  Course Description
Why study US-Latin American Relations?
| Compare a variety of cultures |
Become a more informed global citizen |
Historical, regional ties |
| Increasing imports and exports with Latin America (NAFTA, FTAA) |
Increasing US investment and trade |
Fast-growing Hispanic population in the US |
| Geographic Proximity |
Cultural blending: salsa, reggae, bossa nova |
Expand your horizons |
You'll be fascinated with the diversity and vibrance of
Latin America. The region is gyrating music and dance, chili peppers, chocolate, revolutions,
towering mountains, rain forests, beautiful beaches, cowboys, and much
much more.
Need more reason to study Latin America? Let me quote from Craufurd D. Goodwin and Michael Nacht, Missing the Boat: The Failure to Internationalize American Higher Education (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1991, p. 113): "To a degree far greater than at any time in the past, the world is an integrated whole. This generalization holds at every level. The most urgent problems facing humankind cannot any longer be thought to stop at national borders: Population growth, disease, environmental degradation, arms races, terrorism--none of these can be perceived any longer as someone else's problem or as ours alone. They are ours collectively. A highly integrated world economy means that business practices, legal systems, engineering tasks, and food production can no longer be viewed exclusively from a domestic perspective. They are all global issues. Those who persevere in a parochial approach to these subjects cut themsvels off from prospective solutions and impose unacceptable costs on themselves and on the world. Even the conception of national security as a purely military problem has lost much of its rationale. Fortress America is simply not a viable option. What good are so-called secure borders if nuclear fallout from some third-party conflict half a world away decimates our own population, or if tropical deforestatation and worldwide air pollution lead to global warning and inundation of our coast cities?"
Course Description  [Photo at right: Along the border between Argentina and Brazil, the Iguaçu River empties into the Paraná River. Near the junction of the two rivers, 275 waterfalls form the spectacular Iguaçu Falls.]
This course traces the historical evolution of relations between Latin America and the US from the early nineteenth century to the present. Since the announcement of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the United States has played a growing role in the affairs of Latin America. Latin Americans have looked at the increasing power and influence of their northern neighbor with a mixture of admiration and fear. Trade, investment, and debt, revolution, security issues, environmental problems, and other hemispheric issues bind together North and South America. Geographical proximity, the fast growing Hispanic population in the US, and US superpower status dictate that US-Latin American relations will remain important.
As in all history courses, students use a mix of primary and secondary sources (see diagram) to construct an understanding of the past. You examine the most significant eras and issues in inter-American relations -- the myth and reality of the Monroe Doctrine, Manifest Destiny & expansionism, filibustering in Central America, Dollar Diplomacy, the Good Neighbor Policy, Alliance for Progress, and US opposition to revolution. What makes our approach a bit different is that we examine these topics using mostly primary sources--firsthand accounts and historical documents from the past. Some of these primary sources come from your assigned book of documented, edited by Holden and Zolov. You'll read others on your Online Primary Source Page. YOU will develop your own interpretations of past events based on your analysis of these documents.
GER Course Objectives
This course fulfills the NCSU History GER (General Education Requirement) for an English- speaking culture. Each course in the history category of the GER will provide instruction and guidance that help students to:
- understand and engage in the human experience through the interpretation of evidence from the past situated in geotemporal context; and
Outcomes: Identify the major periods and themes in US-Latin American relations; analyze the dynamics and determinants of interactions between the US and Latin America. Measure: online quizzes, essays, online discussions
- become aware of the act of historical interpretation itself, through which historians use varieties of evidence to offer perspectives on the meaning of the past; and
Outcomes: evaluate evidence from primary sources and compare it with a historian's perspective (Longley). Measures: online discussions, essays
- make academic arguments about history using reasons and evidence for supporting those reason that are appropriate o the field of study.
Outcome: synthesize historical evidence from a wide range of primary and secondary sources into coherent, well-supported, clearly expressed interpretations.
Measures: online discussions, essays
It so happens, that these goals map extremely well to the qualities and skills desired by private sector employers. You're not just studying history; you're preparing well for the job market.
OK, I'm with you so far-- so how do we do learn all this stuff on the Web? You will jointly construct interpretations of the past by doing several activities. You'll write some interpretive essays, just as you would in any advanced history course. However, these essays will build mostly on primary source documents. YOU will be the historian creating a vision of the past, not just regurgitating someone's else's views. Second, you will engage in many online discussions--the heart and soul of the course. You will read and respond to one another's ideas. You will think and then rethink your assumptions about past events and periods. Third, you'll try to gain greater insights into Latin American perspectives by summarizing news reports from Latin American online newspapers and magazines. You'll share these insights with your colleagues in a special forum. You will also work jointly to create some dynamite web sites that teach others in the course about various aspects of US-Latin American relations. These activities, when combined, will give you a broad intellectual workout and a solid knowledge of the key events, issues, conflicts, and dilemmas of US-Latin American relations.
Who is Dr. Slatta and why study with him? 1. I couldn't get into any other classes. 2. I'm looking for something really different. Both good reasons. Learn a little more about your instructor.
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