Description
read at least three news/analysis items or feature articles that address at least three distinct current events or topical matters in Latin America.Hypothetically, for example, you could read an article about a U.S.-Venezuela dispute, another article about a massacre in Mexico, and a third about how an indigenous organization has been increasing its influence in Peru.Note that each article must come from a different web site.Then you will write an approximately two-page write up on each news, analysis, or feature article, in which you analyze and relate the particular item to the themes you have learned about and the perspective you have gained from the course and indicating insights that the course and its required readings have given you.Make sure you do not merely describe the article: rather, you must analyze the article.What you want to show is how the course has helped you to be able to understand contemporary developments in Latin America.Also,
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SOC 130LA
Internet Assignment
Fifteen Years Later: The “Great Success” of Plan Columbia
Lisa Taylor (2016) writes in her article how this February President Barack Obama and
Columbian president Juan Manuel Santos met to celebrate the “successful” and historic
collaboration between the two countries fifteen years ago with “Plan Columbia.” Taylor argues
though that the only success was in military terms, and that Plan Columbia failed to improve the
quality of life for the majority of the Columbian population.
Professor Robinson (2016) argues that foreign policy represents the interests of dominant
groups, where dominant groups in the north devise foreign policies aimed at maintaining the
global status quo. Plan Columbia was implemented in 1999 with the primary stated objective to
end drug trafficking in Columbia (Mondragon: 267). Unwritten and unacknowledged within this
plan were the plans to combat any threats to the security of Columbia, which included any force
that represented anti neoliberal, anti-imperial changes in South America by way of democratic
elections and popular mobilization (2007). Basically, any threat to the global status quo that
Robinson argues, was to be combated by U.S. military presence in Columbia.
Mondragon (2007) argues that despite the $7.7 billion dollars that the United States has
spent in aid toward Columbia, they haven’t defeated drug traffickers or the guerilla movement.
The plan has only successfully been able to guarantee a majority to the parties that supported
Uribe in Congressional elections and to guarantee Uribe’s re election. The great amount of
money invested in Columbia hasn’t gone toward education or healthcare or developing the
country, but to security where forces have expanded their reach in almost all municipals of the
country(Taylor, 2016).
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President Obama states that that the United States was successful in helping Columbia
make important progress in security, development, and the reestablishment of democracy (2016).
But the U.S. was only successful in security, failing development and the reestablishment of
democracy, creating a polygarchy in its place (Robinson: 2000). Both Taylor and Mondragon
seem to agree in their arguments that the United States has only helped in oppressing the
majority of Columbia’s population, and because it has silenced most of the population, they can
go out and tell the world that their work in Columbia was a success, even though their work did
nothing to help develop the country as President Obama claims. Even though their work hasn’t
helped anyone but those already in power stay in power and keep the global status quo
uninterrupted.
The Columbian government under Uribe that the U.S. has continuously supported, is
responsible for the killing of 4,000 trade unionists, the destruction of workers rights, the
displacement of 3 million peasants, and transnational capital which exploits workers (2007: 269).
Mondragon (2007) argues that The U.S. permits this and contributes to this because Columbia
serves as its base for attacking the democratic processes taking place in neighboring countries.
The U. S. allows these crimes against humanity because this country is in a favorable location in
which to basically keep an eye on Latin America for its own interests. This daily violence that
occurs towards the Columbian population is done with the help of a country that labels itself the
land of the free and the home of the brave.
I learned the importance in analyzing media stories with different perspectives. Weiss
gives a much different perspective than a media outlet from the United States most likely would
have. I have learned to gain understanding from two different sources on the same issue, as I did
from Weiss and Mondragon. Without the perspectives that I gained from this course, I would
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have taken the media’s word and without question would have thought that Plan Columbia was
in fact successful. I wouldn’t have known how the U.S. government was responsible for the
repression of the majority population, crimes against humanity, and for the great power of drug
traffickers.
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Secure Borders Now, Protect People Later
Laura Weiss’s article (2016) describes how representatives from Honduras, El Salvador
and Guatemala will meet with Vice President Biden in Washington on February 24, 2016 to
discuss the past and future of the Alliance for Prosperity, a multi year U.S. aid package to
Central America. Last year’s proposal initially promised $540 million in aid for developmental
purposes but this amount was significantly deduced and expropriated to defense and counterdrug
spending. Weiss argues that proposals for social and economic aid to address the problem of
citizen insecurity and lack of opportunity in Central America have faced significant obstacles,
but it is still easy to find guns ad interdiction technology for Mexico’s southern border. In 2015,
the U.S. provided extra $79 million over Obama’s proposal to secure Mexico’s southern border
through the U.S.-Mexico Mérida Initiative. This spending anticipated Plan Frontera Sur, a
Mexican effort to control the flow of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico,
mirroring the militarization of Mexico’s border to the north. For the past eight years, the majority
of U.S. funding to Central America, has been dedicated to military and police aid. Prioritizing of
the War on Drugs over protecting the people of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The system that is in place in Latin America is one of extreme inequality where a small
percentage of people control most of the land, wealth and therefore power; while the majority of
people are left landless, malnourished, and without a livelihood. This leads many people to leave
their farms and villages to other urban cities in Latin America or seek refuge in the global north
in search of a better life. Green (2013:127) describes the driving forces behind this mass exodus
as war, shortage of land, and often-illusory glitter of the city, with its promise of jobs, education
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and excitement. The prospects of a stable job are the primary driving factors in poverty stricken
families to leave their farms and villages. This system that is in place in Latin America is one in
which the United States has heavily perpetuated and significantly contributed to. This system of
structural power and violence that subordinates most of the Latin American population leaves
them with little options.
The United States is a country made of migrants, yet we spend millions of dollars trying
to keep people out. Our government spends vast amounts of money trying to keep people out
instead of allocating this money to trying to help develop the countries in which it helped
underdevelop. U.S. citizens in turn hold these same views and perception against migrants of
trying to keep them out of their country and wishing them away. But what’s missing is the
information as to why Latin American immigrants come to the United States. The standing
structures of inequality in Latin America, in which the United States heavily contributes to and
helps perpetuate, forces families to leave to the United States in search of better lives and
opportunities. When they arrive, they are subjected to even more inequality in the informal job
market and racist attitudes. Many people still do so though because they hope to give their
children the opportunities that weren’t given to them, opportunities that are nonexistent in Latin
America. The great risk of leaving Latin America to the United States is worth it to many
immigrants because of the prospects of better lives for their children, despite the hardship they
face in the United States.
I have learned that once informed about the history and inequality that is rampant in Latin
America, and the U.S. contribution, it’s a quick reality check. Hearing about events and
rebellions in Latin America it was easy to judge. It was easy to say how terrible Latin American
governments are, how sad the lives that most of the population leads, and how thankful you are
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to not live there. Yet many of us go back to our homes where we have running water, electricity,
and stocked refrigerators. With all the information that I have learned I know now that many of
the events that occur in Latin America are very closely linked to our own lives. Much of the pain
and suffering of a great amount of people in Latin America are caused by ‘developed’ nations’
and allow for the ‘developed nations’ to live good lives.
