Mr. Volk

Rice 309, x8522

Office Hours: Monday 10-11 AM; Tuesday, 1:30-2:30 PM ; Thursday, 11 AM - Noon and by appointment

Email: Steven.Volk@oberlin.edu

Enrique Chagoya, "Friendly Cannibals"

ACCESSING THE COURSE: Course materials can be found on the Blackboard system. This electronic bulletin board will post outlines for lectures, the syllabus, paper assignments, and documents to be used in the class as well as other materials useful for the course. You must register to get into the system, and I will provide information on how to do this and how to use the system in the first week of classes. In the meantime, check out the on-line information on accessing Blackboard. Once you are registered, you enter via a password. It is important that everyone registers for the CourseInfo Blackboard system as it provides me with an easy way to communicate quickly with the entire class.

In this course we will explore an overview of the basic elements which have shaped the U.S. presence in Latin America and the way in which Latin America has been represented in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present day, exploring both official (public) policy as well as the impact of corporations and the market, ideology, cultural representations, the media, and others.

The course has five main objectives: 1) To encourage you to think deeply about the nature of U.S.-Latin American interactions and how they are shaped; 2) To develop an analysis which can explain U.S. public policy in Latin America over an extended period of time; 3) To think critically about the binary which is formed between "domestic" and "foreign" policy, and how it comes about; 4) To suggest the ways in which Latin America and Latin Americans have agency in their dealings with their much more (economically and militarily) powerful neighbor to the North; and 5) To problematize the idea of a single "Latin American" or "U.S." subject.

The course will meet twice a week. While, generally speaking, on Tuesdays I will lecture, both Tuesdays and Thursdays will most also have discussions and, at times, films, presentations, or other activities. You will be expected to have completed the week's reading by the Thursday class session.

CLASS REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

All students will be responsible for keeping up with the weekly readings and for participating in class discussions. A note of warning: There is a LOT of reading for this course. I strongly encourage you to form yourselves into study groups as one way of more easily processing all the reading. You are also required to complete four papers/projects over the course of the semester.

(a) Due September 30 at the beginning of class: Expansionism and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. A five-page paper which addresses the question: Why did Anglo-America expand across the continent and what "residue" from that period most impacts U.S. historical and cultural perceptions of its place in the world. (20% of grade).

(b) Due October 16 at the beginning of class: A five-page paper focusing on the Spanish-U.S.-Cuban War of 1898. You can address why the U.S. went to war; why, at the end of this war, the United States chose to incorporate Spain's remaining colonies (Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and, for a short time, Cuba) as colonies, employing a "classic" mode of colonial intervention; what were the consequences of the war; or any other project related to this period. (20% of grade).

(c) Due November 18 at the beginning of class: Representations of Latin America. Film or other visual critique. (Joint project; 25% of grade).

(d) Due December 15 at 4:30 PM (with an extension possible to December 19 at 2:00 PM - No projects turned in after that time will be read or graded unless you have an official incomplete in the course). A 10-12 page paper (or its equivalent in another form that you discuss with me) exploring any aspect of U.S. policy in Latin America. Your paper must be empirical (based on research), and it must develop and present a thesis which (once again) suggests the causal factors that have helped shape U.S. policy in Latin America. This project can be written individually or in a group of no more than 2 people (with each getting the same grade). There will be no extensions allowed on this paper unless you request an official incomplete in the course. (Individual or joint project; 35% of grade).

Papers turned in late without permission (which must be requested prior to the due date) will be graded down one grade-step for each day it is late. For example, a paper which deserved an "A" if handed in when due on September 30 would get an "A-" if handed in on October 1; a "B+" on October 2; a "B" on October 3, etc.

Excessive absences from class will have an adverse effect on your final grade as you are all responsible for the learning that goes on in this class. Finally, all projects must be submitted to pass the course.

Oberlin College is on the Honor Code. Information on what this means (e.g. cheating, plagiarism, fabrication) and your responsibilities as students can be found at the Honor Code site. You must sign the honor code on all written assignments.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are having problems with the readings, the lectures, or just want to discuss further any aspect of the course (from content to class dynamics), I strongly encourage you to see me during office hours (Monday 10-11:00 AM; Tuesday 1:30-2:30 PM; Thursday 11 AM - Noon) or to make an appointment. Please don’t wait until late in the semester to express these concerns.

