HIST 220 - History of Latin America

Credits: 5
Variable Credit Course: No

Lecture Hours: 55
Lab Hours: 0
Worksite/Clinical Hours: 0
Other Hours (LIA/Internships): 0

Course Description: This course surveys the history and cultures of Latin America from pre-Columbian civilizations to the present. Topics include Indigenous societies, the colonial legacy, independence movements, nation-building, economic relationships and neocolonialism, the roles of gritos and caudillos and the military, the Cold War and War on Terror, rural-to-urban migration, and U.S.-Latin American relations. The course concludes by examining contemporary challenges and future prospects for the region.

Prerequisite: ENGL& 101 with a C or higher.
Distribution Requirements:

Social Sciences Distribution Requirement

Meets FQE Requirement: No
Elective Requirements: Fulfills Academic Electives
Integrative Experience Requirement: No

Student Learning Outcomes

Understand the major issues, cultural, sociological, and economic, confronting the peoples of Latin America.
Become familiar with the history of the region as a whole and individual nations as case studies (which will include the historically constructed nature of human differences ascribed to the area).
Form clearer, reasoned viewpoints about Latin American events and the factors contributing to those events.
Develop a sensitivity for the cultural differences and alternative viewpoints in this part of the world.
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Apply concepts from the social sciences to analyze individual or social phenomena, processes, events,conflicts, or issues.

Course Contents

Pre-Columbian societies
The colonial legacy
Independence movements
The struggle for nationhood
Economic relationships: colonialism, neocolonialism
Gritos and caudillos: the military in Latin America
The Cold War and the War on Terrorism
Migrations from rural to urban centers
The role of the US in Latin American affairs
The prospects for the future of Latin America

Instructional Units: 5