Studying at York
The History of United States-Latin American Relations, 1800-Present - Semester 1 - HIS00220H
- Department: History
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
The US and Latin America are deeply linked by their shared histories of colonialism, slavery, revolution, war, and cooperation. However, this history is too often reduced to a narrative of the Monroe Doctrine and US political and economic domination of the hemisphere. A transnational history of US-Latin American relations reveals a far more interesting story of protest, collaboration, and negotiation with state and non-state actors crossing borders, continents, and allegiances. By examining not just diplomatic agreements and state department reports, but also dissident texts, photography, advertising, and oral history we can better grasp how foreign exchange and conflict changed the history of the hemisphere.
This module examines US-Latin American foreign relations through a thematic approach that utilises different methods of studying this history. We will apply a transnational lens to better understand the US’s foreign policy towards Latin America, but also how these interactions changed foreign relations within Latin America. Rather than treating the US as an all-powerful hegemon, we will also assess how Latin Americans challenged and shaped the US’s domestic politics and foreign policy. Individual weeks will focus on themes and topics like indigenous international politics, slavery, religion, military invasions and occupations, revolution, and protest. The first semester broadly considers the 19th century, while the second focuses on the 20th and 21st centuries. While concentrating on the history of foreign relations, the module also delves into histories of capitalism, ecology, empire, and migration. While we will try to understand foreign relations outside the boundaries of the state, the module will focus on the US’s interactions with Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.
Related modules
Students taking this module must also take the second part in Semester 2.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
The aims of this module are:
- To introduce students to in depth study of a specific historical topic using primary and secondary material;
- To enable students to explore the topic through discussion and writing; and
- To enable students to evaluate and analyse primary sources.
Module learning outcomes
Students who complete this module successfully will:
- Grasp key themes, issues and debates relevant to the topic being studied;
- Have acquired knowledge and understanding about that topic;
- Be able to comment on and analyse original sources;
- Be able to relate the primary and secondary material to one another; and
- Have acquired skills and confidence in close reading and discussion of texts and debates.
Module content
Students will attend a 1-hour briefing in week 1 and a 3-hour seminar in weeks 2-4, 6-8 and 10-11 of semester 1. Weeks 5 & 9 are Reading and Writing Weeks (RAW). Students prepare for and participate in eight three-hour seminars in all.
Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:
- Indigenous peoples
- ‘Revolts and Rebellions’
- Independence
- Slavery
- Manifest Destiny
- The Civil War
- Animals and Ecology
- Religion
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
For formative work, students will produce a text commentary.
The summative assessment will consist of two parts, to be submitted together:
a) Two text commentaries of 500-750 words; and
b) One 1,500-word essay.
The commentaries comprise 50% and the essay 50% of the overall mark for this module. Summative assessments will be due in the assessment period.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Following their formative task, students will typically receive written feedback that will include comments and a mark within 10 working days of submission.
Work will be returned to students in their seminars and may be supplemented by the tutor giving some oral feedback to the whole group. All students are encouraged, if they wish, to discuss the feedback on their formative work during their tutor’s student hours. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.
For summative assessment tasks, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 25 working days of the submission deadline. The tutor will then be available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment.
Indicative reading
For semester time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading:
- Alanís Enciso, Fernando Saúl. They Should Stay There: The Story of Mexican Migration and Repatriation during the Great Depression. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2017.
- Baumgartner, Alice. South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War. New York: Basic Books, 2020.
- Herman, Rebecca. Cooperating with the Colossus: A Social and Political History of US Military Bases in World War II Latin America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.