SOURCES ON LATIN AMERICA:

I have compiled a great many internet sources and resources on Latin America at Sources and Resources on Latin America. Of particular importance for this course is the section "Basic Electronic Resources for the Study of U.S. Policy in Latin America." This resource also includes a variety of materials from the history of Latin America to organizations and publications of interest to activists working on Latin American issues. When using the on-line version of the syllabus, simply click on “Sources and Resources.”

 

ACCESSING COURSE MATERIALS

Required readings for the course are available in a variety of ways:

(1) Required books are on sale at the bookstore, can be purchased on-line, are on reserve in the library, or can be requested via OHIO LINK;

(2) All articles that are marked "ERes" are available through Electronic Reserve and are also available in hard copy at the library. To access materials via Electronic Reserve (ERes), once you access the ERes home page (via the URL above), go to History 294 and click on it. When it asks for a password, enter: hist294 (all lower case). Then just click on the article you want and wait for it to open.

(3) Some articles are only available on-line, usually through one of two major electronic collections, JSTOR or the "Making of America" collection. You can most easily access these articles by going to the electronic syllabus and clicking on the reading assignment.

(4) Finally, articles that are marked "Course Documents" are available only by accessing "Blackboard" under the "Course Documents" heading.

Please let me know if you are having any difficulties accessing any materials.

BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR PURCHASE

Russell Crandall, Driven by Drugs: U.S. Policy Toward Colombia (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers), 2002.

Nick Cullather, Secret History: The CIA's Classified Account of its Operations in Guatemala, 1942-1954 (Stanford: Stanford University Press), 1999.

William Leogrande, Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press), 2000.

Thomas G. Paterson and Stephen G. Rabe, eds., Imperial Surge: The United States Abroad, the 1890s-Early 1900s (Lexington, Mass. : D.C. Heath), 1992.

Mary A. Renda, Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism, 1915-1940 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press), 2001.

Anders Stephanson, Manifest Destiny: American Expansion and the Empire of Right (New York: Hill and Wang), 1995.

Syllabus

Sept 2, 4: Introduction: Considering the American Empire

Reading:

Robert D. Kaplan, "Supremacy by Stealth: Ten Rules for Managing the World," The Atlantic Monthly (July/August 2003), pp. 66-83. [Course Documents: Kaplan Supremacy by Stealth 2003]

"His Hat Is In The Ring," Charles Bartholomew, Minneapolis Journal, 1912

Sept. 9, 11: Monroe Doctrine: Prefiguring a Hemispheric Empire?

Reading:

Anders Stephanson, Manifest Destiny: American Expansion and the Empire of Right (New York: Hill and Wang, 1995), Intro. and Chapter 1 (pp. 3-27).

Washington, Farewell Address (1796)

Second Inaugural Address of James Monroe (1821): Discussion of the US recognition of Latin American independence

ERES Document set on the Monroe Doctrine from James M. Gantenbein, Evolution of Our Latin American Policy: A Documentary Record (New York: Octagon Books), 1971, pp. 301-322. [ERes]

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Views from Latin America:

Simón Bolívar, "The United States: 'Destined to Plague America with Torments," from: "Letter to Colonel Patrick Campbell," in Selected Writings of Bolivar, Vol. 2, 1823-1830, 2d ed., comp. Vicente Lecuna, ed., Harold A. Bierek Jr., trans. Lewis Bertrand (New York: The Colonial Press, 1951), pp. 731-32, reprinted in Robert H. Holden and Eric Zolov, eds., Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 17-18. [Course Documents: Bolivar 1829]

Sept. 16, 18: Interlude: Chile 30 Years Later. Please note that you will have the opportunity to register for a one-week "Mini-Course" on the Historical and Political Significance of the Chilean Coup." Two of the speakers in that course, Peter Kornbluh and Joyce Horman, will also come to the Sept. 18 class.

Reading:

Ricardo Israel Z., "Chile and the Nixon Administration," in Politics and Ideology in Allende's Chile (Tempe: Center for Latin American Studies, Arizona State University, 1989), pp. 155-187. [ERes]

Richard Nixon, The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1978), pp. 489-490. [ERes]

Henry Kissinger, "The Autumn of Crises: Chile," White House Years (Boston: Little Brown, 1979), pp. 653-683. [ERes]

Peter Kornbluh, "Chile and the United States: Declassified Documents Relating to the Military Coup, September 11, 1973," National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 8

"American Progress," John Gast

Sept: 23, 25: Manifest Destiny and the Mexican War - Why Expand?

