understanding of:
 Sources for scholarly and research information about Latin America
 The historical development of Latin America
 Evolution of academic and other substantive writing about Latin America
 The different methodologies and disciplines of Latin American Studies
 The emergence of Latin American Studies as an organized academic
discipline
Skill Objectives
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In addition to facilitating students’ acquisition of information about and
understanding of a complex and dynamic region, this course seeks to improve
students’ skills in critical thinking, analytical writing, oral presentations, and
multidisciplinary research.
Course Requirements
Requirements for the course include completing assigned readings, approximately
12 short weekly analysis papers (2-3pgs) on the readings, weekly presentations,
and a research paper. Participation in weekly classroom discussions is not only
expected but required. Oral presentations using PowerPoint are required of all
students for the draft research paper and the final paper. The research paper
provides the opportunity for students to explore in depth specific areas of interest
related to Latin American Studies and should be used to begin to develop students’
comprehensive exams or thesis topics. Students are expected to complete
assignments on time, attend class without fail, and contribute to class
discussions. Absences must be cleared with the professor.
Laptop and Cell Phone Policy
Use of computers in class is permitted, but only for taking notes during class
discussions or for showing PowerPoint presentations. The Wi-Fi or digital cellular
connection must be turned off while in class. Cell phones must be turned off in class
and not just in silent mode. Please let me know of any special circumstances that
require your cell phone to be turned on to silent mode.
Research Paper
The research paper is to be 15 to 20 pages in length and must include an abstract
and a detailed and complete bibliography in APA format (20 minimum) as well as
appropriate citations for passages and specific information cited in the text. Clear
and correct writing is an important component of the paper. The paper must
include: 1) a clear presentation of the topic and research question to be addressed;
2) discussion of the topic in the body of the paper with appropriate citations; and 3)
discussion of findings and conclusions. A presentation of the research paper topic
will be required in the final two weeks of class, with time allowed for class feedback.
Students will then submit a final, revised version of the paper no later than
Wednesday, December 16th, before 6:00pm.
Plagiarism is an ongoing problem at SDSU and elsewhere. Students in this course
are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is, knowing what SDSU policies
are for plagiarism, and avoiding plagiarism. A good place to start is an on-line
tutorial: http://infotutor.sdsu.edu/plagiarism/index.cfm. If you plagiarize, I will
flunk you and make the appropriate recommendations for academic suspension and
potential removal.
Short Written Assignments
Over the course of the semester, each student will prepare a written weekly analysis
paper on the required readings. These written assignments will usually be 2 or 3
4
pages in length. The review should focus on the main research questions or thesis of
the text under consideration. The papers should also present at least three
questions that may potentially be used for class discussion. It is expected that these
papers will be used to demonstrate the student’s understanding and engagement
with the assigned material. Prior to writing the first analyst paper, students should
look at the book review sections in professional journals such as Latin American
Research Review, Journal of Latin American Studies, Journal of Inter-American Affairs,
Journal of InterAmerican Studies and World Affairs/Latin American Politics and
Society, The Americas, Hispanic American Historical Review, Bulletin of Latin
American Studies, Ethnohistory, and others.
Annotated Bibliography
Approximately 7 weeks into the semester you will be required to turn in an
annotated bibliography with key sources that will be used for your final research
paper and to present the abstract for your final research paper. The minimum
number of entries for your bibliography are 20. I do not expect that you will have
read every source by this date but I will expect that you have completed a signicant
number and that you have refined your topic well enough to present on it.
Grading:
Research paper
Reading summaries and Class participation
Presentation
Annotated Bibliography
Total Possible Points for the course
150
120 (12 @ 10pts each)
50
50
370
Disability Statement
"If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for
this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619)
594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should
contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that
accommodations are not retroactive, and that I cannot provide accommodations
based upon disability until I have received an accommodation letter from Student
Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated."
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