The evolution of Latin American societies from independence to the present will be studied. Analyses of social and political issues like slavery, race, immigration, popular religion, militarism, dictatorship, and revolution will be the focus of the course. Particular emphasis will be placed on Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Cuba. A variety of specialized themes or eras in Non-Western history which are too unique or unusual to be integrated into the regular curriculum are selected for detailed analysis. A variety of historical themes dealing with long term developmental processes will be submitted to detailed analyses.
Subjects vary from semester to semester and are often team-taught.
Examples of the kinds of themes to be studied are the process of modernization, the development of national identitities, capitalism, and the sense of self. A survey of the history of scientific discoveries and their practical applications, from the early natural philosophers to the present, with emphasis on the scientific revolution of the 17th century, the Industrial Revolution and the information explosion of the 20th century. Examines the origins of Western democracy in 5th-century B.C. Athens. Focus is on the problems of democratic constitutions in settling foreign policy, surviving extended wars, administering foreign territories and dealing with questions of inequality at home. A study of the origins and consequences of war on European society.