hist 6330: research in latin american · hist 6330: research in latin american history summer iii:...

Course Description:

esearch in Latin American

History is an advanced

research seminar for

Master’s students. As

graduate students and

budding historians, you must develop

the research skills you will need to

conduct independent historical analysis

and complete your MA theses. Many of

you will go on to present your findings

not only at your thesis defense, but also

in diverse professional settings, such as

at academic conferences. In order to

excel in these settings, you will not only

need sophisticated research and critical

analysis skills, but also advanced

competencies in analytical reasoning,

writing, argumentation, public

speaking, and critical engagement.

This course provides a practical forum

for you to develop and hone these

essential professional skills. Designed

as a series of five conference-style

meetings, this course emphasizes two

sets of skills: original primary source

analysis, and critical engagement with

secondary scholarship. Because this is a

research-oriented seminar, the majority

of the readings and a significant portion

of the writing assignments focus on

analyzing and interpreting primary sources on

selected topics of Latin American social history.

For the purposes of this seminar, we will focus on

two distinct genres of published primary sources:

travelogues—narratives written by foreign

visitors to Latin America—and testimonies,

accounts produced by Latin Americans, usually

belonging to a subaltern social group. Given the

profoundly different perspectives offered by each

genre, your main job is to engage these texts

critically with a clear understanding of the power

relations at play.

As a reduced seat time course, we will meet every

other week. However, students should expect to

read the equivalent of one book and 3 chapters,

and complete writing assignments every week.

On the weeks we do not meet, students will work

independently in service of their assigned

conference role (panel chair, presenter,

commentator, audience). On weeks we do meet in

R

HIST 6330: RESEARCH IN LATIN AMERICAN

HISTORY

Summer III: June 6-August 19, 2016

Tuesdays, 5:00-8:30pm

ARHU 259

Professor: Dr. Bonnie A. Lucero

Office: ARHU 306

Office Hours: Every other Tuesday, 3:50-4:50pm, and by appointment

Email: [email protected]

“Latin American Social History between Travelogues and Testimonios”

mailto:[email protected]

HIST 5340: READINGS IN LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY—DR. BONNIE A. LUCERO—FALL 2015—PAGE 2

person, students will engage with one

another in a conference forum,

participating as specified in their

assigned roles: presenting their analyses

of selected primary source texts,

critiquing the work of others, and

engaging in discussion and question-

answer sessions. Ultimately, students will emerge

from this course with tangible experience working

with different genres of published primary

sources, presenting your own original historical

analyses, and engaging and applying critical

feedback to improve your work.

CONFERENCE ROLES:

his course is structured as a series of five conferences. Students will earn points towards

their final grade by serving in one specific role during each of our five in-person

conference-style meeting. Each student must be a panelist in at least two different

conferences. Additionally, each student must serve as either chair or commentator in at least

one conference. Students will be members of the audience at no more than two conferences.

Each of the four specific roles central to professional conferences in the discipline of history

entails distinct responsibilities. The roles are based loosely on the American Historical

Association Conference Guidelines, which are available https://www.historians.org/about-aha-

and-membership/governance/policies-and-documents-of-the-association/annual-meeting-

guidelines

CHAIR:

Chairs (one per conference panel) supervise actual sessions. They play a critical role in insuring

that sessions benefit panelists, audience, and the profession alike. Chairs should communicate

with participants regularly, acquainting themselves with their

backgrounds and their intended presentation, and informing

them of the time limit for their talks. Chairs should introduce

panelists in a way that highlights their professional standing and

the topics they will address. Chairs also have an obligation to

the audience, ensuring that panelists keep to their allotted time

as well as allowing substantial time for questions and discussion

from the audience. Chairs should also encourage participants to

deliver talks in an engaging manner, discouraging them from

the widespread practice of reading papers.

Core responsibilities include:

Preparing and posting a 250-300 word session abstract

at least 24 hours prior to scheduled Conference. Session

abstracts introduce the topic, provide an overview of the

most salient historiographical patterns, and

foregrounding the major issues addressed in the papers.

In order to present a coherent framework for the panel,

chairs must conduct the necessary secondary research to

provide accurate historiographical context. The best

session abstracts—i.e. those that are most likely to be

accepted at real conferences—coherently weave

together the ideas contained in the distinct papers to

offer thematic or theoretical cohesiveness to the session.

Providing a five-minute introduction to the topic of the

panel on the day of the panel, based on session abstract.

T

Dress professionally in

business attire

Demonstrate efficiency

and dependability by

meeting deadlines

Arrive to Conference

meetings fully prepared

Bring all texts to the

Conference meeting

Address colleagues in a

respectful manner

Be attentive and fully

engage in Discussion

Speak in formal and

precise language

Accept criticism

graciously; do not

become defensive

Ask questions when you

do not understand

On Professionalism

https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/governance/policies-and-documents-of-the-association/annual-meeting-guidelines




Introducing each panelist sequentially prior to their presentation. As chair, it is your

duty to collect the necessary biographical details of each of the panelists and

commentator.

