Postcolonial Latin American History

Course Description

This course offers an experiential and transnational approach to the history of Latin America from the early 19th century to the present. Through critical engagement with primary sources, full-length monographs, and contemporary scholarly debates, students will explore how race, ethnicity, gender, class, and geopolitics have shaped nation-state formation and identity across the region. Drawing on subaltern studies and historical anthropology, the course investigates key themes including dictatorship and human rights, economic inequality, environmentalism, and Latin America’s evolving role in a globalized world. Students will develop historical thinking skills and gain a nuanced understanding of the region’s local particularities and global connections.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Critically analyze and interpret primary sources with attention to transnational contexts and historiographical debates.
• Apply historical concepts such as change-over-time, causation, continuity/discontinuity, and contingency to major developments in modern Latin American history.
• Evaluate how race, ethnicity, gender, and class intersect with issues like citizenship, nation-building, and state power.
• Historicize contemporary issues in Latin America through engagement with scholarly monographs and interdisciplinary methods.
• Trace key regional and global historical patterns, identifying transformative events that shaped the trajectory of Latin American nations and peoples.