Reading:

Stephanson, Manifest Destiny, pp. 28-65.

Inaugural Address of James Polk (1845): Discussion of the annexation of Texas

James O'Sullivan on "Manifest Destiny" (1839)

James K. Polk, President of the United States at Washington, D.C., to the Congress of the United States. A special message calling for a declaration of war against Mexico

"The War with Mexico," American Review: A Whig Journal of Politics, Literature, Art and Science III:6 (June 1846): 571-580. Available from "Making of America"

Views from Latin America:

Selections from David J. Weber, ed., Foreigners in Their Native Land.
Historical Roots of the Mexican Americans (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1973), Parts II and III (pp.51-138). [Course Documents: Weber 1973]

Optional:

Robert W. Johannsen, To the Halls of the Montezumas. The Mexican War in the American Imagination (New York: Oxford University Press), 1985.

George Fitzhugh, "Hayti and the Monroe Doctrine," Debow's review, Agricultural, commercial, industrial progress and resources,Vol. 31, Issue 2 (Aug. 1861), pp.131-136. Available on-line at the "Making of America" site.

First Paper due September 30

"The Way We Get the War News: The Manila Correspondent and the McKinley Censorship," Aug. 21, 1899

Sept. 30, Oct. 2: 1898

Reading:

Stephanson, Manifest Destiny, Chapter 3 (pp. 66-111).

Thomas G. Paterson and Stephen G. Rabe, eds., Imperial Surge: The United States Abroad, the 1890s-Early 1900s (Lexington, Mass. : D.C. Heath, 1992), Introduction, Parts I and II.

Albert Beveridge, "The March of the Flag," (Campaign speech, Sept. 16, 1898).

Views from Latin America:

José Martí, "On the Pan American Congress," La Nación (Buenos Aires), Dec. 19 & 20, 1889. [English translation]

Oct. 7, 9: The Other Side of 1898: "What Shall We Do with the Conquered Islands?"

Reading:

Senator John T. Morgan, "What Shall We Do with the Conquered Islands?" North American Review Vol. 166, No. 499 (June 1898): 641-650. Available at Making of America site.

The "Insular Cases," a set of approximately 14 cases that came before the Supreme Court between 1901 and 1922 and which consider how U.S. laws are to apply to islands (Puerto Rico and the Philippines, in particular) which were acquired by the United States but which were not expected to become states.

Short summaries of the cases:

Please read the overviews for all the early cases (1901-1922), and then skim the following cases:

Downes v. Bidwell 182 U.S. 244 (1901)

Dorr v. United States 195 U.S. 138 (1904)

Balzac v. Porto Rico 258 U.S. 298 (1922)

Views from Latin America:

Rubén Dario, "To Roosevelt"

José Enrique Rodó, "Ariel" (excerpts) in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 78-80. [Course Documents: Rodó 1900]

Luís M. Drago, "The Drago Doctrine" (1902) in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 88-90. [Course Documents: Drago 1902]

"Alligator Bait" (The revolutionary alligator may swallow up Haiti unless Uncle Sam steps in) Thomas May, Detroit Journal, 1908.

Oct. 14, 16: The Culture of Imperialism: 1915-1940

Reading:

Mary A. Renda, Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism, 1915-1940 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001), Introductory materials and Part I (to pg. 181).

Robert Lansing, "The State Department and Public Opinion," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 115-116. [Course Documents: Lansing 1916]

F. M. Huntington Wilson, "Dollar Diplomacy and Social Darwinism," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 117-119. [Course Documents: Wilson 1916]

Views from Latin America:

José Ingenieros, "An Argentine Denunciation of Imperialism," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 123-125. [Course Documents: Ingenieros 1922]

Carleton Beals, "With Sandino in Nicaragua," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 132-135. [Course Documents: Beals 1928]

Second Paper due October 16

Oct: 21, 23: FALL BREAK

Oct: 28, 30: The US Imagines Latin America: 1900-1950

Reading:

Julianne Burton, "Don (Juanito) Duck and the Imperial-Patriarchal Unconscious: Disney Studios, the Good Neighbor Policy and Packaging of Latin America," in Andrew Parker, Mary Russo, Doris Sommer and Patricia Yaeger, eds., Nationalism and Sexualities (New York and London: Routledge, 1992), pp. 21-41. [ERes]

Renda, Taking Haiti, Part II (185-307).

