The University of Rhode Island
Summer 2009
GORILLA? History 180 GUERRILLA?
DUE DATE
Late papers will lose points,
5 pts. per day
You MUST complete ALL assignments to pass the course.
All papers are due at the BEGINNING of class.

Papers arriving after the roll is called will be fined 5 points.

If you miss class to finish a paper, you will be fined two absences.
All semester ATTENDANCE counts for 10% of your grade.
You are expected to attend EVERY class. LIFE HAPPENS: Save absences for genuine emergencies and illnesses. For each unexcused absence, your final participation grade drops by 10%. During the summer session, more than two unexcused absences will make you subject to a failing grade in the class.
% of grade
10%
10%
Miscellaneous exams, homework & in-class assignments
Map quiz
Midterm Examination
Reading exams - identifications, matches, multiple choice, film reports etc.
Some of these assignments will be corrected in class.
Includes colonial in-class assignments ( Letters and People ).
Some are Pass/Fail.
Book reports due on Child of the Dark & Testimony
Child of the Dark & Testimony analytical paper (5-7 pages)
( Absolute deadline-beginning of class ).
Final Examination
The exam is scheduled for our usual time, in our regular classroom.
15%
15%
10%
20%
20%

DRA. ROSA MARÍA PEGUEROS URI Department of History

More than two unexcused absences may result in a failing grade. Every absence makes your attendance grade drop: 1=B; 2=C. If you are absent 3 times, you will FAIL THIS CLASS! If you have a death in the family, please take only one day. Classes meet only in the morning and you will lose a great deal if you miss class. Remember, you are doing an entire semester’s work–15 weeks--in five weeks.

Only legitimate excuses will be accepted.(doctor's notes, obituary notices, police reports, URI athletic dept. letters, etc.)
 Unacceptable excuses:
•My alarm clock didn't go off.
( Get a reliable alarm clock .)
•My roommate didn't wake me.
( It's not his/her responsibility .)
•The electricity went out in my dorm and my clock radio didn't go off.
( Get a battery-operated back-up .)
•I live in Northampton and it's a long commute.
( Drop this class: This is not an excuse .)
•I don’t go to class on Fridays. ( That’s what YOU think !)
•I was up all night and...
( If you were studying, you must learn to plan better;
if you were drinking and/or partying, you pay the consequences .)
•It was my birthday.
( When you're President of the U.S., you can take the day off AND declare a holiday .)
•My dog ate my alarm clock.
( Oh, come on ...)
•My grandmother died.
( AGAIN?
!)
–Woody Allen
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Phone: (401)874-4092
E-mail: pegueros@uri.edu
Mailbox: Washburn 113
URL : http://tinyurl.com/doxno
Office : 109 Washburn Hall
Office. hours : Daily after class & by appointment
NO faxed or e-mailed papers accepted.
REQUIRED TEXTS : *You will receive occasional readings by e-mail.
John Charles Chasteen, Of Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America (JCC)
Miguel Leon-Portilla. The Broken Spears: The
Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico ( TBS)
James Lockhart and Enrique Otte, eds .
Letters and People of the Spanish Indies,
Sixteenth Century (Letters)
Victor Montejo. Testimony (VM)
Carolina Maria de Jesus . Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus (CD)
Fidel Castro, History Will Absolve Me (FC)
…go to URL: http://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/archive/castro/1953/10/16.htm