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Haiti’s Fraudulent Presidential Frontrunner Seizes Land for His Own Banana Republic
The presidential frontrunner in Haiti, Jovenel Moise, dissposseed 800 peasants who were
legally farming and destroyed their houses and crops in order to grow bananas for export
(Steckly et. al., 2007). Other Worlds argues that with Moïse as President of Haiti, he will ensure
that political decisions prioritize free trade and private enterprise over support for the destitute
majority which would likely give a green light to massive land grabs that are planned or in
process, while peasants working the land would be dispossessed.
The struggle for land and other farming essentials such as water, credit, and roads has
been a source of political conflict and instability for many years, producing revolutions,
massacres, and innumerable simmering disputes (Green: 110). The land that was stolen from the
farmers won’t benefit the population. The land will serve to benefit the minority who holds
power in Haiti, the crops that are grown will soon be exported and the money gained will only
benefit Jovenel Moise and his company Agritrans. Just as when this occurs elsewhere in Latin
America, the land only serves to benefit the elite who are in power. Steckley et. al. argue that this
occurrence of legally farming peasants being knocked off their land with bulldozers in Haiti will
only continue with Jovenel Moise in office. The struggle for land in Haiti, as in Latin America, is
the source of malnourishment, suffering, political conflict, and migration.
Despite the fact that many Latin American countries have vast underused areas of
cultivatable land, climates, soils to suite every crop, and good water resources, the majority of
the population is malnourished and lives in poverty (Green: 111). Despite the fact that most of
the land is owned by a minority who uses this land to cultivate vast numbers of food, Latin
American countries stay hungry. Most of the crops that are grown in Latin America are quickly
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exported to the wealthier global north. Many peasant farmers, like the farmers in Haiti, have their
land taken from them and are left with very little options to sustain their livelihoods,.
Some of the little options that these peasant farmers have are to either migrate or work
odd jobs in the informal sector. Gilles St. Pierre, a victim of land dispossession who lost his
house, land, and therefore his livelihood to Moise, now works as a taxi driver. The informal
sector is the umbrella term for a mass of different tasks including street selling, domestic service,
odd jobs, day laborers in construction, small scale industry—recycling tires into sandals, for
example—picking through garbage for tin cans and paper, or even fire breathing at traffic lights
(Green: 134). Without job prospects, education, land, and opportunities in rural Latin America,
people are forced into jobs in the informal sector in urban cities in Latin America. Former
farmers in Haiti are now forced to pick through garbage for cans, become taxi drivers, or day
laborers because of their presidential candidate. Should such a person hold this great power over
a country that he has already done wrongfully against?
This course helped me understand contemporary developments in Latin America. I now
am able to understand better how and why events in Latin America take place. I am able to
understand the consequences of the powerful elite taking away land from peasant farmers in
Latin America effect me, the United States population, and other imperialist nations. These
populations in the global north all benefit from the structural violence that occurs in Latin
America. The land that has been stolen and forces people to live in hunger and poverty is used to
grow crops that end up in my local grocery store. I am then able to buy bananas for 64 cents a
pound. I learned that that the global north is able to live and eat so comfortably because of the
structural violence occurring in the global south that cause these populations to live so
uncomfortably and malnourished.
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References
Green, Duncan and Sue Branford. 2013. Faces Of Latin America. New York, NY: Monthly
Review Press.
Mondragon, Hector. 2007. “Democracy And Plan Columbia.” NACLA Report 267–70.
Robinson, William. 2016. “Development and Social Change in Latin America: U.S.
Intervention and Hemispheric Relations.” UCSB Lecture, SOC 130LA.
Robinson, William. “Polygarchy: Coercion’s New Face in Latin America.” NACLA Report 4248.
Steckley, Josh, Beverly Bell, and Natalie Miller. 2016. “Haiti’s Fraudulent Presidential
Frontrunner Seizes Land For His Own Banana Republic.” Americas Program. Retrieved
February 21, 2016 (http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/18328).
Taylor, Lisa. 2016. “Fifteen Years Later: The ‘Great Success’ Of Plan Colombia.” Upside Down
World. Retrieved February 21, 2016 (http://upsidedownworld.org/main/colombiaarchives-61/5570-fifteen-years-later-the-great-success-of-plan-colombia).
Weiss, Laura. 2016. “Secure Borders Now, Protect People Later.” Nacla. Retrieved February 21,
2016 (https://nacla.org/news/2016/02/19/secure-borders-now-protect-people-later).
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Sociology 130LA
Professor Robinson
Internet Assignment
Capitalism Kills, Ya Basta!
On January 1, 2016, the Zapatistas from Chiapas acknowledged their 22nd anniversary of
the war against those who exploit and oppress Mother Nature and the most disadvantage people
around the world. As a form of resistance, they publish a news update titled “ Words of the
EZLN on the 22nd Anniversary of the Beginning of the War Against Oblivion” in order to
denounce the capitalism system that has been slowly commodifying all the natural resources in
order to produce profit. Indeed, the Zapatistas are well aware of the injustices committed by
those who are in power and thus outcry “Enough!” to 500 years of “Exploitation, repression,
dispossession, and disdain” (Zapatistas, 2016).
First and foremost, the Zapatistas explicitly acknowledge that the struggle towards
freedom is one that “is not local, regional, or even national. It is universal” (Zapatistas, 2016).
This can be explained by the era of globalization we currently live in. The concept of
globalization is often referred to as the integration and mixing of diverse cultures around the
world through ideas, politics, and the economy. Although this may sound like a positive notion,
Gary J. Wells et al, however, states that “ while many benefit from globalization, others are hurt
economically, some cultures may be harmed, and local environments may suffer” (Wells et al,
37). In this case, those who benefit from globalization are the multi-national corporations, the
owners of Wal-Mart, Monsanto, Nestle, and the owners of luxurious hotels and resorts, etc. The
ironic part is that all of the above corporations have made their fortune by extracting the raw
materials needed to create their profitable products from impoverished countries such as Mexico.
For instance, on “A Tourist Guide to Chiapas” Subcomandante Marcos expresses that “the
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supreme government was touched by the misery of the indigenous people of Chiapas and
endowed the area with hotels, prison, barracks, and military airport” (Subcomandante Marcos,
8). Through the use of satirical rhetoric, the Zapatistas speak out against the flaws of tourism
that has inundated their scared environment and thus has uprooted the indigenous people from
their right to live in humane living conditions.
