HIST 4128: Modern Mexico
Fredy González
MWF 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM, Humanities 125
Office Hours: Monday 4-5 PM; Thursday 10-11 AM, Hellems 346
Email: fredy.gonzalez@colorado.edu
Telephone: (303) 492-0164
Course Goals and Objectives
This course will give a broad overview of the challenges that Mexico faced after independence
and provide the historical context for the country’s present-day struggles. It will understand how
Mexico has been affected by migration to and contact with the United States, while also
understanding the cultural impact from Europe, Africa, and Asia. Moreover, the course will
present Mexico’s stunning cultural diversity throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Course Requirements
The final grade for this course will depend on course attendance and participation (10%), a map
quiz (10%), a film response paper (10%), a midterm (20%); a 4-6 page paper (20%) and a final
exam (30%).
Participation: Attendance and active participation is required at class meetings. Active
participation is demonstrated by students who have prepared and reflected on the readings in
advance.
Map quiz: An in-class map quiz on January 31 will require students to identify major cities and
geographical regions of Mexico.
Midterm Exam: This in-class exam on February 28 will cover topics from the first half of the
course and will consist of terms for identification, an identification of a primary source from the
first half of the course, and an essay question. You will need an examination blue book for both
the midterm and the final, which you may purchase at the CU Bookstore.
Final Exam: The final exam will cover topics from the entire course, but will emphasize themes
from the second half of the course. It will consist of terms for identification, a short essay
question on the three books we have read for the course, and a longer essay question on the
major themes of the second half of the course. The exam will privilege the second half of the
course.
Film response: Students are responsible for viewing at least one of the following four films and
writing a 3 page response paper tying the film to the major themes of the course. Films will be
placed on D2L. Response papers for any given film are due one week after the film screening.
Los Olvidados (1950) [Week 6]
Vámonos Con Pancho Villa (1936) [Week 8]
La Ley de Herodes (1999) [Week 11]
Mexico: The Frozen Revolution (1973) [Week 12]
Amores Perros (2000) [Week 14]
Y Tu Mamá También (2001) [Week 14]
Paper: You are responsible for writing a 4-6 page paper on Refried Elvis. The paper must have
an argument and be based primarily on the book. I will hand out a paper prompt for the paper
two weeks before the due date with possible essay topics. The final grade of a paper will be
reduced by one-third of a letter grade for each day it is late.
All written assignments must be double spaced, written in 12 point font, with one-inch margins.
Regular and prompt attendance is expected. I won’t place PowerPoint slides on D2L. If you miss
a class, please ask to obtain the notes from other students. There are no scheduled make-up
exams for either the midterm or final exams unless you have made prior arrangements with me
or unless you have a documented medical excuse.
You may calculate your final grade based on the percentages above. Final grades will be
assessed as follows:
100-94: A
83-80: B-
69-67: D+
93-90: A-
79-77: C+
66-64: D
89-87: B+
76-74: C
63-60: D-
86-84: B
73-70: C-
59-0: F
Other Policies
There will be no laptops or phones allowed in class. Students will be expected to take notes on
paper.
You may speak to me in any language we have in common, but the language of instruction is
English and all assignments should be turned in in English.
University Policies
Disabilities and Medical Conditions: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability,
please submit to your professor a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner (for exam
accommodations provide your letter at least one week prior to the exam) so that your needs can
be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities.
Contact Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or by e-mail at dsinfo@colorado.edu. If you have a
temporary medical condition or injury, see Temporary Medical Conditions: Injuries, Surgeries,
and Illnesses guidelines under Quick Links at Disability Services website and discuss your needs
with your professor.
Religious Observances: Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty
make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious
obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. I ask for
at least a one-week notice of any conflict so that I may make alternate arrangements. See full
details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html.
Classroom Behavior: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an
appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be
subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect
to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion, creed, politics,
veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, disability,
and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will
gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise
me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records.
See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at
http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code.