WEEK 1: June 29, 30; July 1, 2 Introductions
•What it means to live in the age of information
•Introduction to the study of history
•Introduction to Latin American history:
•Before the conquest:
•Pre-Columbian America
•Europe before the Conquest of the Americas
•The Hispanic Background
Assignment:
•Read both Diary & Testimony for simple book reports (2) due July 16.
•Read JCC chap. 1-2-3; Time line and Glossary
•Memorize map of Latin America
◦the countries, their capitals, their correct placement on the map, see last page of syllabus)
◦
Exclude Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Belize, Haiti, the Galapagos Islands,
& the Falkland/Malvina Islands.]
WEEK 2: July 6, 7, 8, 9. . .Conquest and Colonization:
•Read: The Broken Spears (Must be read in its entirety by July 8)
JULY 4 is on Saturday: No interruption of class schedule!
Due: JULY 6 Map quiz: (Countries, capitals & their locations) 10%
Subjugation, Disease and Establishment of the New Order
Assignment:
•JCC, chap. 4
•Read Letters (Your particular letter will be assigned in class.)
Gender, race and class in colonial Latin America
Assignment:
•Read Letters
•Read JCC chap. 5 & 6
WEEK 3: July 13, 14, 15, 16. . . Transitions
JULY 9: MIDTERM EXAMINATION
July 16: Book reports due (one for each book, 1) Child of the Dark; 2) Testimony
For a helpful guide to writing a book report is included in this syllabus. [See p.4]
The Transition to Nationhood/Independence from Spain
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The Dilemma of Latin American Poverty: Economic theories.
Attempted solutions.
Assignment:
•Read JCC chap. 7
•Work on Testimony & Child of the Dark analytical paper
Week 4: July 20, 21, 22, 23. . . Independence from Spain
ANALYTICAL PAPER DUE JULY 23: 20% of grade
Absolute deadline --beginning of class
Assignment:
•Read JCC chap. 8
•Work on Testimony & Child of the Dark analytical paper
The Nineteenth Century in Latin America
The Monroe Doctrine...The Alamo...The Porfiriato in Mexico
Assignment:
•Read JCC chap. 9 & 10
The Mexican Revolution
Assignment:
•Read JCC chap. 11
Week 5: July 27, 28, 29. . .Late 20 th
century revolutions
July 23: 5-7 page paper due:
.
Cuba and the Dominican Republic
Assignment:
•Read FC, “
History will absolve me
”
Final Exam: THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2006
@ Regular class time. Location: Our regular classroom.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
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I remember the name of every student I’ve caught
 cheating. Please don’t add your name to the list!
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These handouts were created as short, introductory teaching modules for Writing Centre tutors within the Effective Writing
Program. They provide quick answers to our students' most commonly asked questions about academic writing: what's the difference between a book report and a book review? How do I use the comma in an academic paper? The topics covered are determined by our needs, and all handouts are introductory rather than comprehensive.
A book report concentrates on a summary of what the author has to say, and only marginally comments on the reader's opinion of what the author says and how he/she says it. It is a factual account of the book's subject matter, meant to be descriptive rather than analytic or persuasive. A good book report is well organized, gives a sense of the book as a whole, and includes publication details.
Introduction:

Give the name of the book you have read, the author, and the publishing details.

Tell the reader how the book is organized.

Tell the reader the main thesis or argument of the book.
Summary of Content:

Take each section of the book and summarize the important points in that section, and how it relates to the overall structure and content.

Give each section proportional weight in your summary. For example, if the book is divided into four sections of approximately equal length, you should devote the same amount of space in your summary for each section. If, however, section one is twice as long as the other three sections, you should devote more space to a discussion of this section than the other three.
The Conclusion: Tell the reader why you liked/ didn't like the book, referring to elements discussed in your introduction and summary sections.

Have I included all the important publication details of the book in my report?

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
Have I organized my summary in a way that is easy to follow and reflects the organization of the book?

Have I used headings to indicate major divisions within the book/ and within my summary?

Have I accurately represented the point of view of the author of the book?

Have I accurately represented the structure of the argument presented in the book?

Have I avoided inserting my opinion of the subject matter dealt with in the book?

Have I indicated at the end of the report whether or not I liked the book and why?
Copyright ©© 2000 by The University of Western Ontario. All rights reserved.
This document may be distributed only when done entirely with all attributions to organizations and authors. Commercial distribution is strictly prohibited. Last Updated: July 3, 2000
 failure to underline the title of the book
 incomplete sentences (Every sentence needs a noun and a verb.)
 use of slang or casual language in an academic paper (like guy instead of man )
 uncapitalized proper nouns
 capitalized common nouns like favela
 swaying back and forth between past and present tense
 failure to use your computer’s spell check utility
 confusing everyday (which means ‘ordinary’) with every day

-mixing up words that sound the same but have completely different meanings such as there and their , weather and whether, and worst of all, gorilla (a large ape) and guerrilla (a non-official army combatant) or similar words like accept and except
Make sure you are choosing the right one from the spell checker
 Victor was a schoolteacher, not a professor. A professor is one who has higher degrees, usually a
PhD and teaches at the university/college level. Long after he left Guatemala, he completed his
PhD and became a professor.
 failure to identify a person is (For instance, you mention Manuel but you don’t tell the reader who he is)
 overuse of adjectives
 goofy punctuation
 misspelling the author’s name (Carolina Maria de Jesus’s first name IS CAROLINA, not Maria.)
Errors common for non-native English speakers:
 leaving off -ed at the end of past tense words
 failure to join compound words, for example, writing sometimes instead of some times

