Readings | Introduction to Latin American Studies | Global Studies and Languages

Readings and Videos

Readings are also listed by session.

Weekly readings range from 75 to 130 pages, or about 100 pages on average. Readings include articles from the popular press, literary works, and scholarly research from the social sciences. Principal texts for the course include:

Winn, Peter. Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780520201811.

Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780520080836.

Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. New York, NY: Everyman's Library, 2005. ISBN: 9781400043187.

Colburn, Forrest D. Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780691091815.

I strongly recommend that you purchase all of the above books, the third of which was originally written in Spanish. (Feel free to buy and read it in the original, if you prefer.)

If your first language is not English, you should still try to read the non-literary works in English. For literary works (such as García Márquez and Allende), however, please feel free to read them in the original.

Readings are normally due on the first day of class of the week in which they are assigned. Where the first day is entirely occupied by a lecture, however, you may wait until later in the week.

Many weekly readings are accompanied by videos or films, which are an integral part of the course. Videos from the Americas series, produced in part by WGBH-Boston, are one hour each. Please note that the film The Battle of Chile is very long, so you should plan in advance appropriately.

Readings by Session

Course Readings.
LEC #	TOPICS	READINGS
Introduction
1	Lecture 1 Introductions and Review of Syllabus Name Game Pop Quiz
Historical Inheritances and Current Realities
2-3	Lecture 2 Finish Pop Quiz and Name Game Assign Class Presentation Dates Set Times for Movies / Precepts Latin America as a "Living Museum" Lecture 3 Class Discussion of "Big Mama's Funeral"	Readings Márquez, Gabriel García. "Big Mama's Funeral." Short Story, 1962. In No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories. Translated by J. S. Bernstein. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1979, pp. 153-70. ISBN: 9780060907006. Winn, Peter. "A View from the South," Chapter 1, and "Legacies of Empire," Chapter 2. In Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 2-83. ISBN: 9780520201811. Colburn, Forrest D. "Latin America as a Place," "Urban Bias," and "The Poor." In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 9-24, 82-88. ISBN: 9780691091815. Film Americas video: Continent on the Move: Migration and Urbanization. Or presentation on basic data about the region.
The Legacies of Conquest and Slavery
4-5	Lecture 4 Map Test The Conquest of Mexico Lecture 5 Class Discussion of Race Begin Discussion of Theories of Development	Readings Winn, Peter. "Children of the Sun," Chapter 7, and "A Question of Color," Chapter 8. In Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 234-303. ISBN: 9780520201811. Begin reading Allende, Isabel. House of the Spirits. (Note names of the women) Film Americas video: Mirrors of the Heart: Color, Class, and Identity.
Development and Underdevelopment in Latin America
6-7	Lecture 6 Theories of Development Lecture 7 Individual Presentations on Economic Development	Readings Klaren, Peter F. "Lost Promise: Explaining Latin American Underdevelopment." In Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Edited by Peter F. Klaren, and Thomas J. Bossert. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1986, pp. 3-33. ISBN: 9780813300078. (Ignore discussion of "corporatism") Frank, André Gunder. "The Development of Underdevelopment." In Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Edited by Peter F. Klaren, and Thomas J. Bossert. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1986, pp. 111-23. ISBN: 9780813300078. Santos, Teodoro dos. "The Structure of Dependence." The American Economic Review 60, no. 2 (May 1970): 231-6. Haber, Steven. "Assessing the Obstacles to Industrialization: The Mexican Economy, 1830-1940." Journal of Latin American Studies 24, no. 1 (February 1992): 1-32. Colburn, Forrest D. "The Business of Being in Business." In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 45-54. ISBN: 9780691091815. Continue reading House of the Spirits. (Be sure to read the story about the "chinchillas.") Film No film. Prepare for individual class presentations.
Development and Underdevelopment
8-9	Lecture 8 The Latin American Debt Crisis, Structural Adjustment, and Market-oriented Reform Lecture 9 Review of Mexican Development Strategies Extemporaneous Presentations of Steroid Hormone Industry and Mexican Development Strategies Today	Readings Gereffi, Gary. "Drug Firms and Dependency in Mexico: The Case of the Steroid Hormone Industry." International Organization 32 (1978): 237-86. Film No film. Breakout groups in preparation for extemporaneous presentations.
Development, Underdevelopment, and Politics in Chile
10	Lecture 10 Class Discussion of The House of the Spirits Chilean Democracy and its Breakdown	Readings Finish reading Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. Valenzuela, Arturo. "Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime." In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Edited by Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1989, pp. 194-216. ISBN: 9781555870447. Film The Battle for Chile (Part I).
Development, Democratic Breakdown, and Military Rule