A common theme amongst those who are oppressed is the will to resist. Indeed,
resistance is a power dynamic that comes from the bottom to the top. They resist against the
existing prevalent power structure that comes from the top and have the ability to mold social
structures and control resources (Robinson’s lecture, 1/12/16). Along with resisting and keeping
firm with their beliefs, the Zapatistas opt for independence from the Mexican government who
has failed to recognize their rights as citizens and humans. They opt for autonomy because they
cannot “sit and wait for a large and useless list of promises that will be forgotten a few minutes
after they are made” and decided to create their own education system, health care system,
politics, and culture (Zapatistas, 2016). Indeed, this shows a sense of hopelessness to the
Mexican government, a government that has lost credibility due to the political corruption that
exists and the perpetuation of injustices that this has caused. In short, they firmly believe that
solutions come from those who resist and who want to change the system not just work with it.
Overall, the EZLN celebrated twenty-two years of autonomy, rebellion, and firm
resistance towards the capitalist system that “feeds off of the blood of the people”
(Subcomandante Marcos, 8). They turn their backs to materialism and instead keep loyal to the
reciprocate relationship that they have with the land that feeds them. On another note, it is ironic
that the US calls itself a democracy while embracing a capitalist economy. It almost seems that
democracy and capitalism don’t go together because the EZLN denounces capitalism while
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demanding a fair and equal democracy. At a personal level, being a person from the younger
generation and living in the United States, I feel like I already live enslaved to technology, to
capitalism, to the so called American dream! However, I am aware that as part of the future
generation, I am aware of the responsibility I have to change the established structures that
oppress my people!
Words Cited
Robinson, William. “Uneven Development in the World System, Theories of Development and
Underdevelopment.” Lecture. UCSB, Goleta. 12 Jan. 2016. Lecture.
Wells, Gary J., Robert Shuey, and Ray Kiely. Globalization. Huntington, NY: Novinka, 2001.
Print.
Zapatistas. “Words of the Zapatistas on the 22nd Anniversary of the Beginning of the War
Against Oblivion.” Words of the Zapatistas on the 22nd Anniversary of the Beginning of
the War Against Oblivion. Upside Down World, 2 Jan. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
.
The Pope’s Encounter with Indigenous Mexico
Recently, the Pope Francisco was in Mexico. While in Mexico, he visited San Cristobal
De Las Casas, an area in Chiapas heavily populated by Indigenous people. This particular visit is
very significant because it is the meeting of two worlds that symbolize the uprooting of
indigenous people from their land, religion, language, and culture 500 hundred years ago but that
still continues to exist today. Indeed, Indigenous people were forced to let go of their beliefs and
thus were imposed a new God through the use of Ideological power (Robison’s lecture, 1/12/16).
In the article titled “ The Pope’s Encounter with Indigenous Mexico”, Orsetta Bellani analyzes
the impact that such controversial visit has on the indigenous Mexico and on the portrayal of the
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Catholic Church itself. The concepts of Liberation Theology, the Zapatista uprising, and the
oppression of Indigenous people are widely reflected and promoted in this article.
First of all, it is important to note that having the Pope in Chiapas was a very strategic
move made by the Catholic Church. According to Bellani, “in the highland region of Los Altos,
where the city of San Cristobal lies nestled in the mountains, 88% of the population is indigent”
(Bellani, Feb. 2016). Out of this population, a good number of them identify as Catholics. This
means that the Pope was able to reach out to as many indigenous people as possible and was able
to indoctrinate them with the same beliefs and teachings that hold responsibility for the massacre
of millions of indigenous people during the time of the Catholic missionaries. Furthermore,
Chiapas is also the place where the Zapatistas are located. The Zapatistas represent both
rebellion and resistance to the established social, political, and economic structures around the
world that undermines the rights of the most impoverished and disadvantage people. Indeed, it
could be concluded that perhaps the some-what liberal Pope Francisco had real intentions of
showing solidarity with the struggles faced by them. This relates to the concept of Liberation
Theology. Under Liberation Theology, “ Real, or social, liberation was now to be as central for
radical Christian as the theological concept of salvation through God” (Reader, p. 182). In other
words, it was the duty of the church to fight against all inequalities that oppressed the most
disadvantaged people.
Despite the ‘good’ intentions that the Catholic Religion might have had in relation to the
indigenous population of Chiapas, there are still some intersecting realities. For example, Bellani
states, “The Popular Assembly of the Chiapas Highlands criticized the expenses incurred to meet
the Pope in the poorest state of the country”(Bellani, Feb. 2016). This shows that while the
Indigenous people of Chiapas continue to suffer from the lack of proper health care, education,
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and other vital resources to the development of the state, the government decides to allocate
funds to the welcoming of the Pope. This shows the power of religion and clerical hierarchy that
still exists today in Latin America and that is a legacy of the invasion of the New World.
All in all, the Pope Francisco’s visit to Chiapas represents the meeting of the Old World
and the New World after 500 years. Although the Pope limited himself when speaking about the
real social and political structures of Mexico, it can be said that he made an attempt to bring
attention to the most disadvantage people who have been forgotten and left behind the Mexican
government.
Works Cited
Bellani, Orsetta. “The Pope’s Encounter with Indigenous Mexico.” The Pope’s Encounter with
Indigenous Mexico. Americas Program, 20 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
.
Robinson, William. “Uneven Development in the World System, Theories of Development and
Underdevelopment.” Lecture. UCSB, Goleta. 12 Jan. 2016. Lecture.
The Origins of Anti-Haitian Sentiment
Amelia Hintzen wrote the news article titled “The Origins of Anti-Haitian Sentiment in
the Dominican Republic” on July 14, 2015. She writes about the struggles that thousands of
Haitians have been victims of due to the widely spread anti-Haitian sentiment that began under
the regime of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, a man who was against the ‘blackening of the Dominican
Republic. In order to obtain absolute power of the Dominican Republic, Trujillo strategically
utilized the same racist rhetoric that Adolf Hitler utilized to promote anti-Jewish sentiment prior
to the Holocaust. According to Hintzen, Trujillo used this method in order to gain the support
from the Dominicans and thus be able to rise to power. In general, this article promotes the
concept of racism, power relations, and immigration politics in the Dominican Republic and the
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widespread legacy of colonialism that has had an impact in the overall social development of
Latin America.
To begin with, the Dominican Republic serves as a mirror that reflects the injustices
committed to its people and to the people of the neighboring country, Haiti. In order to
understand the dynamics of such injustices it is important to understand the role of racism that
have affected development and social change under the absolute control of Rafael Leonidas
Trujillo. Duncan Green expresses that “the Haitians who managed to cross into the Dominican
Republic have been ghettoized…the most common divided between the two communities
concerns self-perception-while Haiti is a self-consciously “black” republic, the Dominican
Republic has chosen to emphasize its Hispanic Identity”(Green, 172). Unfortunately, the
culturally constructed idea that dark skin color is inferior dates is a long-lasting legacy of
colonialism. Hintzen express that “Haitians provided the backbone of the industry’s labor force”,
this shows that 500 years after the invasion of the Europeans Haitians continue to be used as
slaves for they are perceived to be inferior people who should do the heavy work (Hintzen,
2015). It is ironic that despite the fact that they are not welcomed to the Dominican Republic,
they are highly requested to work on sugar plantations and uplift an economy and government
that turns its back to the Haitians. Amelia Hintzen explains that Haitians “contribute to the
wealth of the Dominican nation without ever being acknowledged as part of it” (2015). It is as if
because of the color of their skin, Haitians are not worthy of receiving any type of human rights
or recognition.
