Winter 2003

This information effective for Winter 2003. Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.

Latin American and Latino Studies

[LALS-001] [LALS-100A] [LALS-121] [LALS-194N]

1. Introduction to Latin American and Latino Studies

Note: This syllabus from a previous quarter

Instructor: Susanne Jonas
Office: Merrill 110, 459-3232, 459-2855-message
E-mail: sjonas@ucsc.edu
Office Hours: Wed. 12:30-3:30, Th. 2-3 or by appointment
TAs: Claire VanZeveren, Eric Holt-Giménez

Course Description:

This course provides an introduction to the study of Latin America and Latinos in the U.S., from an interdisciplinary perspective. Although we introduce Latin America historically, our main emphases will be contemporary. We will also focus on cross-border realities and issues facing Latino populations in the U.S. We will place a very strong emphasis on learning directly from Latin Americans and Latinos in order to give you a greater understanding of their intellectual, political, and cultural traditions; therefore, many of our readings are by Latin American and Latino writers and actor/participants. You will have the opportunity to hear lectures by some of UC Santa Cruz’s leading Latin Americanists and Latino scholars. This course is designed to prepare you to pursue your interests in Latino and Latin American issues, generally, and in LALS at UCSC.

Course Readings: Required readings are a

1. Course Reader (available in class);
2. Peter Winn, Americas (at Bay Tree and Slug Books); and
3. maps (at Bay Tree).
   

In addition, a number of books on Latin America and Latinos will be on reserve for use in preparing written assignments.

1. Books on Latin America:

Mark Rosenberg, et al. (eds.), Americas
James Cockcroft, Neighbors in Turmoil: Latin America
James Cockcroft, Latin America: History, Politics and U.S. Policy
Thomas Skidmore and Peter Smith, Modern Latin America
Jan Black, Latin America: Its Problems and Its Promise
Harry Vanden and Gary Prevost, Politics of Latin America
E. Bradford Burns and Julie Charlip, A Concise History of Latin America (5th ed.)

2. Books on Latinos:

Juan González, Harvest of Empire
Earl Shorris, Latinos
Richard Delgado/Jean Stefanic, The Latino/a Condition
Lillian Castillo-Speed, Women’s Voices from the Borderlands
Elizabeth Martínez, De Colores Means All of Us
Abby Bogomolny, New to North America
Antonia Darder and Rodolfo Torres, The Latino Studies Reader
Mary Romero, et al., Challenging Fronteras: Structuring Latina and Latino Lives in the U.S.

Course Requirements and Evaluations:

1. a midterm examination (part in-class, part take-home);
   
2. a final examination (part in-class, part take-home);
   
3. smaller assignments (maps, case study (pre-midterm) of a country you will "adopt," Chicano/Latino assignment, identity statement, and news presentation);
   
4. regular class attendance and keeping up with course readings;
   
5. attendance at discussion sections (which are required, and at which you should be prepared to discuss the readings and to raise your other questions). There will also be opportunities to raise questions and discuss issues in class.
   

Notes:

1. Class (as well as section) attendance is mandatory; attendance will be taken, and all absences should be excused. Unexcused absences will lower your grade; consistent attendance and participation will raise it.
   
2. If for some reason you should need to take an "Incomplete" in this class, you must negotiate it ahead of time with the Instructor/TA—including the deadline for turning in the work and the forms.

Topics and Sessions

(Dates to be adjusted for Winter 2003)

– Course Introduction and Overview: Latinos and Latin Americans Across Borders (Jan. 3)

I. Conquests and Underdevelopment in the Americas

– The Two Conquests (Jan. 8)

Readings: Chap. 1 in Winn
Vanden & Prevost, de las Casas, Shorris, González in Reader, Sec. I

Assignments: 1) Maps (due in section, week of Jan. 7)
2) Start browsing through Cockcroft, Skidmore & Smith, or Black (on reserve), choose a country to "adopt"

– The Roots of Inequality: Colonial and Neo-Colonial Latin America and the U.S. Southwest (Jan. 10)

Readings: Stein & Stein, New York Times, Barrera in Reader
Chap. 2 and 3 in Winn

– Internal Market vs. World Market (Jan. 15)

Readings: Chap. 3 and 4 in Winn
Chasteen, Kennedy in Reader

Assignment: (pre-Midterm): Relate course concepts to your "adopted" country in an outline, due in section the week of Jan. 21 (guidelines to be handed out).