11-12	Lecture 11 The Breakdown of Chilean Democracy Lecture 12 Bureaucratic-authoritarianism in Latin America	Readings Valenzuela, Arturo. "Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime." In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Edited by Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1998, pp. 216-226. ISBN: 9781555870447. Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994, pp. 1-5, 56-77, 83-104, and 113-159. ISBN: 9780520080836. Film The Battle for Chile (Part II).
Re-democratization in Chile (and Elsewhere)
13-14	Lecture 13 The Transition to Democracy in Chile and Elsewhere Lecture 14 Class Discussion: What is Democracy? Is Chile Democratic?	Readings Valenzuela, Arturo. "Chile: Origins, Consolidation, and Breakdown of a Democratic Regime." In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Edited by Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1989, pp. 227-240. ISBN: 9781555870447. Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994, pp. 163-267. ISBN: 9780520080836. Karl, Terry, and Philippe C. Schmitter. "What Democracy is...and is Not." Journal of Democracy 2, no. 3 (Summer 1991): 75-86. Colburn, Forrest D. "Fragile Democracies" In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 33-44. ISBN: 9780691091815. Option (in Spanish): Constitution of Chile. Film La historia oficial.
Civil-military Relations in Latin America and Accountability for Past Abuses
15-16	Lecture 15 Brief Discussion on Day of the Dead in Mexico Establishing Civilian Control Over the Military Lecture 16 Transitional Justice Preparations for Class Debate	Readings Huntington, Samuel P. "The Torturer Problem," and "The Praetorian Problem." In The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991, pp. 211-51. ISBN: 9780806123462. Langguth, A. J. Hidden Terrors: The Truth about U.S. Police Operations in Latin America. New York, NY: Pantheon, 1993, pp. 160-64. ISBN: 9780806125169. Mendez, Juan E. "Accountability for past abuses." Human Rights Quarterly 19, no. 2 (May 1997): 255-82. Film Babenco, Hector. Kiss of the Spider Woman. 1985 (Hollywood version of Manuel Puig's classic novel).
Accountability for Past Abuses and the Rule of Law
17-18	Lecture 17 Class Debate: Prosecute and Punish or Forgive and Forget? Lecture 18 Class Debate (cont.)	Readings Spend a couple hours reading about Pinochet case and recent developments in Chile. Film No film.
Rule of Law in Latin America: Corruption and Criminal Justice in Mexico
19-21	Lecture 19 The Rule of Law in Latin America: "Guilty until Proven Rich" Lecture 20 One-party Rule, Democratization, and Corruption in Mexico Lecture 21 Group Presentations on Fixing the Criminal Justice System in Mexico	Readings Colburn, Forrest D. "Crime." In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 73-80. ISBN: 9780691091815. Magaloni, Beatriz, and Guillermo Zepeda. "Democratization, Judicial and Law Enforcement Institutions, and the Rule of Law in Mexico." In Dilemmas of Political Change in Mexico. Edited by Kevin J. Middlebrook. La Jolla, CA: Institute of Latin American Studies and Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies of the University of California at San Diego, 2004, pp. 166-95. ISBN: 9781900039451. Reames, Benjamin. "Police Forces In Mexico: A Profile." 2003. Recent articles on police reform in Mexico on-line sources on police reform in Mexico See, among other sources: Public Insecurity in Mexico:Statistics and Análisis. Human Rights First Letter Regarding Giuliani Plan for Mexico City. Center for U.S. - Mexican Studies. "Democratizing the Police Abroad: What to Do and How to Do It." Chapter 3. (PDF) Exploring Roads to Police Reform: Six Recommendations. Evaluando la "Estrategía Giuliani": la Política de Cero Tolerancia en el Distrito Federal. La Participación Ciudadana y el Enfoque Micro Social de la Seguridad Pública: El Caso de Baja California. Film Soderbergh, Steven. Traffic. U.S.A. Films, 2000.
The Rule of Law in Brazil
22-23	Lecture 22 Class Discussion of de Soto's Argument Preparation for Class Presentations Lecture 23 Group Class Presentations: How should Land Disputes in Brazil be Resolved?	Readings Soto, Hernando de. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. London, UK: Bantam Press, 2000, pp. 1-37, and 208-218. ISBN: 9780465016143. Holston, James. "The Misrule of Law: Land and Usurpation in Brazil." Comparative Studies in Society and History 33, no. 4 (October 1991): 695-725. Holston, James, and Teresa P. R. Caldeira. "Democracy, Law, and Violence: The Disjunctions of Brazilian Citizenship." In Fault lines of democracy in post-transition Latin America. Edited by Felipe Aguero, and Jeffrey Stark. Coral Gables, FL: North-South Center Press/University of Miami; Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998. ISBN: 9781574540468. Film Salles, Walter. Central Station. 1998.
Conclusion: Latin America After Big Mama
24-25	Lecture 24 Class Discussion of "Big Mama's Funeral" Latin America After Big Mama Lecture 25 Latin America After Big Mama (cont.) Class Evaluations	Readings Márquez, Gabriel García. "Big Mama's Funeral." Short Story, 1962. In No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories. Translated by J. S. Bernstein. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1979, pp.153-70. ISBN: 9780060907006. Winn, Peter. "Latin America and the Caribbean at 2000: A New Millennium?" In Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995, pp. 601-608. ISBN: 9780520201811. (Epilogue) Colburn, Forrest D. "Conclusion." In Latin America at the End of Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 127-34. ISBN: 9780691091815. Film No film. Review for final exam in precept.