This HASS-D/CI course is designed as an introduction to Latin American politics and society for undergraduates at MIT. No background on the region is required. Overall workload (reading, writing, class participation, and examinations) is similar to that of other HASS-D courses. Many of the themes raised here are covered in greater detail in other courses: 21F.020J (New World Literature), 21F.716 (Introduction to Contemporary Hispanic Literature), 21F.730 (Twentieth-Century Hispanic American Literature), 21F.735 (Advanced Topics in Hispanic Literature and Film), 21A.220 (The Conquest of America), 21H.802 (Modern Latin America), 3.982 (The Ancient Andean World), 3.983 (Ancient Mesoamerican Civilization), 17.508 (Regime Change), and 17.554 (Political Economy of Latin America).
Because this is a HASS-D CI subject, it must meet the following mechanical criteria. This includes at least 20 pages of writing divided among 3-5 assignments (in the case of this class, three). Of these assignments, at least one must be revised and resubmitted. HASS CI subjects must further offer students substantial opportunity for oral expression, through presentations, student-led discussion, or class participation. In order to guarantee sufficient attention to student writing and substantial opportunity for oral expression, the maximum number of students per section in a HASS CI subject is 18, except in the case of a subject taught without sections where the faculty member in charge is the only instructor. In that case, enrollments can rise to 25, if a writing fellow is attached to the subject.
Requirements include weekly course readings and videos; active participation in class discussions, class presentations, and the class debate; three short papers (two of which must be revised and resubmitted); one in-class map test; and one three-hour final exam.
Weekly readings range from 75 to 130 pages, or about 100 pages on average. Readings include articles from the popular press, literary works, and scholarly research from the social sciences. Principal texts for the course include:
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Course Reader.
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Winn, Peter. Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.
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Spooner, Mary Helen. Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
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Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. New York: Bantam Books, 1985.
I strongly recommend that you purchase all of the above books, the last two of which were originally written in Spanish. (Feel free to buy and read them in the original, if you prefer.) However, you can also find all required readings on reserve in Dewey Library and Hayden Library.
If your first language is not English, you should still try to read the non-literary works in English. For literary works (such as García Márquez and Allende), however, please feel free to read them in the original Spanish.
Many weekly readings are accompanied by videos or films, which are an integral part of the course. Videos from the Americas series, produced in part by WGBH-Boston, are one hour each. Please note that the film The Battle of Chile is very long, so you should plan in advance appropriately.
There will be a 30-minute map test at the end of the second week of the course. (Those students joining the course late can make up the map test outside of class with no penalty.) This test will cover all countries in Latin America, as well as major cities and geographical regions (e.g., the Amazon basin, the Andes, etc.). Over the course of the semester, you will also write three papers addressing different topics raised in the course of the semester. Due dates for the papers are noted below, and paper topics are attached to the syllabus. Finally, at the end of the semester during the official exam period, there will be a three-hour exam covering all course materials. Half of this exam will be based on identification and short answer questions; half will be based on an essay.
You are expected to participate in class discussion throughout the semester. Participation includes informal class discussion of the readings and films, in-class presentations, and a formal class debate. Attendance is obviously a prerequisite for class participation. If you must miss a class, you should notify me in advance. More than two unexcused absences will seriously jeopardize your class participation grade.
Also, please notify me at the beginning of the class if, for whatever reason, you are unprepared to participate in class discussion that day. I "cold call" people freely, so in a small class there is nowhere to hide. Again, more than two unexcused "unprepareds" will jeopardize your class participation grade.
My somewhat odd habit is to record class participation grades for each student after each non-lecture class. If your attendance record is perfect, the lowest two of these grades will be dropped at the end of the semester. If you miss only one class over the semester, the lowest of your grades will be dropped.
Please note that we will have one formal class debate, one extemporaneous class presentation, and one planned class presentation over the course of the semester.
Class participation (including the class debates and presentations) will count for 30% of the grade. The three papers will each count for 15%, the map test for 5%, and the final exam will count for 20%.
Papers that are late will be penalized by one-third of a letter grade for each day late. If you need an extension, please tell me ahead of time. Extensions requested a week or more in advance will be automatically granted; extensions requested the night before are virtually automatically denied.
When writing a paper (or an essay exam), you must identify the nature and extent of your intellectual indebtedness to the authors whom you have read or to anyone else from whom you have gotten ideas (e.g., classmates, invited lecturers, etc.). You can do so through footnotes, a bibliography, or some other kind of scholarly device. Failure to disclose your reliance on the research or thinking of others is PLAGIARISM, which is considered to be the most serious academic offense and will be treated as such. If you have any questions about how you should document the sources of your ideas, please ask your instructors before you submit your written work.
MIT's academic honesty policy can be found at the following link:
http://web.mit.edu/policies/10.0.html
For stylistic and substantive advice on writing your papers, see the hints attached to this syllabus. Guidance for formatting can be found at www.mit.writing.edu. Also, I practice blind grading, so please make sure to put your name on a separate sheet at the end of the paper.
Extensive resources are available to you if you want help with writing. These resources include the MIT Writing Center on campus, the writing tutor for the course, the TA for the course, the course website, and me. Please take advantage of these if you have any questions or doubts!