– Sustainable Development vs. Neoliberalism (Jan. 17)

Film: "The Burning Season"
Readings: Berger, Martínez, New York Times 1990 and 1994, Vanden/Prevost, Mendes in Reader; also Lampart (optional)
Chap. 5 in Winn

– Theories of (Under)Development and the Question of Globalization: Who Benefits? (Jan. 22)

Readings: Isbister, Dos Santos, Borosage, Anderson et al., Klein in Reader

II. Social Structures and Social Movements in the Americas: Class, Race, Gender

– Class Structure and Class-based Movements (Jan. 24)

Readings: Sec. II(A) in Reader (Torres-Rivas optional)
Chap. 6 in Winn

– Indigenous Movements: Genocide and Mayan Activism in Guatemala (Jan. 29)

Readings: Sec. II(B) in Reader
Chap. 7 in Winn (and Chap. 8, optional)

– Mexicano/Chicano Lives in the U.S. (Jan. 31)

Film: "Mi Familia"

Assignment: Midterm due February 5 at beginning of class

– Chicano Social Movements (Guest Lecture: Larry Trujillo) (Feb. 5)

Readings: Acuña or Ruíz, Castro, Martínez, Muñoz in Reader, Sec. II(C)
Chap. 14 in Winn

– Latin American Immigrants in the U.S. (Feb. 7 and 14)

Readings: Cockcroft through Ramos in Reader, Sec. II(C)

Feb. 12 – No Class (Advising Day)

– Latinos and the Economy in California (Guest Lecture: Manuel Pastor) (Feb. 19)

Readings: Bacon, AFL-CIO, Pastor, NYT, Navarro in Reader, Sec. II(C)

Assignment: Chicano/Latino Assignment due in section week of Feb. 18 (guidelines to be handed out)

– Chicanas/Latinas in the U.S. and on the Borders (Guest Lecture) (Feb. 21)

Readings: "Women’s Voices," Anzaldúa and Espinoza in Reader, Sec. II(D)
Chap. 11 in Winn (optional)

– Women’s Movements in Latin America (Feb. 26)

Readings: Domitila, Chanduvi, Navarro in Reader, Sec. II(D)
Chap. 9 in Winn

Assignment: Identity Statement (free-write), due in section week of March 4

III. Politics: Revolution and Intervention, Cross-Border Issues

– State and Revolution: Women Challenge Dictators (Feb. 28)

Film: "In the Time of the Butterflies"
Reading (optional): Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies (on reserve)

– State and Revolution, Mexican Revolution, NAFTA and Chiapas (Guest Lecture: Jonathan Fox) (Mar. 5)

Readings: Reader Sec. III(A)
Chap. 12 (pp. 487 ff.) and Chap. 13 (Mexico sections) in Winn

Assignment: News Presentation for section (week of Mar. 4 or Mar. 11)

– Cuban Revolution and U.S. Response, Then and Now (Mar. 7)

Readings: Reader, Sec. III(B)
Chap. 13 (pp. 504 ff.) in Winn

– Central America: Revolutions, Hurricanes, and U.S. Policies (Mar. 12)

Readings: Reader, Sec. III(C) (Berryman optional)
Finish Chap. 13 (pp. 515-536) in Winn

– Cross-Border Future of the Americas (Mar. 14)

Readings: Reader, Sec. III(D)
Epilogue in Winn

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100A. Politics and Society: Concepts and Methods

