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Course: 2024/2025

Latin America in a Post-colonial perspective, and its relationship with Spain

(780)

Hispanic Studies (Plan: 285 - Estudio: 84)

Coordinating teacher: SAIEGH DORÍN, ANA CAROLA

Department assigned to the subject:

Type: Compulsory

ECTS Credits: 6.0 ECTS

Course: 1º

Semester:

Objectives

This course will provide students with the following skills and knowledge: - A broad knowledge of the modern and contemporary history of Latin America and Spain. - Tools for the understanding of history as broad processes, reciprocally interacting, and occurring within a context. - Have a thorough comprehension of the processes that shape the world today. - Use of critical analysis for research.

Description of contents: programme

What is postcolonial criticism? Black and White Legends: A Brief History of Pre-Columbian and Colonial Latin America Enlightenment and Revolution Washington, Napoleon and Hidalgo Building Nations ¿Los Indios¿ as Native Americans Oligarchy, Bourgeoisie, Foreign Interests Spain in the 19th Century The Monroe Doctrine Industrialization The Significance of 1898 Political Philosophy in Latin America at the Start of the 20th Century New Ideologies of the 20th Century The Two Spains and the Civil War The Cold War-the Blocs Democracy vs. Dictatorship Exiles The Church and the Poverty Struggle Environmentalism and Human Rights Populism and Socialist Guerrillas Bolivarian Communism Group workshop: Critical Thinking about Contemporary Latin America (I) Group workshop: Critical Thinking about Contemporary Latin America (II) Group workshop: Critical Thinking about Contemporary Latin America (III)

Learning activities and methodology

The course format will be a structured mixture of lectures, discussions, classroom activities and student presentations.

Assessment System

There will be a final exam, a group project and an individual research paper. All work must be submitted electronically, presented or ¿as in the case of exams¿ attended on time in order to receive a grade. The total points (of your final grade!) will be distributed as follows:

Participation (15%)
Participation grade will be based on the following factors, and is applicable in all sessions, whether they are in-class or during excursions:
Positive	Negative
Assignments are turned in in a timely manner	Behavior that is disrespectful or harmful to the class
Assignments reflect adequate effort and content quality	Not participating or doing so in a non-academic manner
Voluntary participation in class activities and discussion	Leaving the class without permission
Display of knowledge improvement and dedication	Using digital materials in a non-academic manner
	Tardiness

Group project (20%)
This innovative project will challenge students to develop and defend positions regarding a contemporary debate in Latin America. These positions will be in opposition to each other, so students do not only have to justify a certain position, but also prepare their defense against attacks from the other positions. The work will culminate in a Group Position Paper which will include these two dimensions.
The Group Position Paper shall have to be minimum 4 pages long, not counting images, figures, reference list or other features, and like any academic paper, must include in-text citations and the use of academic references, or public databases, is preferable.
The paper must be a minimum 1000 words. Students must attend class to submit work on the day it is due; submissions after deadline, except for excused absences, will not be graded for credit.

Individual Research Paper (35%)
Students will write and present an original individual research paper on any topic of their choosing, as long as it is related with contemporary Latin America. Students are encouraged to choose a topic of particular interest to them, and be creative about it. The teacher will always be available for feedback and brainstorming.
Each paper can opt to do: comparison between Latin America and Spain, or any other place; a comparison between parts of Latin America; or use single case-studies. A research paper must use the available scholarly sources (journal articles, book chapters, databases, video documentaries, photographs, etc.) as well as other pertinent sources such as newspapers, blog entries, or social media contributions. All references must be included in the final part and cited in-text following any citation format. The quality of the sources used, as established in the order cited in the previous sentence, will be very important,
Research papers will argue a point or evaluate a perspective but, in order to be outstanding, the paper needs to present the student¿s own interpretation and voice supported by reliable and valid sources of information (peer-reviewed academic articles, official reports and databases).
There will first be a proposal to be turned in during the early part of the semester, including the theme, the structure of the paper, and the references to be used in the different parts of the paper. If students wish further feedback for the paper, they can directly submit a draft by that date.
The papers must be 4000 words, and must include an introduction, main body, and conclusion. It will be submitted in class on Week 12. Students must attend class to submit work on the day it is due; submissions after deadline, except for excused absences, will not be graded for credit.

Final exam (30%)
The final term exam will serve to assess the degree of understanding of the course. Students will be expected to contribute information learned in class, provide examples, and other information learned. Also, focus will be placed on the overall understanding of the processes in play.

Evaluation Summary:
Participation	15%
Group project	20%
Individual Research Paper	35%
Final exam	30%
Total	100 %

Basic Bibliography

Bhabha, Homi. The Location of Culture. Routledge. 1994
Centeno, Miguel & Ferraro, Agustín (eds.). State and Nation Making in Latin America and Spain: Republics of the Possible. Cambridge University Press. 2013
Donghi, Tulio Halperin. The Contemporary History of Latin America. Duke University Press. 1993
Francis, J. M. (ed.). Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History (Transatlantic Relations), 3 vols. ABC-CLIO. 2005
Malamud, Carlos. Historia de América. Alianza. 2010
Meade, Teresa. A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present. Wiley-Blackwell. 2009
Rama, Carlos. Historia de las relaciones culturales entre España y América Latina en el siglo XIX. Fondo de Cultura Económica de España. 1982
Said, Edward. Culture and Imperialism. Knopf. 1994
Seth, Sanjay. Postcolonial Theory and International Relations: A Critical Introduction. Routledge. 2012
Spivak, Gayatri. In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics. Routledge. 1987

The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.