City Life in
South America
Prof. Pablo Ben
Arts & Letters, Office 523
pben@mail.sdsu.edu
HIST 582: Section 1: City Life in South America
PSFA-300, Tuesdays 4:00 to 6:40 pm.
Office Hours:
Wednesdays, 1:00 – 4:00 pm or by appointment.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will present the urban history of South America with an emphasis on the history of
Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The course will discuss the importance of cities in
South America in comparison to other parts of the world. After a brief introduction to the
region through readings on colonial history, students will focus on the 1880 to 2012 period.
The first part of the course presents the rise of the largest cities in South America between the
1880s and 1930s, exploring issues like migration, race, gender, urban planning, the
configuration of space, etc. After examining these topics the students will study the recent
transformation of a few South American cities into megalopolis, the problems associated to this
change and the impact of urban growth in the context of economic decline between the 1960s
and 1990s. The last part of the course focuses on the growing gap between the wealthy and the
poor in the last decades. In this context, students will focus on the housing problem, the
formation of slums, poverty, the rise of crime, increasing spatial segregation and drawing of
racial boundaries.
LEARNING OUTCOME STATEMENTS
This course includes the following learning outcomes:
-
-
Analyze the role of space in the study of history and compare the different impact that
the social formation of urban space had in South American cities.
Contextualize historical documents against the backdrop of the urban space in which
they were produced.
Define the meaning of concepts such as: demographic transition, population explosion,
income gap, urbanization, push-and-pull theory, migration, sex ratio (demography),
export-boom, import-substitution industrialization, racial classification, racism, grid,
overcrowding, suburbanization, tenement house, Haussmannization, protectionism,
neoliberalism, slum formation, etc.
Debate about the different viewpoints concerning the development of cities in South
America.
Empathize with a variety of historical and political experiences of Latin American social
groups during the era.
Formulate an educated opinion on the topics taught in the course and articulate such
point of view with the reading material.
Explain the conditions under which different countries in Latin America experienced
urbanization.
Describe the reasons why South America is one of the most urbanized areas of the world
and summarize the history of major cities since the conquest.
Asses the importance of migration and demography in the analysis of cities.
Distinguish the characteristics of the variety of reading and visual materials offered
throughout the course (secondary bibliography and primary sources, but also the
difference between newspaper articles, comics, movies, etc.).
Organize the historical events discussed in the course in chronological order and asses
the importance of the sequence of events.
-
Narrate the complex history of South American cities through the essays assigned by
the professor and through class participation.
Formulate questions about the most important topics in the reading materials.
Differentiate the role of a variety of social groups and state agencies within the same
cities.
Identify the importance of international trends in local contexts and the relevance of
national events for global processes.
GRADING
For undergraduate students:
Assignment
- First Essay
- Quizzes
- Class Participation
- Final Draft
-Final Essay
Percentage of the grade
Due Date
25%
10%
15%
15%
35%
3/26
2/26 and 4/16
3 classes to be assigned by prof.
April 25th
May 10th
For graduate students:
Assignment
- First Essay
- Class Participation
- Final Draft
-Final Essay
- Additional Essay
Percentage of the grade
Due Date
20%
10%
10%
30%
30%
3/26
3 classes to be assigned by prof.
April 25th
May 10th
May 10th
Grade
Points
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
94-100
90-93
87-89
83-86
79-82
75-78
72-74
68-71
67
66
65
Below 65
ASSIGNMENTS AND DUE DATES
Students will still be expected to complete assignments on time. If you have any problems
doing so, please contact me to explain your situation at least two days before the due date;
otherwise, late assignments will lower your grade. Make-up assignments will only be granted if
a serious emergency occurs and there will be no extra-grade opportunities.
CLASS ATTENDANCE
Your presence is a fundamental component in the process of learning and it is mandatory.
More than one absence will significantly affect your grade. Students are also expected to be
on time and should not leave class early without prior notification.
READINGS AND CONTENTS OF THE CLASS
Students will read the bibliography and be prepared to discuss it by the dates listed in
the schedule. The reading materials may be challenging, but you will find that with patience
and practice, you can keep up and fully participate in the course. Not doing the reading – or
allowing yourself to fall far behind – will leave you unable to understand lectures and
participate in discussions. This could seriously affect your grade.
In addition to knowing the reading materials, students will also take lecture and class notes. In
addition to the bibliography, the professor will provide handouts of primary sources and other
documents and guidelines. Students will also study those materials for the assignments.
Any information provided by the professor in class is considered part of the content of this
course and students should always keep track of it.
USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Students cannot use ANY electronic device for the duration of the class unless it is used for
accessibility purposes or to read the assigned material. If you are not using your device for
reading or taking notes, this will affect your grade.
