Raul L. Madrid

Prerequisites

None

Course Description

This course will analyze the origins and consequences of U.S. policies toward Latin America. The first third of the course provides some basic background on U.S.-Latin American relations. We will identify the main actors in U.S. policymaking in the region, discuss different theories that seek to explain U.S.-Latin American relations, and examine the history of U.S.-Latin American relations from the colonial period to World War II. The second part of the course will deal with U.S.-Latin American relations during the Cold War, from 1945 to 1990. The topics examined here will include the Cuban missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs, U.S. support for South American military regimes, and U.S. policy toward guerrilla movements in Central America. The final section of the course will examine current issues in U.S.-Latin American relations, including trade, immigration, narcotics and the promotion of human rights and democracy.

Grading Policy

2 in-class examinations with multiple choice and essay questions (30% each)

1 in-class examination with multiple choice questions only (20%)

1 5-6 page policy research paper (20%)

Texts

Danner, Mark. The Massacre at El Mozote. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Kennedy, Robert. Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: W. W. Norton and Co. 1999. 

Weeks, Gregory. U.S. and Latin American Relations. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008.

Course packet

Prerequisites:

6 semester hours of lower-division coursework in government

Course Description:

This course will provide a broad introduction to the changing politics of the region.  We will explore the causes and consequences of the political and economic changes that have swept Latin America during the last century. The course will examine why Latin American countries have shifted from free market policies to widespread state intervention and then back again. It will analyze the cycles of democratic and authoritarian rule in the region and their implications for the welfare of Latin American citizens. And it will discuss some of the most important contemporary economic, social and political challenges facing countries of the region.  The course will focus on trends affecting Latin America as a whole, but some lectures and readings will examine how these trends played out in specific countries of the region.

Grading Policy:

1st examination: 30%

2nd examination: 30%

3rd examination: 15%

Short (5-6 page) research paper: 15%

Pop quizzes: 10%

Texts:

Hillman, Richard S. and Thomas D’Agostino, ed. Understanding Contemporary Latin America. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2011.  4th Edition.

Smith, Peter H. Democracy in Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. 2nd Edition.

Winn, Peter. Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press, 2006. 3rd Edition.

A course packet of additional readings

Prerequisites 

None

Course Description:

This course will explore the theoretical literatures on democratization and democratic consolidation. It will first examine debates over the definition and measurement of democracy and democratic consolidation and it will evaluate the various research methods used in this field. It will then analyze important theories that have sought to explain the emergence of democracy, including studies that have emphasized economic development, class constellations and inequality, social cleavages, institutional factors, and international diffusion. Finally, it will explore the growing literature on the determinants of democratic stability and deepening.

Grading Policy

Students will be graded based on class participation (15%); an article review (15%); a conceptual paper (20%); a review essay (20%); and a research proposal (30%).

Texts 

Coppedge, Michael. Democratization and Research Methods. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012

Teorell, Jan. Determinants of Democratization: Explaining Regime Change in the World, 1972-2006. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

A course packet of readings will also be assigned.

Prerequisites

None 

Course Description

This course will analyze the origins and consequences of U.S. policies toward Latin America. The first third of the course provides some basic background on U.S.-Latin American relations. We will identify the main actors in U.S. policymaking in the region, discuss different theories that seek to explain U.S.-Latin American relations, and examine the history of U.S.-Latin American relations from the colonial period to World War II. The second part of the course will deal with U.S.-Latin American relations during the Cold War, from 1945 to 1990. The topics examined here will include the Cuban missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs, U.S. support for South American military regimes, and U.S. policy toward guerrilla movements in Central America. The final section of the course will examine current issues in U.S.-Latin American relations, including trade, immigration, narcotics and the promotion of human rights and democracy.

Grading Policy

2 in-class examinations with multiple choice and essay questions (30% each)

1 in-class examination with multiple choice questions only (20%)

1 5-6 page policy research paper (20%)

Texts:

Danner, Mark. The Massacre at El Mozote. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Kennedy, Robert. Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: W. W. Norton and Co. 1999.

Weeks, Gregory. U.S. and Latin American Relations. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008.

Course packet

Course Description:

This course will provide a broad introduction to the changing politics of the region.  We will explore the causes and consequences of the political and economic changes that have swept Latin America during the last century. The course will examine why Latin American countries have shifted from free market policies to widespread state intervention and then back again. It will analyze the cycles of democratic and authoritarian rule in the region and their implications for the welfare of Latin American citizens. And it will discuss some of the most important contemporary economic, social and political challenges facing countries of the region.  The course will focus on trends affecting Latin America as a whole, but some lectures and readings will examine how these trends played out in specific countries of the region.

Prerequisites:

6 semester hours of lower-division coursework in government

Grading:

1st examination: 30%

2nd examination: 30%

3rd examination: 15%

Short (5-6 page) research paper: 15%

Pop quizzes: 10%

Texts:

Hillman, Richard S. and Thomas D’Agostino, ed. Understanding Contemporary Latin America. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2011.  4th Edition.

Smith, Peter H. Democracy in Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. 2nd Edition.

Winn, Peter. Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press, 2006. 3rd Edition.

A course packet of additional readings

This writing component course will examine the struggle for development in Latin America.  In the first part of the course, we will examine critically some of the major theories of development.  We will then analyze some theories that aim at explaining why Latin America has not developed as rapidly as some other parts of the world. In the final section of the course, we will examine some of the major development challenges that Latin America faces.

See syllabus

This course will provide a broad introduction to the changing politics of the region.  We will explore the causes and consequences of the political and economic changes that have swept Latin America during the last century. We will examine why Latin American countries have shifted from free market policies to widespread state intervention and then back again. We will analyze the cycles of democratic and authoritarian rule in the region and their implications for the welfare of Latin American citizens. And we will discuss of the most important contemporary economic, social and political challenges facing countries of the region.  The course will focus on trends affecting Latin America as a whole, but some lectures and readings will examine how these trends played out in individual countries in the region.

This writing component course will examine the struggle for development in Latin America during the last century. In the first part of the course, we will examine critically some of the major theories of development. We will then assess how well these, and other, theories explain economic and political outcomes in Latin America. In the final section of the course, we will examine some of the major development challenges that Latin America currently faces.

Course Description:

This course will analyze the origins and consequences of U.S. policies toward Latin America. The first third of the course provides some basic background on U.S.-Latin American relations. We will identify the main actors in U.S. policymaking in the region, discuss different theories that seek to explain U.S.-Latin American relations, and examine the history of U.S.-Latin American relations from the colonial period to World War II. The second part of the course will deal with U.S.-Latin American relations during the Cold War, from 1945 to 1990. The topics examined here will include the Cuban missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs, U.S. support for South American military regimes, and U.S. policy toward guerrilla movements in Central America. The final section of the course will examine current issues in U.S.-Latin American relations, including trade, immigration, narcotics and the promotion of human rights and democracy.

Grading Policy:

2 in-class examinations with multiple choice and essay questions (30% each)
1 in-class examination with multiple choice questions only (15%)
1 5-6 page policy research paper (15%)
Participation in discussion sections (10%)

Textbooks:

Danner, Mark. The Massacre at El Mozote. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Kennedy, Robert. Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: W. W. Norton and Co. 1999.

Weeks, Gregory. U.S. and Latin American Relations. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008.

Course packet

Government 312L satisfies the second half of the mandated six hours of government that every UT student must take.  Course covers analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution, and assumes basic knowledge of government from GOV 310L, which is a prerequiste. May be taken for credit only once.