Spring 2024

U.S.–Latin American Relations

Listed in: Political Science, as POSC-486

Faculty

Javier Corrales (Section 01)

Description

Can small and non-powerful nations ever profit from a relationship with a more powerful hegemon? Who gains and who loses in this type of asymmetrical relationship? This seminar attempts to answer these questions by looking at the relations between the U.S. and Latin American nations. The seminar begins by presenting different ways in which intellectuals have tried to conceptualize and analyze the relations between the U.S. and Latin America. These approaches are then applied to different dimensions of the relationship: (1) intra-hemispheric relations prior to World War II (the sources of U.S. interventionism and the response of Latin America); (2) political and security issues after World War II (the role of the Cold War in the hemisphere and U.S. reaction to instability in the region, with special emphasis on Cuba in the early 1960s, Peru in the late 1960s, Chile in the early 1970s, The Falklands War and Nicaragua in the 1980s); and (3) economic and business issues (the politics of foreign direct investment and trade, and the debt crisis in the 1980s). Finally, we examine contemporary trends: the emerging hemispheric convergence, economic integration, drug trade, immigration, the defense of democracy regime, and the re-emergence of multilateral interventionism.

Requisite: At least one POSC course (200 level or above).

Limited to 18 students. Spring semester. Professor Corrales.

How to handle overenrollment: Priority will be given to Juniors, and then Sophomores. Seniors will be admitted to the course only if they need an advanced seminar in Political Science to graduate.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis written work, readings, independent research, oral presentations, group work.

POSC 486 - LEC

Section 01
Tu 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM FAYE 117

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
Latin America Confronts the United States: Asymmetry and Influence Cambridge University Press Thomas Long Amherst Books TBD
Neighborly Adversaries: Readings in U.S.-Latin American Relations Rowman and Littlefield - 3rd edition (2015) Michael LaRosa and Frank O. Mora Amherst Books TBD
Understanding U.S.–Latin American Relations Routledge (2011) Mark E. Williams Amherst Books TBD
U.S.-Venezuela Relations since the 1990s: Coping with Midlevel Security Threats Routledge(2013) Javier Corrales and Carlos A. Romero Amherst Books TBD

These books are available locally at Amherst Books.

Offerings

Other years: Offered in Fall 2015, Spring 2019, Spring 2021