Furthermore, immigration politics plays a big role in the social development of a country
that has been a victim of conservative political ideologies placed by Rafael Trujillo. Indeed,
“Haitians immigrants and people of Haitian descent [are required to] file paperwork with the
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Dominican government” in order to prove their identity. Often times, the terms immigration and
deportation are used in the political dialogue in the United States. Therefore, it is interesting to
see that it is also utilized in Latin America because man made borders exist all around the world.
In this case, the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic was established with a
political purpose in mind and thus has created a division amongst the two nations politically
speaking. The reality is that both countries co-exist reality co-exist because they share very
similar historical backgrounds (Robinson’s lecture, 1/12/16).
Despite the physical border and the political ideologies that divide Haiti and the
Dominican Republic, there still exists a sense of resistance. According to Hintzen, “government
faced confusion and resistance from the community members, who opposed the forced relocation
of their neighbors” (Hintzen, 2015). This shows that despite the political turmoil that continues
to exist, there is a sense of a collective resistance against the flaws of the government.
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Works Cited
Green, Duncan. Faces of Latin America. London: Latin America Bureau, 1997. Print.
Hintzen, Amelia. “Origins of Anti-Haitian Sentiment in the Dominican Republic.” Nacla. N.p.,
14 July 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. .
Robinson, William. “Uneven Development in the World System, Theories of Development and
Underdevelopment.” Lecture. UCSB, Goleta. 12 Jan. 2016. Lecture.
DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN LATIN AMERICA, SOC. 130LA
WINTER 2022 W. 5:00 – 7:50 PM, GIRV 1004
PROFESSOR: WILLIAM I. ROBINSON
OFFICE HOURS: T. 3-4 PM, W. 2-3 PM OR BY APPOINTMENT
TAs: DAVID FELDMAN, dfeldman@ucsb.edu, W., 2:30-4:30, SSMS 3013
CRISTINA AWADALLA, cawadalla@ucsb.edu, TH, 1-3 PM, SSMS 3015
Overview
Latin America faces heightened social change in the early 21st century. Its 33 nations
have been swept up into the process of capitalist globalization. Old identities are become
transformed and new identities emerging among the regions 600+ million women and men of
Indigenous, African, European, and Asian descent. While middle classes and elites integrate into
the global consumer culture, for the poor majority of Latin Americans the structures of
inequality, oppression, and underdevelopment first laid with the Conquest 530 years ago remain
in place. But those structures – and the struggles against them – are undergoing dramatic
transformation. The early 21st century is an uncertain moment for Latin America. It is a time of
economic and ecological crisis, rising social conflict, political mobilization, renewed
revolutionary and counterrevolutionary movements, further socio-economic restructuring,
transnational migration, and cultural redefinition, as diverse social forces struggle over the terms
of development and the direction of change – especially in light of the global crisis.
In exploring dimensions of development and social change in Latin America, this course
will take an historical and global perspective to understanding the region. Several classes will be
devoted to the concepts of development, poverty, and inequality, and include a review of theories
development. There will be several videos. Specific themes include: theories of
underdevelopment; pre-Colombian civilizations; the Conquest and its aftermath; the stages of
Latin America’s incorporation into the world capitalist system; revolutions; U.S. intervention and
inter-American relations; women and gender relations in Latin America; race and ethnic relations
in the Americas; and current event topics, such as the conflicts in Colombia and Venezuela,
political crises in Honduras and Bolivia , Mexico and elsewhere, social and political change in El
Salvador and Brazil, and so forth. This course will require hard work and will also be an eyeopener for those willing to work hard and to think critically. It aspires to help students develop
the critical thinking, analytical skills, and historical perspective necessary, to examine your own
assumptions regarding poverty, development, inequality, and social change and conflict, and to
apply sociological inquiry in an attempt to provide explanations for these phenomena in Latin
America.
Required Reading
1)
2)
3)
Duncan Green, Faces of Latin America (pdf posted on gauchospace)
Rigoberta Menchu, I, Rogoberta Menchu, an Indian Woman in Guatemala
Reading Packet, SBPrinters at UCEN, 805.699.6342. You can order online here:
https://sbprinter.myshopify.com/products/soc-130la-robinson-w22 for digital copy, or
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call and order then pick up in person for hard copy (costs $28)
Note: the general rule with regard to reading material is 100 pages per week for undergraduate
courses and 200 for graduate courses. This course involves approximately 700 pages of written
material, or 70 pages per week.
Structure of Class Meetings
Students are expected to arrive on time to class and to not leave early unless prior arrangements
have been made with the instructor. Please note that attendance is not voluntary; it is required.
We will use an iclicker app for attendance. I may take spot attendance checks at any time.
You will lose two points for each absence. I may take attendance at any time….first five
minutes, last five minutes, etc. Even if you are present for all of the class you will be counted
as absent if you are not present when I take role. The only excused absences are medical and
family emergencies, with proper documentation, including deaths.
You are responsible if you miss class announcements about the course, your assignments, extracredit, and so on, because you are absent. In addition, assignments will be based on both class
lectures and the readings. If you do not come to class or if you do not read the assigned material
you should not expect to do well in this course.
THIS IS AN ELECTRONICS FREE CLASS. YOU MAY NOT TAKE OUT YOUR
COMPUTERS AND YOU MUST TURN OFF CELL PHONES AND PUT THEM AWAY
WHILE IN CLASS. ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT IS DISRUPTIVE TO THE
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN CLASS. IF YOU TAKE OUT ELECTRONIC
EQUIPMENT YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE. ZERO TOLERANCE!
For most class meetings, the first half will involve a lecture and class discussion. Powerpoints
will be posted on Gauchospace. The powerpoints are for educational purposes, not for your
entertainment. The second half of the class meeting is usually set aside for documentaries and
follow up discussion, occasional guest speakers or special activities.
A comment on your privilege and our collective time in this course: Your education is not a
commodity. You are not a “consumer” in this classroom. If you are terribly concerned
about leaving at exactly 7:50 pm then please dis-enroll.
On Spanish, English, and multiple languages in a globalized world.
This is a family (broadly defined) and child-friendly classroom
This classroom is a safe space. But this does not mean our discussions will be censored or that
you will not be “triggered.” In addition, you should realize that the only way to create truly safe
space is to radically transform society. The world is a deadly serious place, and about to get
more deadly. Take your education seriously.
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This course is absolutely “one sided”. You have already been socialized into the dominant
worldview – its values, logic, sensibilities, and ways of understanding global society. You are
daily inundated with the “other side.” You may watch CNN or any corporate media, simply
attend public school, or listen to what spokespeople from governments and ruling political
parties have to say, to get the “other side” on the Latin American and global affairs we will
examine in this course.