The true stories of the lives of two individuals in different parts of Latin America.
July 23: 5-7 page paper due:
20% of grade
Absolute deadline -beginning of class.
The issue is: how hardship built the characters of these two people.
Character: moral excellence and firmness
--Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary
Testimony by Victor Montejo (Guatemala) and
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Child of the Dark by Carolina Maria de Jesus (Brazil)
NOTE: Neither one of these books is a novel. A novel is a work created entirely from someone’s imagination. Testimony is a witness-account of a real event;
Child of the Dark is a diary.
In the book reports, you related what happened to Victor Montejo and Carolina Maria de Jesus and how they recounted those events. In this paper, you will compare and contrast the two stories, use quotations to illustrate your points, and write a conclusion that summarizes your thinking about these books and why you think that they are important.
Compare and contrast the lives of the two narrators; use the following questions to help shape your answer.
Consider the hardships they face:

What challenges do they overcome?

What political and economic conditions have shaped their lives?

How do their choices reflect the values of their societies?

How and what motivates them to overcome hardship? Use specific examples from the texts.
One place to start (a suggestion):
Make a chart with two columns.
List the things that Victor and Carolina have in common; then list the differences.
Make sure that you understand them . Do you really understand what a favela is? Do you really understand what a rural highland village in Guatemala is? Have you or anyone in your family ever had the experience of living in poverty? Of living under a dictatorship? Which of your biases make you assume facts about their lives?
Make sure you understand the different eras when they lived. De Jesus has been dead for 30 years!
Carolina Maria de Jesus (1914-1977)
After a few years of success following the publication of her diary, de Jesus was forced back into poverty.
She died destitute. Her children’s lives were marked by substance abuse and hardship. For more about her life as well as a thoughtful analysis about the meaning of her life, success, and ultimate return to poverty, as well as the lives of her children, see The Life and Death of Carolina Maria de Jesus by Robert
M. Levine and José Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1995)
Victor Montejo (1951- )
Victor Montejo, a Jakaltek Maya/Guatemalan who was forced to flee Guatemala in the late 1970s, is a professor of anthropology at the University of California at Davis. He lives with his wife and children. He has lectured in the United States, Central America and Europe. He has written several books including
The Bird Who Cleans the World and Other Mayan Fables and El Q'anil: The Man of Lightning . His longawaited publication of a new children's version of Popol Vuh: A Sacred Book of the Maya is the first attempt to provide an authoritative version of the Mayan creation story for younger readers. He now returns regularly to Guatemala, where he has been an active member of the Peace Commission.
:
Outstanding = A
Excellent = A-
Good = B
Above average = B-

Needs work = C
Needs a lot of work = C-
Read the comments carefully and incorporate the corrections into the final paper.
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Please read these rules and use them to decide whether you want to stay in the class. If you cannot or will not comply, please drop the class. There is no reason for you to be miserable or for me to have to put up with your boredom, sulking, inattentiveness, or subversion. You don’t have to be here. If you don’t want to be, please leave. If you stay, put your heart into it.
Always BEHAVE honorably. 1.
2.
3.
Attend Every Class.
Do all the reading; study every day.
4. Take good notes in class.
5. Be punctual.
6. Do your own work; no cheating.
7. Give credit to authors whose work you use for your papers: No plagiarism.
8. Learn Actively!
9.
Don’t lie to yourself.
10. Please don’t lie to me.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
I am a stickler about attendance. You MUST be here for every class session unless you have a verifiable reason for missing it. There are many excuses for missing class but only two for attending: You want to succeed in this class and in your college career. Aside from studying and taking good notes, maintaining perfect or near-perfect attendance for every class section is the single most important thing you can do to succeed in this course. 10% of your grade is for attendance. It may not seem like much, but it can make the difference between an “A-” or a “B+”. During the summer session, if you are absent twice without a verifiable excuse, YOU WILL FAIL THE CLASS.
Studying Latin American history is like learning a foreign language or a lab science. You MUST study every single day because if you don’t, you will fail. I have designed the course with occasional exams on the basic readings and lectures, as well as in-class writing assignments. These count for part of your grade. All of these grades, except the map quiz (10%), will be averaged together; I will not drop any grades. The only weeks that you will not have the exams will be the week of the midterm and the week of spring break. Keep up with the reading; waiting until the week before the midterm or the final will is self-defeating.