Note: This syllabus for Winter 2002

Instructor: Jonathan Fox
Merrill College Annex 58 (lower level)
Office hours: Thurs, 1:30-3:30 pm & by appt.
Telephone (direct): 459-5897
E-mail: jafox@ucsc.edu

Course Description:

This course explores key social science concepts in Latin American and Latino Studies with a focus on the interdisciplinary analysis of power relations. This course works within a very broad definition of politics, asking who gets what, and why? How do some people win rights, at least some of the time, while others get away within violating rights? The course reviews diverse analytical strategies to better understand different ways of framing and addressing research questions. When we read a claim that "studies show …," when should we believe it, and why? We will develop research skills and assess explanatory and interpretive arguments. The course deals with both research on politics and the politics of research.

The course begins by introducing different ways of thinking about a single research question—in this case, how power and inequality affect Latino access to basic education. The first section of the course reviews a range of approaches to this issue: historical and contemporary, qualitative and quantitative, macro and micro, and theoretical and empirical. The second section of the course looks at issues involved in choosing how to address research questions, such as how to identify analysts’ assumptions, the role of indicators, quantitative and qualitative approaches, and comparative case study methods. The third section of the course explores the challenges involved in action-research (studies designed to provide tools for informing strategic action for social change). The final section of the course focuses on different ways to apply selected core concepts in Latin American and Latino Studies—highlighting ethnicity, identity and political participation, environmental justice, and gender. The geographic focus of the case materials addressed in the course ranges from California and Texas to Mexico, Brazil, and Central America.

Required coursework includes three brief written exercises, consistent lecture and section attendance, participation in discussion and a take-home final exam. All students are expected to have e-mail accounts by the second week of class.

Required readings include three books:

• Angela Valenzuela, Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring (Albany: SUNY Press, 1999);
• Lynn Stephen, Women and Social Movements in Latin America: Power from Below (Austin: University of Texas, 1997); and
• Laura Pulido, Environmentalism and Economic Justice: Two Chicano Struggles in the Southwest (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1996).

  Additional required articles are either accessible at the web sites indicated or will be made available on-line at http://eres.ucsc.edu/ — the password is lals100a. You can print them out for free at the library. The books will also be on reserve at McHenry Library.
  

Written coursework: The first exercise requires a brief synthesis of Subtractive Schooling. The second exercise is an annotated bibliography of academic sources, focused on a clearly stated social science research question of the student’s choosing (after consultation with the instructor or TA). This involves summarizing the main question and methods in each source. For the third paper, students will choose a specific social science journal article or book and then analyze, step by step, the author’s key assumptions, methodology, evidence, and the overall logic of their argument. This article or book must be chosen in consultation with the instructor or TA. Handouts that detail the expectations in these papers will be distributed. The take-home final exam will focus on the concepts developed throughout the course and will include questions that draw from the required reading. The final will also ask students to develop their own research proposals.

Weekly Schedule

LALS 100A. Politics and Society: Concepts and Methods

1. Jan. 4—Introductions and course goals

A. Exploring different analytical strategies: Social inequality and access to basic education

2. Jan. 7—[Re]framing the research question in historical, social, and institutional context

Angela Valenzuela, Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring (Albany: SUNY Press, 1999, pp. 3-60

3. Jan. 9—Exploring "The politics of caring"

Subtractive Schooling, pp. 61-113

4. Jan. 11—Analyzing the "politics of difference" through ethnographic research

Subtractive Schooling, pp. 113-160

5. Jan. 14—From individual to collective resistance

Subtractive Schooling, pp. 160-289

6. Jan. 16—Looking at the big picture while checking the fine print: Does the data really show what they say it shows?

Advocacy research:
Angela Ginorio and Michelle Huston ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can: Latinas in School (Washington, D.C.: American Association of University Women, 2000 [see also summary at: www.aauw.org/2000/research.html])

Interpreting the numbers in light of the definitions:
Phillip Kaufman, et al., Dropout Rates in the United States: 1999 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Nov., 2000). Read executive summary at <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/dropout/> and "Hispanic Dropout Rates by Immigration Status" at <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/dropout/StatusRates3.asp> Click on tables/charts for data.

