POLS 272 Politics of Latin America and the Caribbean
| Pablo Toral |
| Spring 2008, MWF 9:00-9:50 AM; T 8:00-8:50 AM |
| Room, MI 109 |
| Phone, x2166 |
| Email: toralp@beloit.edu |
| Office hours: MWF: 3:00-5:00PM;
T: 9:00-11:00AM |
| by appointment and when you catch me on campus |
This course may be used to fulfill requirements for the following majors and minors
Majors: international relations and political science.
Minors: Latin American and Caribbean studies.
It may also count for the minors in women’s and gender studies and peace and justice, with permission of the director of these programs. If you intend to use this course for one of these two minors, you need to talk to me and to the minor’s director during the first week of the semester.
Course Content and Objectives
The wave of democratization that swept through Latin America and the Caribbean since the 1980s generated great expectations for the achievement of justice, inclusive development and participatory democracy. However, these have proven to be elusive goals. We will explore the meaning of concepts like democracy, development, authoritarianism and militarism, institution building, federalism and neoliberalism. We will review the efforts of several social actors to participate in the democratic process, including labor unions, churches, NGOs, women, indigenous communities, peasants, people of African descent, etc. We will also analyze the new challenges posed by insurgency, drug trafficking and terrorism.
Aims and Purposes
An important part of the course will be the definition of the very concepts of Latin America and the Caribbean. The cultural, linguistic and racial diversity of these regions has generated many debates about where one ends and the other one begins. The existence of Latin American and Caribbean diasporas in North America and Europe has further complicated this matter. To address these issues we will first provide a review of the history and geography. Then we will analyze the main characteristics of the political systems of the region, addressing the relationship between the legislative, the judiciary and executive and the degree of administrative decentralization, among others.
We will pay very close attention to how the socioeconomic characteristics in each country affect politics. We will review the importance of gender, race and class in determining access to formal political channels, as well as the role of the political parties, churches, the military, the main economic actors, peasants and non governmental organizations, among others. While reviewing some of the characteristics that are common to the various political systems, we will also study the peculiarities of the main countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Course goals/objectives/outcomes:
One of the main objectives of the course is to offer students the opportunity to study the political systems of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, questioning the stereotypes that exist in the United States about the political culture of the Latin American and Caribbean countries. Students will be able to analyze Latin American and Caribbean political systems critically, understanding some of the main problems, such as the weakness of the party system, presidentialism, the politics of exclusion of some sectors of the population by the political and economic elites, the involvement of the military in politics, populism, etc. Students will also learn how subaltern groups have pushed for their incorporation into formal politics by developing new avenues of political participation. These issues will allow the students to explore concepts such as democratization, electoral democracy, participatory democracy, legitimacy, state capacity, empowerment and exclusion, and coalition building, as well as relationships between race and politics, gender and politics, civic-military relations, economic reforms and democratic consolidation and democracy and development.
Course readings
There are nine texts for this course, available at the bookstore. They are also on reserve in the library.
Ffrench-Davis, Ricardo (2002), Economic Reforms in Chile. From Dictatorship to Democracy. Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press (0-472-11232-5).
Hillman, Richard S. (ed.) (2005), Understanding Contemporary Latin America, Boulder, Lynn Rienner Publishers and Ian Randle Publishers (1-58826-341-X).
Hillman, Richard S. and Thomas J. D’Agostino (eds.) (2003), Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean, Boulder, Lynn Rienner Publishers and Ian Randle Publishers, (1-55587-959-4).
Kampwith, Karen (2004), Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, Athens, Ohio University Press (0896802396).
Pallares, Amelia (2002), From Peasant Struggles to Indian Resistance: The Ecuadorian Andes in the Late 20th Century. Norman, Oklahoma University Press (0-8061-3459-3).
Peña, Milagros (1995), Theologies and Liberation in Peru. The Role of Ideas in Social Movements, Philadelphia, Temple University Press (1-56639-294-2).
Power, Margaret (2002), Right-Wing Women in Chile: Feminine Power and the Struggle Against Allende, 1964-1973. Penn State University Press (0415927781).
Sansone, Livio (2003), Blackness without Ethnicity: Constructing Race in Brazil. New York, Palgrave MacMillan (0-312-29375-5).
Smith, Peter (2005) Democracy in Latin America. Oxford, Oxford University Press (0195157591).
Course Requirements
3 essays, 25% each
Group project, 25%
Research essays
5 double-spaced pages each, fully referenced. Each essay will allow you to take a theme from the readings and apply it to a case study of your interest.
- First essay: Analyze relations between the president and the legislative in a country. Illustrate with a specific case study.
- Second essay: In the previous weeks we have discussed the role of the church in politics. We also analyzed how gender matters. Illustrate these debates with a case study on gender or on a religious group/institution.
- Third essay: Illustrate the role of race in politics with a case study.
Group project (25%):
You are part of a group of consultants advising a government on how to make their country more democratic (10 pages). Be very clear on the policy goals and the policies that you recommend to achieve those goals. You will be given a group grade for the first draft and a group grade for the final draft. You will also receive an individual grade for your section in the final draft, as well as your role in the group, as evaluated by your peers. Your final grade will be based on these three.