An additional comment on classroom etiquette:
Please do not sleep, chit-chat, or engage in any other kind of disruptive behavior in the
classroom. These behaviors are not only rude to the instructor but are also distracting to
those around you. And, please keep in mind – you may think you are in an anonymous sea
of 150 people, but I can still see and hear you and your neighbors definitely can too. Do not
start zipping up your backpack and rustling papers before the end of class. There’s
sufficient time for you to get to your next class without interrupting the last few minutes of
class.
Grading and Course Requirements
Please become familiar with this syllabus. It is your responsibility to follow the schedule
and guidelines laid out in this syllabus for readings and assignments. I will make
announcements as well but this does not obviate your responsibility.
There will be two take-home assignments, one for 25 points, and the second (due during
final exam week) for 30 points each and 9 reading reflections as described below for five
points each (with optional extra credit for the 9th). Details of all these assignments will
be announced in class and are also included in this syllabus.
One take-homes essays:
1 x 25: 25
Eight reading reflections:
9 x 5: 45
One final essay
1 x 30: 30
TOTAL
100
Optional 5 points extra credit:105
You are expected to do ALL the assigned readings and to come to class prepared to
discuss these readings. You are encouraged to ask questions, debate, and provide critical
commentary on the readings and the lectures.
I do not accept assignments that are turned in late unless some prior arrangement has been made
with me. You should make back ups of all your assignments. If your take home assignment is
turned in one day late you will be docked 5 points, and two days late, 10 points. After that, we
cannot accept assignments. I do not accept the excuse that your computer has crashed and you
lost your assignment – please don’t bother trying this as it will only waste your time and mine
Note that you do not “deserve” a grade, you earn a grade. Also, while we will certainly
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meet with you to discuss your grade for each assignment, and while the TAs may decide to
change any grade they initially assign, we DO NOT NEGOTIATE GRADES
Reading Reflection Write-Up:
On eight separate occasions you will upload to the course Gauchospace your reflections on the
week’s readings. These reflections will include your name and a sub-heading for each reading.
For each reading you will write at least one paragraph (you are welcome to write more if you
wish), in which you will answer the following questions:
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What did you not understand or find new and challenging from the
reading?
What questions for class discussion did it raise?
What did you find most useful in the reading?
What new terms and concepts were contained in the reading?
Note that these reading questions/reflections should not be a summary of the readings. The
purpose is: 1) that you demonstrate you have done the reading and given thought to it – WE
WILL LOOK VERY CAREFUL THAT YOU DEMONSTRATE YOU ACTUALLY DID
THE READINGS; 2) to identify what you think is important to discuss in class in relation to the
course. These reflections must be uploaded the evening before our class meeting, no later
than 10:00 pm. The last reflection is on the book I, Rigoberta Menchu. For this one you
should write up some two pages (one page single spaced). The assignment is for 5 points
but there is a built in extra-credit and you can score up to 10 for an assignment well done.
Home Video Film Assignment
For this assignment you should view outside of class any two of the following films and then
write up a 3-4 page brief on the films, focusing on how they are related to what we have been
covering in the course. Your brief should not be merely a description of the films: you should
analyze them in relation to the historical and analytical themes of the course. If you merely
describe the films you will receive few points. You should make reference, with appropriate
citations, in the brief to class lectures and readings, and specifically to the theories, terms, and
concepts we cover in class and the readings.
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MISSING (NOT the 2003 film by this title. This is an early 1980s film on Chile, the
1973 coup and the U.S. role in it, starring Jack Lemmon)
ROMERO (about El Salvador and Archbishop Oscar Arnolfo Romero)
EL NORTE (about the struggle of two Guatemalan refugees in the US)
THE AGRONOMIST (about the Haitian tragedy as told through the story of the murder
of a famous Haitian journalist)
LA HISTORIA OFICIAL (about the “dirty war” against dissidents during Argentina’s
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military dictatorship, 1976-83)
BREAD AND ROSES (about the struggle of largely Latino/a immigrant and black labor
force of janitors in Los Angeles to unionize)
LA OTRA CONQUISTA (about Mexico post-conquest)
CENTRAL STATION (about a child’s quest for survival in the face of inequality,
power and abuse in the “mean streets” of Brazil’s favelas)
LA ULTIMA CENA (depicts slavery in 19th century Cuba)
LA BOCA DEL LOBO (a fictional account of the Shining Path guerrilla movement in
the 1980s in Peru)
MARIA FULL OF GRACE (the noxious combination of poverty, gender oppression,
and international inequality is depicted in this film about three Colombian women forced
into participating in narcotics trafficking. Note: the women work in the transnational
flower industry)
CASA DE LOS ESPIRITUS (the story of a family over several generations from the
landed oligarchy in Chile, through which the country’s power relations and painful
history of struggle is told)
KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN (a homosexual and an underground revolutionary are
placed in the same jail cell during Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-1982)
FRESAS Y CHOCOLATE (strawberries and chocolate, a Cuban film on homosexuality
in Cuba)
IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES (a fictional account of the real-life story of
the Marabel sisters’ participation in the struggle against the U.S.-supported Trujillo
dictatorship in the late 1950s and early 1960s in the Dominican Republic.
TANGO BAR, or TANGO, NO ME DEJES NUNCA (do not chose both, just one or
the other) (both films explore Argentine’s historical and contemporary reality by
weaving it through the lens of tango).
MEMORIAS DE SUBDESARROLLO/MEMORIES OF
UNDERDEVELOPMENT, or CUBA, or THREE FACES OF CUBA (chose one of
these only) (all three are historic films from the early years of the Cuban revolution).
LA FIESTA DEL CHIVO (about the brutal Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican
Republic, available in Spanish and maybe with English subtitles).
CAUTIVA (about the life of one girl in Argentina who learns that her real parents were
detained, tortured, and killed by the military dictatorship just as she was born and that she
was giving over and raised by a couple who collaborated with the dictatorship….based on
a true story and a widespread phenomenon during the 1976-83 dictatorship)
THE SAME MOON (BAJO LA MISMA LUNA) (about the struggle of a Mexican
mother and a son to reunite in Los Angeles after the mother left Mexico to find work for
her family).
TRASPATIO (about the travails of Central American transnational migrants as they pass
through Mexico on route to the United States).
SLEEP DEALER (this science fictional account of a possible not-to-distant future, in
which water has been converted to a private corporate monopoly and immigrant workers
have been replaced in the U.S. by robots controlled by workers whose bodies have been
electron-biologically connected in Mexico. Although this is science fiction it touches on
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phenomena apparent in current capitalist globalization in Latin America).
BORDERTOWN (about the femicide that has been going on for two decades now in the
border city of Juarez and its linkage to the larger social, economic and political processes
bound up with the region’s globalization, including the spread of maquiladoras).