Reading numbers critically
Joel Best, Damned Lies and Statistics: Entangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians and Activists (Berkeley: University of California, 2001), pp. 1-8

Case study: Fudging the Texas high school performance numbers?
Peter Schrag, "Too Good to Be True," American Prospect, 11(4), Jan. 3, 2000, pp. 46-49 <www.americanprospect.com/archives/V11-4/schrag.html>

7. Jan. 18—The politics of language

Richard Ruiz, "The Empowerment of Language-Minority Students;" Eugene Garcia, "Effective Instruction for Language Minority Students: The Teacher;" and Tamara Lucas, Rosemary Henze, and Ruben Donato, "Promoting the Success of Latino Language-Minority Students: An Exploratory Study of Six High Schools," in Antonia Darder, Rodolfo D. Torres, and Henry Gutiérrez, eds., Latinos and Education: A Critical Reader (New York: Routledge, 1997), pp. 318-327; 362-371; 373-395

Rachel Barron, "The Education Outlaws," El Andar, 11(4), Winter 2000/2001, pp. 28-33. <http://elandar.com/back/winter00/stories/bilingual.htm>

Gary Orfield, "Latin@s in School: The Most Segregated … Soon the Largest Minority," DRCLAS News, Spring 2000, pp. 15-17, http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~drclas/publications/revista.html

First written exercise due in lecture

Jan. 21—Holiday: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

B. Research questions: Conceptual, methodologica, and political choices

8. Jan. 23—Framing issues: Where you stand depends on where you sit

Stephen Sandweiss, "The Social Construction of Environmental Justice," in David Camacho, ed., Environmental Injustices, Political Struggles: Race, Class and the Environment (Durham: Duke, 1998), pp. 31-52

Manuel Pastor, "What is Environmental Justice? A Primer," Background paper, UCSC, Nov. 1997, pp. 1-6

9. Jan. 25—The logic of quantitative methods: Demonstrating patterns of environmental injustice (Guest lecture: Prof. Manuel Pastor, Latin American & Latino Studies Dept.)

James L. Sadd, Manuel Pastor, J. Thomas Boer, and Lori Snyder, "‘Every Breath You Take …’ The Demographics of Toxic Air Releases in Southern California," Economic Development Quarterly, 13(2), May, 1999, pp. 107-138 (be sure to read the exchange of comments, pp. 124-38)

10. Jan. 28—What has already been done on a subject? Learning how to review the academic literature (Guest lecture, Librarian Martha Ramirez, McHenry Library). Note: This session meets at McHenry Library 167.

Examples of literature reviews:

T. David Mason, "The Civil War in El Salvador: A Retrospective Analysis," Latin American Research Review, 34(3), 1999, pp. 179-196

Jonathan Fox, "State-Society Relations in Mexico: Historical Legacies and Contemporary Trends," Latin American Research Review, 35(2), 2000, pp. 183-203

Andrew Szasz and Michael Meuser, "Environmental Inequalities; Literature Review and Proposals for New Directions in Research and Theory," Current Sociology, 45(3), July, 1997, pp. 99-120

11. Jan. 30—Unpacking arguments: Identifying relationships between the environment, economics and politics

Bill Weinberg, War on the Land: Ecology and Politics in Central America (London: Zed, 1991), pp. 26-32

Marc Edelman, "Rethinking the Hamburger Thesis: Deforestation and the Crisis of Central America’s Beef Exports," in Michael Painter and William Durham, eds., The Social Causes of Environmental Destruction in Latin America (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1995), pp. 25-48

12. Feb. 1—Indirect indicators: Tools for addressing questions that have no direct answers

Jonathan Fox, "National Electoral Choices in Rural Mexico," in Laura Randall, ed., Reforming Mexico’s Agrarian Reform (Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1996), pp. 185-206 (also in Spanish)