Discrimination and Harassment: The University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) is
committed to maintaining a positive learning, working, and living environment. The University
of Colorado does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability,
creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status in admission and access to, and treatment and
employment in, its educational programs and activities. (Regent Law, Article 10, amended
11/8/2001). CU-Boulder will not tolerate acts of discrimination or harassment based upon
Protected Classes or related retaliation against or by any employee or student. For purposes of
this CU-Boulder policy, "Protected Classes" refers to race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy,
age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or veteran
status. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against should contact the Office
of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Student Conduct
(OSC) at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH, the above referenced policies, and the
campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be
obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh.
Honor Code: All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing
and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may
include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and
threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code
Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-735-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the
academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member (a
failing grade in the course) and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university
probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/.
Assigned Readings
Gilbert M. Joseph and Jurgen Buchenau, Mexico's Once and Future Revolution: Social Upheaval
and the Challenge of Rule since the Late Nineteenth Century (Required)
Luis Alberto Urrea, The Devil's Highway: A True Story (Required)
Eric Zolov, Refried Elvis: The Rise of the Mexican Counterculture (Required)
Gilbert M. Joseph and Timothy Henderson, The Mexico Reader (Required)
Alicia Hernandez Chavez, Mexico: A Brief History (Optional)
D2L
Some course readings will be on our Desire to Learn (D2L) server. You can access these
materials at learn.colorado.edu – log in with your CU login name and password.
Week 1
January 13
January 15
January 17
Course Introduction
Legacies of the Colonial Period
The War for Independence
The Mexico Reader: “Why the Indians
Are Dying”, pp. 122-130; Mark A.
Burkholder, “The Spiritual Conquest”,
pp. 114-121; “The Colonial
Latifundio”, pp. 131-140.
D2L: Robert W. Patch, “Indian
Resistance to Colonialism”, pp. 175202 The Oxford History of Mexico
Week 2
January 20
January 22
January 24
No Class – Martin Luther King Jr.
Holiday
The First Mexican Empire
The Early Mexican Republic
The Mexico Reader: “The Siege of
Guanajuato”, pp. 171-188; “Plan of
Iguala”, pp. 192-195
D2L: Virginia Gueda, “The Old
Colonialism Ends, the New
Colonialism Begins” pp. 265-284 The
Oxford History of Mexico
Week 3
January 27
January 29
January 31
Santa Anna and the Centralized State
The Loss of Texas and the US War
Society and Culture in the First Half of
the Nineteenth Century
The Mexico Reader: “The Glorious
Revolution of 1844”, pp. 206-212,
“Décimas Dedicated to Santa Anna’s
Leg”, pp. 213-216
Map Quiz
D2L: Christon I. Archer, “Fashioning a
New Nation” pp. 285-318 The Oxford
History of Mexico; Josefina Zoraida
Vázquez, “War and Peace with the
United States” The Oxford History of
Mexico pp. 319-348; Manuel Mier y
Terán, “Letter to War Department”, pp.
52-55, Antonio López de Santa Anna,
“Message to the Inhabitants of Texas”,
pp. 59-60, “Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo”, pp. 120-123 in Ernesto
Chávez, The U.S. War with Mexico: A
Brief History with Documents
Week 4
February 3
February 5
February 7
La Reforma
The French Intervention and the
Second Mexican Empire
The Restored Republic
The Mexico Reader: “Offer of the
Crown to Maximilian”, pp. 263-264”;
“A Letter from Mexico”, 265-269
D2L: Paul Vanderwood, “Betterment
for Whom? The Reform Period: 185575” The Oxford History of Mexico pp.
349-372.