Nov. 4, 6: The Cold War I: Understanding US interests in Latin America Post-1945. The Case of Guatemala

Reading:

Nick Cullather, Secret History: The CIA's Classified Account of its Operations in Guatemala, 1942-1954 (Stanford: Stanford University Press), 1999.

The Delegates to the Ninth International Conference of American States, "The Menace of Communism," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 193-194. [Course Documents: Menace 1948]

Views from Latin America:

Luis Cardoza y Aragón, "Terminating a Revolution in Guatemala - A View from Guatemala," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 203-205. [Course Documents: Cardoza y Aragón 1954]

Juan José Arévalo, "The Shark and the Sardines," in Holden and Zolov, eds., Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 235-237. [Course Documents: Arévalo 1961]

President Nixon and Guatemalan dictator Castillo Armas

Nov. 11, 13: The Cold War II: The United States Confronts the Cuban Revolution

Reading:

Louis A. Pérez, Jr., "Revolution and Response," from Cuba and the United States: Ties of Singular Intimacy, 3rd ed. (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2003), pp. 238-262. [Course Documents: Perez Revolution and Response 2003]

Jorge I Dominguez, "U.S.-Cuban Relations: From the Cold War to the Colder War," Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 39, No. 3. (Autumn, 1997), pp. 49-75.

Stephen A. Lisio, "Helms-Burton and the Point of Diminishing Returns," International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs), Vol. 72, No. 4, The Americas: European Security (Oct., 1996), pp. 691-711.

David Bernell, "The Curious Case of Cuba in American Foreign Policy,"
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 36, No. 2. (Summer, 1994), pp. 65-103.

Views from Latin America:

Fidel Castro, "Second Declaration of Havana" (1962)

Salvador Allende, "Speech to the United Nations" (4 December 1972)

Optional:

Morris H. Morley and Chris McGillion, Unfinished Business : America and Cuba after the Cold War, 1989-2001 (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press), 2002.

Thomas G. Paterson, Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press), 1994.

Additional Resources:

Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Legislative Initiatives (April 22, 2003) [Congressional Research Service]

Third Paper due November 18

Ronald Reagan

Nov. 18, 20: The Cold War III: - El Salvador

Reading:

William Leogrande, Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000), Parts I and II.

Views from Latin America:

Archbishop Oscar Arnuflo Romero, "Commentary on the First Work of Justice and Peace"

Nov. 25 (No class Nov. 27): The Cold War IV: - Nicaragua

Reading:

Leogrande, Our Own Backyard, Part III.

CIA, "Teaching Sabotage," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 297-299. [Course Documents: CIA 1984]

The International Court of Justice, "The United States Condemned," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 300-303. [Course Documents: International Court 1986]

Views from Latin America:

Ernesto Cardenal, "The Parrots"

Dec. 2, 4: Planning for the Future: Colombia

Reading:

Russell Crandall, Driven by Drugs: U.S. Policy Toward Colombia (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers), 2002.

Views from Latin America:

Eduardo Galeano, "We Say No," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 316-318. [Course Documents: Galeano 1988]

Delegates to the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, "The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 324-327. [Course Documents: Rio Declaration 1992]

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation, "Insurgency After the Cold War," in Holden and Zolov, Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History, pp. 331-333. [Course Documents: Zapatistas 1994]

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Trade Union Campaign for a Social Clause, "Behind the Wire: Anti-union repression in the export processing zones," April 1996: (Skim, particularly Part One, and paying attention to the Latin American cases.)

Optional:

Mario A. Murillo with Jesús Rey Avirama, Colombia and the United States: War, Terrorism and Destabilization (New York: Seven Stories Press), Fall 2003.

NACLA Report on the Americas: Vol. 35, Nos. 1 and 3, in particular.

Additional Resources:

Andean Regional Initiative: FY2002 Supplemental and FY2003 Assistance for Colombia and Neighbors (June 12, 2002) [Congressional Research Service]

U.S. Army School of the Americas: Background and Congressional Concerns (August 2, 2000) [Congressional Research Service]

El Fisgon, La Jornada (Mexico) ["Frijoles" are "beans" in Spanish]

Dec. 9, 11: Conclusions: The United States and Latin America

No reading

Final Project due December 15 at 4:30 PM. You may request an extension until December 19 at 2:00 PM. Any project turned in after that time will not be read or graded unless it has an official incomplete.