Extra credit:
You can help boost your grade by turning in up to three assignments for extra credit. These assignments are just a one-page critique of a talk you attend at the college (it could be one of the student presentations at student symposium.) In your assignments, you need to address the following: summarize the main arguments provided by the speaker, relate them to our class readings, and provide your own critique (strengths and weaknesses of the presenter’s argument and suggestions to make the presentation stronger).
Class attendance and participation (+-30%):
Your involvement in class will make your
final grade go up or down by as much as +-30%. This offers a great opportunity for those who feel you have not done as well as you could in your assignments. If you work hard in class, you can make up! I expect you to participate in class discussions actively. Learning is not a passive exercise, in which you listen to your professor lecture on a particular topic. I expect you to participate in class discussions by asking questions about the readings, by analyzing the topics critically and by questioning the views of the authors, the professor, and those of your own peers. Critical thinking is an ongoing process of continuous assessment and reassessment of the dominant views in a field of study. My goal of is to engage everybody in a permanent dialogue with the readings and with each other. I value the quality of your comments. Do not just repeat what has been said in class. Provide an analysis of the readings. I will also ask you to give presentations in class, in which you will analyze the readings critically. I will also expect you to participate in online debates. We will be using Moodle on a regular basis for submissions and debates. Take some time to familiarize yourself with it.
Grading policy.
Your grades will be a reflection of your ability to develop original arguments. I expect you to be able to understand the material that we study in class, analyze it critically, and develop original views, by building upon the ideas of the authors discussed in class or by rejecting them.
A - An original essay. The students’ arguments are supported by references to the reading assignments and class discussions, as well as by additional research. The paper has a clear focus, is well written, and has a good structure. It is rooted in one or some of the main debates in the field, provides a new and original approach and has enough evidence to support the student’s claims.
B - The paper addresses an original argument. It shows a good understanding of the main debates in the discipline and is based on a clear understanding of the reading material. It is supported by original research, but fails to make a compelling argument for lack of evidence or poor structure.
C - The student does not develop an original argument but shows a good understanding of the reading assignments and the discussions.
D - The student does not develop original ideas well and only shows a partial understanding of the reading material.
F - No original argument and poor understanding of the reading material. Use of poor or no bibliographic references (this is normally the main reason to fail an assignment). Plagiarism (to appropriate for use as one's own passages or ideas from another).
Late assignments.
I will accept assignments up to a week after the deadline, but the grade will fall by half a letter grade each day.
If you need help with your research in the library, try the “Ask a Librarian” link on the library home page, http://www.beloit.edu/~libhome or contact Chris Nelson at ext. 2544 or via email at nelsoncn@beloit.edu.
If you have a disability and would like to speak to someone about possible accommodations, please visit the LSSC (Learning Support Services Center) located on the first floor of 635 College St. You will need to provide appropriate documentation of your disability to Diane Arnzen, Director of the LSSC (arnzend@beloit.edu). If you wish to receive accommodations in my class please provide me the LSSC Accommodation Verification Letter dated for this semester as soon as possible so your learning needs may be appropriately met.
Free individual peer tutoring is available for most courses through the Learning Supports Services Center, 635 College Street, X 2572. Professors recommend all tutors who are then trained by the LSSC staff. Contact the LSSC to find out more.
Course Outline
| Week 1 What is the Caribbean?, Jan. 16-19 |
| Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean (Caribbean) 1-3, |
| Week 2 What is Latin America?, Jan. 22-26 |
| Understanding Contemporary Latin America (LA) 1-3, Mignolo (reserve) |
| Week 3 Patterns in Caribbean Politics, Jan. 29-Feb. 2 |
| Caribbean 4, 6, 12 |
| Week 4 Patterns in Latin American Politics, Feb. 5-9 |
| Smith, 1-4, LA 5 |
| Video: Capital Sins |
| Week 5 Presidentialism vs parliamentarism, Feb. 12-16 |
| Smith, 5-7 |
| Video: Evita |
| Group project: abstract due on Friday at 5:00PM |
| Week 6 State capacity and economic development, Feb. 19-23 |
| Smith, 8, LA 6, Caribbean 5 |
| First research essay due on Wednesday at 5:00PM |
| Week 7 Structural reforms: Chile, Feb. 26-March 2 |
| Ffrench-Davis |
| Group project: first draft due on Wednesday at 5:00PM |
| Week 8 Religion and politics, March 12-16 |
| Caribbean 10, LA 12 |
| Video: Romero |
| Group project: final draft due on Friday at 5:00PM |
| Week 9 Religion and politics, March 19-23 |
| Peña |
| Week 10 Gender and politics, March 26-30 |
| Caribbean 9, LA 10, |
| Video: In Women’s Hands |
| Week 11 Gender and politics, April 2-6 |
| Kampwirth/Power |
| Second research essay due on Friday at 5:00PM |
| Week 12 Race and politics, April 9-13 |
| Caribbean 8, LA 9 |
| Video: Mirrors of the heart |
| Week 13 Race and politics, April 16-20 |
| Pallares/Sansone |
| April 18 Spring day, no class |
| Week 14 Influence of international actors, April 23-27 |
| Caribbean 6, LA 7 |
| Video: Father Roy / El silencio de Neto |
| Third research essay due on Friday at 5PM |
| Week 15 Future of democracy, April 30-May 2 |
| Smith 12, Caribbean 13, LA 14 |
Congratulations! You made it!