A BETTER LIFE (a poignant story of the struggle of one man and his son as
immigrants in Los Angeles)
EVEN THE RAIN (about the struggle in Bolivia in 2000 against the privatization of
water [the “water war”] with flashbacks to the Columbus conquest on genocide against
indigenous).
CLANDESTINE CHILDHOOD (about life in clandestinity during the 1970s military
dictatorship in Argentina).
MACHUCA (about the military coup in Chile in 1973 that overthrew, with US support, a
democratically elected socialist government and ushered in a brutal military dictatorship).
KILL THE MESSENGER (about how a U.S. journalist uncovered a secret CIA
operation to ferret weapons to Central America and bring back drugs that were
distributed in inner-city minority communities.
Internet Assignment
For this assignment you will explore the web sites listed at the end of this syllabus and read at
least three news/analysis items or feature articles that address at least three distinct current
events or topical matters in Latin America. Hypothetically, for example, you could read an
article about a U.S.-Venezuela dispute, another article about a massacre in Mexico, and a third
about how an indigenous organization has been increasing its influence in Peru. Note that each
article must come from a different web site. Then you will write an approximately two-page
write up on each news, analysis, or feature article, in which you analyze and relate the particular
item to the themes you have learned about and the perspective you have gained from the course
and indicating insights that the course and its required readings have given you. Make sure you
do not merely describe the article: rather, you must analyze the article. What you want to show
is how the course has helped you to be able to understand contemporary developments in Latin
America. Also, feel free to write more than 6 pages total if necessary (but not less).
REGARDING PLAGIARISM: A recent social science study found that 80 percent of college
students plagiarize in writing their papers. We do periodically check for plagiarism. If I find you
have plagiarized you will receive an automatic zero for the assignment, a likely failing grade for
the course, may be expelled from the course, and suffer other sanctions, in accordance with the
student code of conduct.
Tentative Week-by-Week Course Outline
and Schedule of Readings (subject to change)
Jan. 5:
Introduction to course: What is Latin America? What is social change in Latin
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America? What is development?
No readings for this first class.
Youtube: Calle 13 Latinoamerica (with English subtitles)
Youtube: Chile: El Pueblo Unido Jamas Será Vencido
Jan. 12:
Uneven Development in the World Capitalist System: Poverty, Inequality, and
Social Justice; Theories of Development, Underdevelopment, and Social Change.
Read: “Why I Asked my Students to Put Their Laptops Away,”; “The Sociology
of Development” (in reading packet); First part of Chapter 1, “History and
Power,” in Duncan Green.
Also: Watch “Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU [INCLUDE THIS IN YOUR
REFLECTION]
Film: Global Assembly Line
Reading Reflections #1 due for this class
Jan. 19:
Pre-Colombian Societies, and The Stages of Latin America’s Incorporation into
the World Capitalist System. Themes: The Conquest, myth and reality; precious
metals and minerals; export-crop plantations; dependent industrialization,
globalization.
Read: Stanton, “Before Columbus”, pp. 17-54, plus photos (in reading packet)
Reading Reflection #2 Due for this Class
Jan. 26:
Pre-Colombian Societies, and The Stages of Latin America’s Incorporation into
the World Capitalist System, conclusion. Themes: The Conquest, myth and
reality; precious metals and minerals; export-crop plantations; dependent
industrialization, globalization.
Read: “Pestilence and Genocide,” from American Holocaust (in reading packet),
Galeano, “Lust for Gold, Lust for Silver” from Open Veins of Latin
America (in reading packet); Next two parts of Green, Faces of Latin
America, “The Commodity Trade” and “Silent Revolution: Market
Economics”
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Youtube: “The Banana Republics”
Reading Reflection #3 Due for this Class
Feb. 2:
Conclusion of Stages of Latin America’s Incorporation into the World Capitalist
System. Catch Up
Read: Green, chapter 3, “Land, the City, and Environment” and Robinson,
“Latin America’s Pink Tide: The Straightjacket of Global Capitalism” (in
reading packet).
Film: The Panama Deception
Film: Bananaland: Blood, Bullets, and Poison
First take-home assignment: See above, “home video film assignment.”
THIS ASSIGNMENT WILL BE DUE ON Feb. 9.
Reading Reflection #4 due for this class (4 of 8)
Feb. 9: Culture and Cultural Practices in Latin America
Read: Munck, “Culture” (in reading packet) and Green, chapter 5, “Culture and
Religion”
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: THE MUSIC OF LATIN
AMERICA: POWERPOINT, MUSIC, AND DANCE
PERFORMANCE.
FIRST TAKE HOME DUE TODAY
Reading Reflection #5 due for this class
Feb. 16:
Revolutions and the Struggle for Social Change in Latin America
Read: Green, “Social Movements and the Struggle for Change” (from Chapter 4)
and “The Left in Latin America” (from Chapter 2), SubComandante Marcos, “A
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Tourist Guide to Chiapas”; Che Guevara, “Message of the Tricontinental”;
“Capitalist Development in Nicaragua: The Mirage of the Left”, “Latin America’s
Pink Tide: The Straightjacket of Global Capitalism”.
“Hasta Siempre Comandante”:
Film: Che Guevara
Reading Reflection #6 due for this class
Feb. 23:
U.S. Intervention in Latin America.
Read: Green, The State and the Military, Robinson, “Polyarchy: Coercion’s New
Face in Latin America” (in reading packet), “Currency of Death: Unraveling the
Political Economy of the Drug Wars symposium (all in reading packet), “The
Second Implosion of Central America” (available here:
https://nacla.org/news/2019/01/28/second-implosion-central-america)
Film: “The War on Democracy”, https://vimeo.com/16724719
Reading Reflection #7 due for this Class
March 2:
Racial and Ethnic Relations in Latin America/Women and Gender in Latin
America
Read: Green, “Race and Ethnicity” and “Gender and Politics,”, “Feminism Under
Construction” (this last one in reading packet)
Youtube: Ana Tijoux: Hip-Hop Against Patriarchal Capitalism
Youtube: ¡CHILE SE DESPIERTA! Chile Rising Up:
Reading Reflection # 8 due for this Class
March 9:
Case Study: Guatemala and the Indigenous Struggle, discussion of Rigoberta
Menchu
Read: I, Rigoberta Menchu, and read “The Second Implosion of Central
America” in reading packet (note: draw on this reading for your essay)
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Reading reflection #9 due today.
NOTE: THIS READING REFLECTION WORTH UP TO 10 POINTS, 5
BUILT IN EXTRA CREDIT. HERE IS THE PROMPT:
You will write up an analysis of I, Rigoberta Menchu. This is NOT a book
review. If you only summarize the book you will receive very few points.