Second written exercise due in lecture

13. Feb. 4—Contrasting dimensions of political participation

Broad trends: Who votes?
Adrian D. Pantoja, Ricardo Ramirez, and Gary M. Segura, "Citizens by Choice, Voters by Necessity: Patterns in Political Mobilization by Naturalized Latinos," forthcoming in Political Research Quarterly

Mobilizing block by block: Building community-based organizations for the long haul
Benjamin Marquez, "The Industrial Areas Foundation and the Mexican-American Community in Texas: The Politics of Issue Mobilization," F. Chris Garcia, ed., Pursuing Power: Latinos and the Political System (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997), pp. 127-146

Who gets involved and why?
Mary Pardo, "Gendered Citizenship: Mexican American Women and Grassroots Activism in East Los Angeles, 1986-1992" in David Montejano, ed., Chicano Politics and Society in the Late Twentieth Century (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999), pp. 58-76

14. Feb. 6—Comparing patterns of participation and power in two communities of faith

Political context:
Daniel Levine, "Religion, the Poor and Politics in Latin America Today," in Daniel Levine, ed., Religion and Political Conflict in Latin America (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1986), pp. 3-23

Applying the comparative method:
John Burdick, "Rethinking the Study of Social Movements: The Case of Christian Base Communities in Urban Brazil," in Arturo Escobar and Sonia Alvarez, eds., The Making of Social Movements in Latin America (Boulder: Westview Press, 1992), pp. 171-184

Optional: How the comparative method gives us analytical leverage
John Bowen and Roger Peterson, "Introduction: Critical Comparisons," in John Bowen and Roger Peterson, eds., Critical Comparisons in Politics and Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1999), pp. 1-20

C. Action-research challenges

15. Feb. 8—Combining quantitative and qualitative methods: Assessing agro-ecological practices to understand the environmental causes of "natural" disasters (Guest lecture: Eric Holt-Giménez, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Studies, UCSC)

Eric Holt-Giménez, " The Campesino a Campesino Movement for Sustainable Agriculture," Institute for Food and Development Policy Development Report, No. 10, 1996

Eric Holt-Giménez, "Measuring Farmers’ Agroecological Resistance to Hurricane Mitch in Central America," Participatory Action Research for Sustainable Agricultural Development, International Institute for Environment and Development, Gatekeeper Series (forthcoming)

16. Feb. 11—Studying solidarity by unpacking cross-border coalitions for change: Juntos pero no revueltos

Van Gosse, "Active Engagement: The Legacy of Central America Solidarity," NACLA
Report on the Americas, 26(5), March-April 1995, pp. 22-29

Margaret Keck, "Parks, People and Power: The Shifting Terrain of Environmentalism,"
NACLA Report on the Americas, 26(5), March-April 1995, pp. 36-41

Pablo Vila, "Identity and Empowerment on the Border," NACLA Report on the Americas, 28(3), Nov/Dec., 1999, pp. 40-45

Jonathan Fox, "Assessing Binational Civil Society Coalitions: Lessons from the Mexico-US Experience," Working Paper No. 26, Chicano-Latino Research Center, University of California, Santa Cruz, April, 2000, http://www.irc-online.org/bios/pdf/index_docs.html (in Spanish, see "Evaluación de las coaliciones binacionales de la sociedad civil a partir de la experiencia México-Estados Unidos," Revista Mexicana de Sociología, 63(3), 2001

17. Feb. 13—Learning to promote fair trade: Lessons from sustainable coffee

Deborah James, "Justice and Java," NACLA Report on the Americas, 34(2), Sept-Oct, 2000, pp. 11-14

David Barton Bray, José Luis Plaza Sánchez and Ellen Contreras Murphy, "Social Dimensions of Organic Coffee Production in Mexico: Lessons for EcoLabeling Initiatives," Society and Natural Resources, forthcoming

Paul Rice and Jennifer Maclean, Sustainable Coffee at the Crossroads (Washington: Consumers Choice Council, 1999, <www.consumerscouncil.org/coffee.pdf> Read executive summary and skim entire report.