BE ON TIME! Prompt attendance is also required. A rare instance of tardiness is not significant in the long run but consistent lateness is rude and distracting to both the professor and your peers. THREE LATE
INSTANCES WILL BE COUNTED AS AN ABSENCE.
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The University of Rhode Island has clear punishments for those who are caught cheating.
The very first section of the URI Student Handbook is on Honesty. Please acquaint yourself with the whole policy. The following are only two of its short but critical sections.
From the URI STUDENT HANDBOOK
Section 1.4 Academic Honesty
Students are expected to be honest in all academic work. Cheating is the claiming credit for work not done independently without giving credit for aid received, or unauthorized possession or access to exams, or any unauthorized communication during examinations.
Section 1.10 Records of Academic Dishonesty
Any record of scholastic integrity infractions where actions have been taken (i.e., assignment of an “F” on an assignment and notification of the student’s dean, dean’s authorization to assign an “F” for the course, or referral to the University Student Discipline System) will be forwarded to the Office of Student Life. A cumulative file will be maintained in that office.
The Dean of Students will notify the student’s dean of subsequent infractions.
Dr. Pegueros adds:
The internet has made plagiarism easy but the effects of it are very corrosive. It becomes a bad habit, and then an addiction that can’t be broken. It creates distrust between students and their classmates, as well as between students and professors. It turns instructors into police; we spend endless hours trying to design assignments that cannot be duplicated. For me, cheating destroys the good chemistry of an enjoyable class. Copying or purchasing a paper off of the web is so self-evidently wrong, you shouldn’t even consider it. I’m a teacher.
Please don’t make me police you. Finally, it brings dishonor upon you, your family, and your university. Please don’t do it.

from the URI STUDENT HANDBOOK
Section 1.6 Crediting sources
“In preparing papers or themes, a student often needs, or is required, to employ sources of information or opinion. All such sources used in preparing to write or in writing a paper shall be listed in the bibliography. It is not necessary to give footnote reference for specific facts that are common knowledge and have obtained general agreement. However, facts, observations, and opinions which are new discoveries or are debatable shall be identified with correct footnote references even when restated in the student’s own words. Material taken word-for word from the written or oral statement of another person must be enclosed in quotation marks and the source cited. Paraphrasing or summarizing the content of another’s work is usually acceptable if the source is clearly identified but does not constitute independent work and may be rejected by the instructor.”
So what does this mean? It means that ANY time you use somebody else’s work you must give that person credit. It doesn’t matter if you copied it word for word, or put it in your own words. If it isn’t an original thought that came completely out of your brain, you must cite your sources.
EXAMPLE:
Acceptable:
Quotation
1) Henry David Thoreau said,” The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." 1
Paraphrase
2) A nineteenth century American philosopher once said that most people are bored to death.
2
1
Henry D. Thoreau, “Economy,” The Annotated Walden, edited and annotated by Philip Van Doren Stern (New York:
Bramhall House, 1970) 152. (Use the form your instructor prefers.)
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Unacceptable: (Plagiarism!)
1) Henry David Thoreau said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
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[Even though it is quoted, since there is no footnote, the reader will not know if Thoreau actually said it, or if you just made it up and attributed it to him to give the paper more weight.]
2) “The incidence of alcohol consumption among college students makes me think that the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
[
No footnote. A reader that hasn’t read Thoreau might think that you made a very pithy observation. You might get away with it with your friends, but it won’t fly in an academic paper and it can result in censure and a record of academic dishonesty in your student record, suspension, or expulsion .]
I encourage you to see one of the films in Spanish or Portuguese. They have subtitles. If you view them in the media center, the titles are easy to read because the screen is close to your face.

= by or featuring women

/

=gay or lesbian

= about enslaved Africans
Titles in Italics are documentaries.
In English:
The Mission
Burn!
 
One Man’s Hero

State of Siege

In the Time of the Butterflies
Missing
Frida Kahlo
Latino
Death and the Maiden

Under Fire
Romero
Salvador
The Burning Season: The Chico Mendes Story
In Spanish: with English subtitles
Cabeza de Vaca Camila

The Battle of Chile, part 1 The Battle of Chile, part 2
Chile, Obstinate Memory
Yo, La Peor de Todas
 
The Pinochet Case
Improper Conduct

/

El Norte


The Official Story
In Portuguese: with English subtitles
Xica Da Silva
 
Quilombo

Pixote Voice of the Amazon (Chico Mendes)
2 Henry D. Thoreau, “Economy,” The Annotated Walden, edited and annotated by Philip Van Doren Stern (New York:
Bramhall House, 1970) 152.

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