Geography 214

 Professor Lise Nelson

 MW 14:00-15:20

 240C McKenzie

In addition, you must register for a discussion section.  See   time schedule.

This course explores, at an introductory level, the cultural, economic, political and environmental geographies of Latin America.  We examine the legacies of conquest and colonialism in the region, and then turn towards twentieth century transformations, including rural “modernization”; the rapid growth of cities and migration; U.S.- Latin American relations; as well as the dynamics of contemporary “free-trade” globalization.  We will look at these topics through four lens:

1. The uneven geography of these transformations:  how do they play out differently in different regions and locales in the Americas?
2. The geography of power and inequality:  how and why do some social groups benefit from these transformations, and who is marginalized?
3. The changing relationship between humans and the environment:  how have natural and human environments been transformed over time in the region?
4. The geography of political institutions, networks and resistances:  how has the trajectory of “development” in the region been shaped by state policy and challenged by urban, peasant and indigenous movements?

Course requirements:

The grade for this course will be divided into the following parts:  in-class exercises (25%); participation and attendance (10%); a midterm exam (20%); a final exam (25%); and a short paper (20%).  The midterm and final exams will consist of short and long-answer essay questions, as well as a map quiz section.  The short paper will allow the students to do a small amount of research on a topic of their choice related to class themes, and write  short critical analysis of the topic.  This will be explained further in class.

Textbooks:

There two required books for this course, in addition to a reading packet available on-line in the Knight Library.

• Hillman, Richard S. (2001) Understanding Contemporary Latin America.  Second Edition.  Boulder: Lynne Rienner.

• NACLA:  North American Report on the Americas “The Social Origins of Race, Race and Racism in the Americas, Part I.” Vol. 36, no. 4. (May/June 2001)