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a house in Xalapa, Mexico

 The US and Latin America

HIST 3500-02 (crn 53570) 

First Short Summer Session, 2009

3:30-5:35PM, Clayton Hall (T) 214

This course on U. S. – Latin American relations will explore the interactions between the US and its hemispheric  neighbors.  Students should develop an understanding of  the role that US policies have played in shaping Latin American views of this country, as well as the motivations behind the policy positions taken by Western Hemisphere nations.  the history of diplomatic and economic factors will be the principal focus of this course.

 

 

Textbooks Longley, Kyle. In the Eagle's Shadow: The United States and Latin America. Harlan Davidson (2002) ISBN: 0882959689

Larosa, Michael J. and German R. Mejia, Atlas & Survey of Latin American History. Sharpe (2007) ISBN: 9780765615985
Class meetings ...will include lecture & discussion of readings; on-time attendance is required; failure to attend 5 or more classes may result in your being dropped.
Syllabus This page is part of your syllabus.  For the rest, go to Syllabus ALL on this web site.
WARNING Plagiarism will have serious consequences; go to Plagiarism Warning on this web site.

 

Required Course Work for Grade
Assignment Value Comment
Final essay

20%

 

 Prepare an essay of 1 1/2 to 3 pages on some area within the broad topic "What is the appropriate role of the United States in Latin America?  Illustrate your points with pertinent historical examples."  This assignment will be further explained in class.  Prepare out of class; submit using WebCT.
Midterm Research Project Midterm Research project: On an assigned topic--mostly individual Latin American nations--prepare a study of the better internet resources for that topic, following the model of an annotated bibliography. Prepare out of class; submit using WebCT.
Map test (2 attempts) Nations of Caribbean, Central America, South America. Administered via WebCT.
Weekly Discussion Posts (5) "The Last Decade in Latin America" -- minimum of one post per week in WebCT discussion board for a grade in the C range. {Details explained in class.]
In-class quizzes (4) Every Tuesday in June, covering the previous week's classes. Administered via WebCT.

 

Additional Information

The course is not based on the textbooks; they are intended as support materials to provide context and details related to lecture topics. However, you should plan to read the entire Longley book and the recommended pages in the Atlas. Those desiring an early start can begin studying the first chapter of Longley book and then look in the Atlas for entries related to the information you are reading in Longley.  During lectures, I will refer you to pertinent areas in both books. 

One approach to learning geography from Sheppard Software: Caribbean and South America geography games.

No bonus assignments will be offered this summer.

 

Contact Dr. Kemp