Optional: Laura Reynolds, "Re-embedding Global Agriculture: The International Organic
and Fair Trade Movements," Agriculture and Human Values, 17 (3), September 2000, pp. 297-309, <http://www.wkap.nl/oasis.htm/266452>

18. Feb. 15—Power structure research: Follow the money

Jonathan Fox, "Transparency for Accountability: Civil Society Monitoring of Multilateral Development Bank Anti-Poverty Projects," Development in Practice, 7(2), May, 1997, pp. 167-171 [in Spanish at www.trasparencia.org.mx]

Jonathan Fox, "Vertically Integrated Policy Monitoring: A Tool for Civil Society Policy Advocacy," Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 30(3), Sept., 2001 [in Spanish at www.trasparencia.org.mx]

Jonathan Fox, "Advocacy Research and the World Bank: Propositions for Discussion," presented at the Presidential Session: "‘Spank the Bank’ and the ‘The Battle in Seattle’: Does Anthropology Have a Social Responsibility in a Global World?" at the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, San Francisco, Nov. 17, 2000

For related optional readings, see "supplementary readings" at the E-Reserves.

Feb. 18—Holiday: President’s Day

D. Interpreting social and political concepts: Democratization, gender, and ethnicity

19. Feb. 20—Democratizing state and societies: Brazil in comparative perspective (in-class video: Capital Sins)

Maria Elena Moreira Alves, "Interclass Alliances in the Opposition to the Military in Brazil: Consequences for the Transition Period," in Susan Eckstein, ed., Power and Popular Protest: Latin American Social Movements (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), pp. 277-297

Jonathan Fox, "Latin America's Emerging Local Politics," Journal of Democracy, 5(2), April, 1994, pp. 105-115

Scott Mainwaring, "The Surprising Resilience of Elected Governments," Journal of Democracy, 10(3), July, 1999, pp. 101-114

Third exercise due in lecture

20. Feb. 22—Democratization from below: Disentangling civil society actors

Philip Oxhorn, Organizing Civil Society: The Popular Sectors and the Struggle for Democracy in Chile (University Park: Penn State, 1995), Glossary, pp. 299-319

Sonia Alvarez, "Reweaving the Fabric of Collective Action: Social Movements and Challenges of ‘Actually Existing Democracy’ in Brazil," in Richard Fox and Orin Starn, eds., Between Resistance and Revolution: Cultural Politics and Social Protest (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1997), pp. 83-110

21. Feb. 25—Democratization from below: Building autonomy and accountability within civil society

Jonathan Fox, "New Terrain for Rural Politics," NACLA Report on the Americas, 25(5), April, 1992, pp. 38-42

Jonathan Fox, "Democratic Rural Development: Leadership Accountability in Regional Peasant Organizations," Development and Change, 23(2), April, 1992, pp. 1-36

Optional: Jonathan Fox, "How Does Civil Society Thicken? The Political Construction of Social Capital in Rural Mexico," World Development, 24(6) June, 1996 [see http://escholarship.cdlib.org/ias/evans/]

22. Feb. 27—Gender and politics in Latin America: Women redefine human rights

Lynn Stephen, Women and Social Movements in Latin America: Power from Below (Austin: University of Texas, 1997), pp. 1-107

23. March 1—Gender and politics: The impacts of "traditional" women’s organizing (Guest lecture, Prof. Sonia Alvarez, Politics Dept.)

Women and Social Movements in Latin America, pp. 158-206

24. March 4—Gender and politics: Class, gender, and autonomy

Women and Social Movements in Latin America, pp. 209-240, 267-287

25. March 6—Ethnicity, class and collective action: Culture, identity, and power

Laura Pulido, Environmentalism and Economic Justice: Two Chicano Struggles in the Southwest (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1996), pp. 3-56

26. March 8—Ethnicity, class and collective action: Reframing pesticides in terms of workers’ rights

Environmentalism and Economic Justice, pp. 57-124

27. March 11—Ethnicity, class, and collective action: Rethinking the rights of access to "natural" resources

Environmentalism and Economic Justice, pp. 125-211

28. March 13—Review session, take-home final exam distributed

The final exam is due on Tuesday, March 19 (by 2 pm). The final can be delivered either to Professor Fox’s office, to his mailbox in the Merrill College Faculty Services office, or by e-mail.