PLAGIARISM
Academic integrity is expected of every student. Students must not plagiarize the work of
others. This means that if you quote directly from any author’s work (including texts on
Internet sites), you must put quotation marks around that material, and you must cite it in a
footnote or endnote. Plagiarism also includes using someone else’s phrases, strings of words,
special terms, or ideas and interpretations without citing your source, even if you have not
quoted directly from that source.
In short, you must give credit where it is due. If you have doubts, feel free to come and ask me,
or check the SDSU General Catalogue for more information. Cheating on any exam or
plagiarizing on papers will result in a failing grade for the course.
MANDATORY READINGS
1. Class Reader
2. James R. Scobie, Buenos Aires: Plaza to Suburb, 1870-1910 (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1974).
3. Teresa A. Meade, ‘Civilizing’ Rio: Reform and Resistance in a Brazilian City, 1889-1930
(University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997).
4. Materials posted in blackboard for each class
ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
George Reid Andrews, Blacks and White in São Paulo Brazil, 1888-1988 (Madison: The
University of Wisconsin Press, 1991).
George Reid Andrews, Afro-Latin America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).
Haim Avni, Argentina and the Jews: A History of Jewish Immigration (Tuscaloosa: The University
of Alabama Press, 1991).
Samuel L. Baily and Eduardo José Míguez (eds.), Mass Migration to Modern Latin America
(Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, 2003).
Teresa P. R. Caldeira, City of Walls: Crime, Segregation, and Citizenship in São Paulo (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2000).
Vicente del Rio and William Siembieda, Contemporary Urbanism in Brazil: Beyond Brasília
(Tallahassee: University Press of Florida, 2009).
Alan Gilbert, The Mega-City in Latin America (New York: United Nations University Press,
1996).
Jorge E. Hardoy, "Theory and Practice of Urban Planning in Europe, 1850-1930: Its Transfer
to Latin America," in Richard Morse and Jorge E. Hardoy, Rethinking the Latin American City
(Washington DC: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), p. 20-49.
Jorge E. Hardoy, “The building of Latin American cities,” in Alan Gilbert and Jorge Hardoy
(eds.), Urbanization in Contemporary Latin America: Critical Approaches to the Analysis of Urban
Issues (Chichester ; New York: J. Wiley, 1982), p. 19-33.
Walter D. Harris, The Growth of Latin American Cities, (Athens, Ohio University Press, 1971).
Jeffrey D. Needell, “Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires: Public Space and Public Consciousness in
Fin-de-Siècle Latin America” Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 37, No. 3 (July
1995), p. 519 to 540.
Thomas W. Merrick, “The Population of Latin America, 1930-1990,” in: Leslie Bethell (ed.),
Latin America: Economy and Society since 1930 (New York: Cambridge, 1998), p. 3-65.
José C. Moya, Cousins and Strangers: Spanish Immigrants in Buenos Aires, 1850-1930 (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1998).
Ronn Pineo & James A. Baer (eds.), Cities of Hope: People, Protests and Progress in Urbanizing
Latin America, 1870-1930 (Boulder: Perseus Books, 1998).
James R. Scobie, “The growth of Latin American cities, 1870-1930” in Leslie Bethell, The
Cambridge History of Latin America, Volume IV, c. 1870-1930 (New York: Cambridge University
Press, 1986), p. 233 to 265.
Annalisa Spencer, "The Informal Architecture of Brasilia: An Analysis of the Contemporary
Urban Role of its Satellite Settlements," p. 53 to 71 in: Felipe Hernandez, Peter Kellett and Lea
K. Allen, Rethinking the Informal City: Critical Perspectives from Latin America (New York:
Berghahn Books, 2010).
CLASS SCHEDULE
1/28
Introduction
2/4
Colonial Cities
Reader
2/11
The Nineteenth Century
Reader
2/18
1st QUIZ
Formation of Modern Cities: Buenos Aires
Scobie, chapters 1,2, and 3.
2/25
Buenos Aires
Scobie, chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7.
3/4
Formation of Modern Cities: Rio de Janeiro
Meade, Introduction, chapters 1, 2, and 3.
3/11
2nd QUIZ
Formation of Modern Cities: Rio de Janeiro
Meade, chapters 4, 5, 6, and conclusion.
3/18
Haussmanization and Cities in Latin America, 1870-1930
Reader and:
Jeffrey D. Needell, “Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires: Public Space and Public Consciousness in
Fin-de-Siècle Latin America” Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 37, No. 3 (July
1995), p. 519 to 540. AVAILABLE ON BLACKBOARD
3/25
Haussmanization in Lima and Valparaiso
Reader
Spring Break 3/31 to 4/4
4/8
FIRST ESSAY DUE
Migration and Race
Reader
4/15
Cities between 1930 and 1990
Reader
4/22
3rd QUIZ
Cities between 1930 and 1990: São Paulo
Reader
4/29
Recent Urban History: Venezuela
Reader
5/6
Recent Urban History: Argentina and Latin America
Reader
FINAL ESSAY DUE ON MAY 15TH