Week 5
February 10
Society and Culture in the Middle of
the Nineteenth Century
The Making of the Porfiriato
Modernization and its Costs
The Mexico Reader: “The Triumph of
the Republic”, 270-272
The Mexico Reader: “Scenes From a
Lumber Camp”, pp. 279-284
February 19
February 21
Society and Culture During the
Porfiriato
Asian Migration to Mexico
The Liberal Indictment
Week 7
February 24
February 26
February 28
The Overthrow of Díaz
Midterm Review
Midterm
The Mexico Reader: “President Díaz,
Hero of the Americas”, pp. 285-291
February 12
February 14
Week 6
February 17
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution,
pp. 15-30
D2L: Pablo Piccato, “The Modern
City” in City of Suspects: Crime in
Mexico City, 1900-1931, pp. 17-33;
Evelyn Hu-Dehart, “Immigrants to a
Developing Society: the Chinese in
Northern Mexico” Journal of Arizona
History (1980), 49-86; John
Coatsworth, “Railroads, Landholding,
and Agrarian Protest” in Mexico: From
Independence to Revolution, 18101910, pp. 260-272
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution,
pp. 30-36
Week 8
March 3
March 5
March 7
Madero and the Failure of Democracy
Huerta and the Failure of Dictatorship
Society and Culture During the Age of
Violence
The Mexico Reader: “Plan of Ayala”,
pp. 339-343; “Pancho Villa” pp. 364371
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution
pp. 36-54
Week 9
March 10
March 12
March 14
Week 10
March 17
March 19
March 21
Mexican Migration to the United States
(I): The Mexican Revolution to
Mexican Repatriation
Alvaro Obregón Implements the
Constitution
Mexico Under Plutarco Elías Calles
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution,
55- 85
México Under Lázaro Cárdenas
Society and Culture From Obregón to
Cárdenas
From Revolution to Evolution
The Mexico Reader: “The Constitution
of 1917: Articles 27 and 123” pp. 398402; “Mexico Must Become a Nation
of Institutions and Laws” pp. 421-425;
“The Oil Expropriation” 452-455
D2L: Francisco E. Balderrama and
Raymond Rodríguez, “Introduction:
Saludos” in Decade of Betrayal:
Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s, pp.
1-5; George Sánchez, “Farewell
Homeland” in Becoming Mexican
American, pp. 17-37; Gabriela Cano,
“Unconcealable Realities of Desire:
Amelio Robles’s (Transgender)
Masculinity in the Mexican
Revolution” in Sex in Revolution, pp.
35-56.
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution
87-139
D2L: Jean Meyer, “An Idea of Mexico:
Catholics in the Revolution” in The
Eagle and the Virgin: Nation and
Cultural Revolution in Mexico, 281296
Week 11
March 31
April 2
April 4
The Institutionalized Revolution
Mexican Migration to the United States
(II): The Bracero Program and
Operation Wetback
Mexico under Adolfo López Mateos
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution
141-158
D2L: “The Sickle, The Serpent, and the
Soil: History, Revolution, Nationhood,
and Modernity in the Murals of Diego
Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and
David Alfaro Siqueiros” and “Painting
in the Shadow of the Big Three: Frida
Kahlo” in The Eagle and the Virgin:
Nation and Cultural Revolution in
Mexico pp. 43-67; Deborah Cohen,
“Agriculture, State Expectations, and
the Expectation of Citizenship” in
Braceros: Migrant Citizens and
Transnational Subjects in Postwar
United States and Mexico pp. 21-46
Week 12
April 7
April 9
April 11
Week 13
April 14
April 16
April 18
La Onda: The Rise of Mexican Rock
Music
Época de Oro Filmmaking
Díaz Ordaz and Tlatelolco
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution
158-166
Society and Culture Since World War
II
The 1982 Debt Crisis
The 1985 Earthquake
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution
pp. 167-196
Eric Zolov, Refried Elvis: The Rise of
Mexican Counterculture, pp. 1-166
Eric Zolov, Refried Elvis: The Rise of
Mexican Counterculture, pp. 167-260
D2L: Louise Walker, “Earthquake:
Civil Society in the Rubble of
Tlatelolco” in Waking from the Dream:
Mexico’s Middle Classes after 1968 pp.
173-199
Week 14
April 21
April 23
April 25
NAFTA
The Fall And Rise of the PRI
Leftist Politics in Mexico: From
Zapatistas to López Obrador
Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution
pp. 197-215
The Mexico Reader: “EZLN Demands
at the Dialogue Table” pp. 638-646;
“The Long Journey From Despair to
Hope” pp. 646-655.
Luis Alberto Urrea, The Devil’s
Highway, parts one and two
Week 15
April 28
April 30
May 2
The War on Drugs in Mexico
Mexican Migration to the United States
(III): Undocumented Migration, 1970spresent
Final Review
Luis Alberto Urrea, The Devil’s
Highway, parts three and four