121. Early California Peoples and Cultures

Instructor: Julianne Burton-Carvajal

Course Description:

A seminar that examines key works about four key groups: Native California peoples of the Monterey Bay area; impressions by Europeans of various nationalities; the distribution and contributions of Chinese workers and settlers; and the incipient Novo-Hispano/Californio culture, which was truncated by the US annexation of California in 1846 and the outbreak of the Gold Rush two years later. Students do an independent research project on a topic of their choice which they share with the class.

Course books include:

• Monterey in 1786: Life in a California Mission
• The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in San Francisco and the Monterey Bay Area
• Ishi: The Last Yahi
• A World Transformed: California Before the Gold Rush
• Chinese Gold: The Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region
• Lands of Promise and Despair
• Storied Land: Community and Memory in Monterey
  

194N. Las Izquierdas en América Latina: Ayer, Hoy y Mañana
(The Left in Latin America: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow)

Note: This syllabus from a previous quarter

Instructor: Susanne Jonas
Horas de oficina (Merrill 110): mier. 12:30-3:30, jueves 2-3 (o con cita especial)
Tel: Ext. 9-3232; 9-2855 para mensajes; sjonas@ucsc.edu

Course Description:

Este seminario en español (que puede ser usado por estudiantes de LALS para su "requisito de salida/graduación") se enfocará sobre la historia de los movimientos populares y revolucionarios durante las décadas de los '60, '70, y '80, sus transformaciones durante las décadas de los '80 y '90, y las perspectivas para los movimientos de izquierda en América Latina en vísperas del siglo XXI. Dado que este seminario se realiza en español, se basa principalmente en los escritos analíticos de autores latinoamericanos y los testimonios de participantes, activistas y líderes de los movimientos de izquierda. Aúnque la organizacíon del seminario será algo histórica/cronológica (comenzando con los años '50 y '60), el enfoque principal enfatizará las evaluaciones y reevaluaciones más contemporáneas—acerca de los movimientos del pasado y presente; también vamos a discutir las nuevas perspectivas para el futuro. Finalmente, en esta época de integración hemisférica, cuando vivimos en "las Américas," habrá una sección sobre estrategias pro-justicia social de parte de los movimientos e alianzas trans-fronterizas—entre latinos en los EE.UU. y latinoamericanos. (GE Code E).

Bases para evaluación de estudiantes: Dado que éste es un seminario, la asistencia a todas las sesiones es mandatoria; cualquier ausencia necesita justificación previa. Cualquier ausencia sin autorizacion previa afectará su evaluación y su nota (grade). La participación en discusiones y las presentaciones de parte de los estudiantes serán muy importantes. Además de las reuniones del seminario cada miércoles, los estudiantes deben reunirse en "grupos de estudio" para discutir las lecturas y formular temas de discusión.

Todo el trabajo escrito, tanto como las sesiones del seminario, se realizarán en español. El trabajo por escrito incluirá un ensayo de "midterm" y un estudio/ensayo de investigación sobre un tema escogido por cada estudiante y aprobado por la instructora (y presentado al grupo). Por lo menos, una consulta con la instructora (en horas de oficina) sobre el tema de investigación es necesaria, para ayudar a refinar el tema.

Lecturas y Recursos: Habrá un texto básico—La Utopia Desarmada, de Jorge Castañeda, y un Reader. (Los dos se venderán en la clase.) También, habrán libros, artículos, etc. en la sección de Reserves de la biblioteca. Además de los recursos escritos, habrán charlas de parte de activistas lationoamericanos y "noches de cine."