You must draw very broadly on the history, the terms, concepts, theories,
and political-economy perspectives we have covered in the course to analyze
what Rigoberta is saying about her life, about Guatemala, about the
indigenous struggle, and so on. How can what you have learned in this
course help make sense of her story? Note that this book is a testimonial. If
she had written as a sociologist and political-economist, how might she
explain her personal story? In other words, how does sociology and political
economy help elucidate her story? You should draw on the reading “The
Second Implosion of Central America”
Film: Winds of Memory, or 500 Años de Resistencia, 500 Years of Resistance
Supplemental Bibliography on Latin America
General Latin America Reading
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Jan Knippers Black (ed), Latin America: Its Problems and Its Promise
Ronaldo Munck, Contemporary Latin America
Duncan Green, Faces of Latin Amerca (2nd, updated edition)
Walter D. Mignolo, The Idea of Latin America
Peter Winn, Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean
E Bradford Burns, Latin America: Conflict and Creation, A Historical Reader, and
Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History.
Eduardo Galeano, The Open Veins of Latin America.
Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith, Modern Latin America
Vanden and Prevost, The Politics of Latin America
William I. Robinson, Latin America and Global Capitalism
Frederick Weaver. Latin America in the World Economy: Mercantile Colonialism to
Global Capitalism
Robert N. Gwynne and Cristobal Kay, Latin America Transformed: Globalization
and Modernity
Hershberg and Rosen (editors), Latin America After Neo-Liberalism
Duncan Green, Silent Revolution: The Rise of Market Economics in Latin America
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Eric Eustace Williams, From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean,
1492-1969;
John Charles Chasteen, Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America.
Henry Veltmeyer, On the Move: The Politics of Social Change in Latin America.
Ronaldo Munck, Rethinking Latin America: Development, Hegemony, and Social
Transformation.
Jeb Sprague, Globalizing the Caribbean.
Zapatistas/Indigenous
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Gloria Muñoz Ramirez, The Fire and the Word
Tom Hayden (ed), The Zapatista Reader
Subcomandante Marcos, Our Word is out Weapon, Selected Writings
Neil Harvey, The Chiapas Rebellion: The Struggle for Land and Democracy
Jack Weatherford, Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the
World (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1988).
Mark Becker, Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador’s Modern Indigenous
Movement
Charles Hale, Mas que un Indio
Rene Harder Horst, A History of Indigenous Latin America: Aymara to Zapatistas
Gordon Hill, 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance
Haiti
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Randall Robinson, An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, from Revolution to the Kidnapping of
a President;
Timothy T. Schwartz, Travesty in Haiti: A true account of Christian Missions,
Orphanages, Fraud, Food Aid and Drug Trafficking;
Justin Pudor, Haiti’s New Dictatorship: The Coup, The Earthquake and the UN
Occupation.
Jeb Sprague, Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti.
Mexico/Maquiladoras, NAFTA and other Themes
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John Gibler, Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt
Altha J. Cravey, Women and Work in Mexico’s Maquiladoras
David Bacon, The Children of NAFTA: Labor Wars on the US/Mexico Border;
Maria Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, For We Are Sold: I And My People.
Susan Tiano, Patriarchy on the Line: Women, Gender, and Ideology in the Mexican
Maquila Industry.
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Central America
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Greg Grandin, The Last Colonial Massacre
William I. Robinson, Transnational Conflicts: Social Change, Globalization, and
Development (2003);
Elisabeth Jean Wood, Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador
Booth and Walker, Understanding Central America (get latest edition)
Venezuela, Cuba, Revolutions
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Greg Wilpert, Changing Venezuela By Taking Power: The History and Politics of the
Chavez Government
Aviva Chomsky, A History of the Cuban Revolution.
Richard Gott, Cuba: A New History
Walter LaFeber, Inevitable Revolutions
Jorge G. Castañeda, Utopia Unarmed: The Latin American Left after the Cold War
German Sanchez, Cuba and Venezuela: An Insight into Two Revolutions.
Richard Gott, Hugo Chavez: The Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela
Tariq Ali, Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope
Nikolas Kozloff, Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge of the US;
Bart Jones: The Hugo Chavez Story from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution;
German Sanchez, Cuba y Venezuela: Reflexiones y Debates;
Vilma Espin, Asela de los Santos, and Yolanda Ferrer. Women in Cuba: The Making
of a Revolution Within the Revolution: From Santiago de Cuba and the Rebel Army,
to the Birth of the Federation of Cuban Women, Pathfinder Press, 2012.
Roberto Regalado, Latin America at the Crossroads: Domination, Crisis, Popular
Movements and Political Alternatives
Jeffery R. Webber and Barry Carr (eds.), The New Latin American Left: Cracks in the
Empire.
George Ciccariello-Maher, We Created Chavez: A People’s History of the
Venezuelan Revolution
South America
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Forrest Hylton and Sinclair Thomson, Revolutionary Horizons: Past and Present in
Bolivian Politics
Doug Stokes, America’s Other War: Terrorizing Colombia
Oscar Olivera, Cochabamba! Water War in Bolivia
Teresa P. R. Caldeira, City of Walls: Crime. Segregation, and Citizenship in Sao
Paulo;
Jasmin Hristov, Blood and Capital: The Paramilitarization of Colombia
Javier Giraldo, Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy
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Garry M. Leech, Killing Peace: Colombia’s Conflict and the Failure of US
Intervention;
Sara Flounders, War in Colombia: Made in USA;
Robin Kirk, More Terrible Than Death: Drugs, Violence, and America’s War in
Colombia;
Mario Murillo, Colombia and the United States: War, Unrest, and Destabilization;
Aviva Chomsky, The Profits of Extermination: Big Mining in Colombia
Oliver Villar and Drew Cottle, Cocaine, Death Squads, and the War on Terror: U.S.
Imperialism and Class Struggle in Colombia.
Nikolas Kozloff, Revolution! South America and the Rise of the New Left;
Jasmin Hristov, Paramilitarism and Neoliberalism: Violent Systems of Capital
Accumulation in Colombia and Beyond.
Jeffrey R. Webber, The Last Day of Repression and the First Day of the Same: The
Politics and the Economics of the New Latin American Left
Immigration
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Joseph Nevins, Operation Gatekeeper
Deepa Fernandes, Targeted: Homeland Security and the Immigrant Business
Tanya Maria Golash Boza, Immigrant Policing, Disposable Labor, and Global
Capitalism;
Alfonso Gonzales, Reform Without Justice: Latino Migrant Politics and Homeland
Security;
David Bacon, Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes
Immigrants
Race/Ethnicity in Latin America
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Peter Wade, Race and Ethnicity in Latin America
June C. Nash, Mayan Visions: The Quest for Autonomy in the Age of Globalization
Kay B. Warren, Indigenous Movements and Their Critics: Pan-Maya Activism in
Guatemala.
Edward E. Telles, Race in Another America: The Significance of Skin Color in Brazil
Mark Q. Sawyer, Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba
Marilyn Grace Miller, Rise and Fall of the Cosmic Race: The Cult of Mestizaje in
Latin America
George Reid Andrews, Afro-Latin America, 1800-2000
Esteban Morales Dominguez, Race in Cuba: Essays on the Revolution and Racial
Inequality.