Sesiones

(Dates to be adjusted for winter 2003)

- #1 (sesión #1) (9 de enero);

- introducción al seminario
- la izquierda tradicional (principalmente comunista)

- #2 (16 de enero):

- la revolución cubana y su impacto en América Latina
- el surgimiento de movimientos guerrilleros ‘foquistas’ durante los '60 y '70
- elementos básicos del Marxismo (presentación de Mike Rotkin)

Lecturas: JC, Cap. II-III (Cap. I es opcional)
Reader, Sec. A (Bambirra)

16 de enero: preparar notas para discusión

- #3 (23 de enero):

- la segunda ola (no-foquista): "el camino centroamericano" durante los '70-'80: la revolución Sandinista en Nicaragua, las insurgencias en El Salvador y Guatemala durante los '70 y '80.

Lecturas: JC, Cap. IV, sección sobre Centroamérica
Reader, Sec. B

23 de enero: entregar tópico para investigación final
23 de enero: recibir ensayo de midterm (para entregar 30 de enero o 6 de febrero)

- #4 (30 de enero):

- experiencias de Sudamérica (el Cono Sur): la experiencia chilena (1970-73) y los debates sobre la causes de su derrota; movimientos guerrilleros urbanos en Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina (durante los años '70)
- re-formación de partidos de izquierda (PT de Brazil, Frente Amplio de Uruguay, etc.), que han combinado estrategias electorales con estrategias de movilización de masas
- cuestiones de reformismo, democracia, elecciones y socio-democracia (p.e., en Chile y el Cono Sur); las revaloraciones de la "democracia" como parte de la agenda de las izquierdas
- debates sobre "transiciones pactadas," transiciones democráticas.

Lecturas: JC, Cap. V
Reader, Sec. C

30 de enero: entregar ensayo de midterm si está listo

- #5 (6 de febrero)

- nuevos corrientes y nuevos movimientos sociales de las bases ("grassroots") y su impacto en la ideologia y práctica de las izquierdas latinoamericana (feminismo, movimientos indígenas y ambientales, la Teología de la Liberación)

Lecturas: JC, Cap. VI-VII (VI opcional)
Reader, Sec. D (artículo prioritario: Atilio Borón)

6 de febrero: fecha límite absoluta para entregar ensayo de midterm

- #6-7 (13 y 20 de febrero):

- impacto de la "caida del socialismo europeo" y el fin de la Guerra Fria para las izquierdas latinoamericanas
- negociaciones de paz en Centroamérica
- la revolución cubana, revisitada

Lecturas: JC, Cap. VIII, XI, XII (IX y X son opcionales) (Cap. prioritario: VIII)
Reader, Sec. E

13 de febrero: entregar bibliografia para investigación final
20 de febrero: preparar y entregar notas para discusión

- #8 (27 de febrero):

- Chiapas y México: insurrección de los Zapatistas en Chiapas, la Convención Nacional Democrática; la experiencia del PRD y el nuevo Cardenismo; las posturas de las izquierdas hacia el regimen de Vicente Fox

Lecturas: Reader, Sec. F

- #9 (6 de marzo)

- las luchas insurreccionales de las '90 en Colombia & Perú
- la guerra civil en Colombia hoy y mañana, y las perspectivas para la paz
- debates sobre estos movimientos andinos: ¿qué tipo de izquierda son?

Lecturas: JC, segunda parte de Cap. IV
Reader, Sec. G

6 de marzo: entregar abstracto y esquema para investigación final y comenzar a escribirla

- #10 (13 de marzo):

- nuevas realidades en las Américas y nuevos movimientos trans-fronterizas: el Foro de Sao Paulo; las alianzas entre obreros mexicanos y estadounidenses contra un NAFTA neoliberal y por los derechos de los migrantes latinoamericanos en EE.UU.
- la resurrección del Ché Guevara
- perspectivas para las izquierdas en las Américas durante el siglo XXI

Lecturas: JC, Cap. XIII-XIV
Reader, Sec. H

19 de marzo fecha final para entrega de investigación final