Women and Gender in Latin America
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Helen Safa, The Myth of the Male Breadwinner
Padula A and Smith LM, 1996, Sex and Revolution: Women in Socialist Cuba
Jane Jaquette (ed.), The Women’s Movement in Latin America: Participation and
Democracy.
Lynn Stephen, 1997, Women and Social Movements in Latin America: Power From
Below, Austin, University of Texas Press
Vilma Espin, Asela de los Santos, and Yolanda Ferrer. Women in Cuba: The Making
of a Revolution Within the Revolution: From Santiago de Cuba and the Rebel Army,
to the Birth of the Federation of Cuban Women, Pathfinder Press, 2012.
Jennifer Bickham Mendez, From the Revolution to the Maquiladoras: Gender,
Labor, and Globalization in Nicaragua
Social Movements in Latin America
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Arturo Escobar and Sonia Alvarez, The Making of Social Movements in Latin
America: Identity, Strategy, and Democracy.
Benjamin Dangl, Dancing with Dynamite: Social Movements and States in Latin
America
Raul Zibechi, Dispersing Power: Social Movements as Anti-State Forces
Raul Zibechi, Territories in Resistance
Leandro Vergara-Camus, Land and Freedom: The Zapatistas, The MST, and Peasant
Alternatives to Neoliberalism
US Intervention
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William I. Robinson, A Faustian Bargain: U.S. Intervention in the Nicaraguan
Elections and American Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era
William I. Robinson, Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, U.S. Intervention, and
Hegemony
William Blum, U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII (updated 2003
edition – you will find an exhaustive bibliography on U.S. interventionism by
following the footnotes to each entry)
William I. Robinson, Latin America and Global Capitalism.
Greg Grandin, Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of
the New Imperialism
Dawn Paley, Drug War Capitalism.
Jasmin Hristov, Paramilitarism and Neoliberalism: Violent Systems of Capital
Accumulation in Colombia and Beyond.
Dana Frank, The Long Honduran Night
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Leading Journals and News Sources On Latin America
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Latin America Perspectives (journal)
Journal of Latin American Studies (journal)
Bulletin of Latin American Research (journal)
Latin American Research Review (official journal of LASA)
Latin American Politics and Society (journal)
Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies (journal)
Hispanic American Historical Review (journal)
Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (journal)
NACLA [North American Congress on Latin America] Report on the Americas (bimonthly semi-journal, semi-news/analysis magazine) [HIGHLY RECOMMENDED].
Latin American Weekly Report (weekly news brief)
LANIC-University of Texas at Austin. Crucial portal to news and data on and from
Latin America, considered the “Virtual Library” for Latin American Studies,
http://lanic.utexas.edu/las.html
http://www.clacsu.edu.ar, website of the Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias
Sociales (Latin American Social Science Council, based in Buenos Aires)
http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/, website of the U.S.-based Latin American Studies
Association (LASA).
Web Sites with News, Analysis, and Feature Stories on Latin America
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http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/index.html. Business and economic news
from a conservative viewpoint.
http://www.zmag.org/weluser.htm. https://zcomm.org/znet/. News, analysis, and
commentary from around the world from a progressive and radical social justice
viewpoint. You need to search for the cluster on news from Latin America.
http://upsidedownworld.org. Website on Latin American social movements and
popular struggles.
http://alainet.org/. Excellent website for news, analysis and commentary on social
struggles in Latin America, in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.
http://www.narconews.com/. This website was started originally to “report on the
drug war and democracy in Latin America” and now covers social movements and
current events very broadly from a progressive perspective.
https://nacla.org/. Home page of North American Congress on Latin America.
Contains many interesting articles from a progressive perspective
http://www1.lanic.utexas.edu/. The most important single website for research on
Latin America. Run out of the University of Texas-Austin, this is a clearinghouse for
a vast quantity of websites, reports, and data on Latin America, largely from Latin
America.
http://americaspolicy.org, and http://americas.irc-online.org. Web site of the
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Americas Policy Program, providing a wide variety of articles and analysis.
http://www.barnews.com/index.php. This website is a porthole that will direct you to
newspapers and magazines published in different Latin American countries.
http://www.telesurtv.net/index.php. Note: This is a Spanish-language only website.
Journalists and governments from several South American countries, including
Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, among others, wanted to create an
alternative news channel to CNN International in Latin America. Telesur is the
collective effort and this is the website.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/section/news, english language news service
produced by Telesur.
http://www.rebelion.org/. This website is in Spanish, and contains critical analyses of
current political processes and events in Latin America.
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/. This website is dedicated to critical news
coverage and analyses of events in Venezuela and in particular regarding the
Bolivarian revolution.
http://www.cipcol.org/, the Center for International Policy’s webpage on Colombia,
news and analysis from a critical perspective.
http://www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org/, excellent website on Haiti
http://isla.igc.org/index.html, Information Services Latin America (ISLA), a porthole
to many good news and analysis items from a critical perspective.
http://www.cipamericas.org/, website of Americas Program.
http://www.lab.org.uk/index.php, website of Latin America Bureau.
APPENDIX: Here is a list of various student services available on campus. I encourage you to make use of
them:
• Campus Learning Assistance Services (CLAS) http://clas.sa.ucsb.edu
• Campus Advocacy Resource and Education (CARE): http://wgse.sa.ucsb.edu/care/home
• Counseling & Psychological Services http://caps.sa.ucsb.edu
• Disabled Students Program http://dsp.sa.ucsb.edu/
• Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) http://eop.sa.ucsb.edu
• Health and Wellness http://wellness.sa.ucsb.edu
• Little Big Engineer: https://orgsync.com/129034/chapter
• MultiCultural Center http://mcc.sa.ucsb.edu/
• Non-Traditional Student Resource Center http://wgse.sa.ucsb.edu/nontrad/
• Office of International Students and Scholars http://oiss.sa.ucsb.edu/
• Office of the Ombuds https://ombuds.ucsb.edu/
• Office of Student Life (OSL) http://osl.sa.ucsb.edu/
• Opening New Doors to Accelerating Success (ONDAS) Centerhttp://www.ondas.ucsb.edu/home
• Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity: http://wgse.sa.ucsb.edu/RCSGD/home
• Transfer Student Center (TSC) http://transfercenter.ucsb.edu
• UCSB Alcohol and Drug Program: https://alcohol.sa.ucsb.edu/
• UCSB Social Work Services: http://studenthealth.sa.ucsb.edu/behavioral-health/social-work
• UCSB Student Health Services: http://studenthealth.sa.ucsb.edu/
• Undergraduate Mentorship Program http://duels.ucsb.edu/academics/academic-success/mentor
• Undocumented Student Services http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/dreamscholars/home
• Veterans’ Resource Center: http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/veterans/home
• Women’s Center http://wgse.sa.ucsb.edu/WomensCenter/home
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