Keeping time during individual papers

Managing the question-answer session.

PANELISTS:

Panels are usually composed of 2-4 panelists, each of who presents on a different aspect of a

common topic/theme/time period. Panelists have an obligation first and foremost to their

audience. Presentations should be prepared and rehearsed well in advance of the meeting, to

ensure that both the thesis and the details are fully articulated. Agreeing to serve on a panel

entails an obligation to deliver the paper to chairs/commentators in advance, to allow time for

them to perform their role. At the meeting, presentations should be delivered in an engaging

and lively, but also in a timely manner. The role of the

presentation, whether of new research or on a professional

issue, is to stimulate discussion.


Selecting and closely reading one of the available

primary source texts for the week of their Conference, in

addition to the required readings for that session.

Writing a 10-page critical analysis of a chosen primary

source in response to a question they design and posting it at

least seven days prior to the scheduled panel. Analytical papers

must clearly articulate a specific research question or problem,

develop a coherent argument in response to it, and support the

argument with evidence from the selected primary source as

well as background information for the assigned secondary

sources. No Internet materials or outside sources may be used

on these assignments without Dr. Lucero’s explicit written

permission.

Writing and posting a 150-word abstract of the paper at

least seven days before the scheduled panel. Abstracts must

coherently and concisely synthesize the major problem,

argument and evidence employed in the larger paper.

Delivering (not reading) an engaging 10-12 minute talk

on the historical problem, argument, and supporting evidence

you developed in your critical analysis paper on the day of the

panel.

Reading co-panelists’ papers and commentator comments

prior to panel

Addressing commentator feedback.

Answering questions from the audience.

COMMENTATOR:

Commentators (one per panel) play a vital part in many

sessions. Anyone serving in this capacity should allot sufficient

time before the panel to review the presentations fully.

Commentators have three tasks: highlight common points or

Apply period-specific and thematically-relevant secondary scholarship to interpret and contextualize primary source texts.

Critically analyze testimonios and travelogues as primary source texts on Latin American social history.

Formulate and substantiate original historical arguments in clearly written prose by presenting coherently organized primary source evidence.

Articulate verbally original historical arguments in compelling and professional presentation format

Evaluate and critique historical arguments on the basis of secondary scholarship in the field

Apply critical feedback to strengthen written argumentation and critical analysis of

primary sources.

Learning Objectives


themes in the presentations, note

omissions, errors, or opportunities for

improvement, and stimulate audience

discussion by offering questions for

further consideration.


Preparing and posting a 10-

page comment tying all the

panelists’ papers together at

least 24 hours prior to the

scheduled panel. The comment

should offer a coherent

framework for understanding

the distinct papers contained in

the session by identifying

common themes and counterpoints, weaving the distinct national cases together in a

broader regional narrative, offering critiques, and posing questions for discussion.

Comments must articulate a clear historiographical or critical argument about the

papers and cite specific examples from the papers as evidence.

Delivering an engaging 10-12 minute talk based on the written comment on the day of

the Conference session after the last panelist’s paper.

Inaugurating and leading the discussion among panelists by posing common questions.

AUDIENCE:

The audience is a crucial component of any successful panel. Audience members should arrive

to the panel having read and taken notes on all the papers as well as the written comments in

advance. During the panel, audience members are expected to listen carefully to the

presentations, take notes, and formulate additional questions and critiques of the papers and

comments.


Reading and preparing notes on each panelist’s paper as well as the prepared comments

in advance of the session

Preparing and posting at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled panel a one-page

reflection on each of the panelist’s papers identifying the argument, offering at least

one positive comment, at least one critique.

Formulating at least two questions based on a close reading of the panelists’ papers.

Participating actively in the question and answer session

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Appelbaum, Nancy P. and Anne S. Macpherson. Race and Nation in Modern Latin America.

Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.

Beverley, John. Testimonio: On the Politics of Truth. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota

Press, 2004.

Burns, E. Bradford. The Poverty of Progress: Latin America in the Nineteenth Century.

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.

Caldeira, Teresa P. R. City of Walls: Crime, Segregation, and Citizenship in São Paulo.

Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.


Fischer, Brodwyn. A Poverty of Rights: Citizenship and Inequality in Twentieth-Century Rio

de Janeiro. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2010.

Joseph, Gilbert M., and Greg Grandin. A Century of Revolution: Insurgent and

Counterinsurgent Violence during Latin America’s Long Cold War. Durham: Duke

University Press, 2010.

Kampwirth, Karen, Women and Guerrilla Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, and

Cuba. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.

Klein, Herbert, and Ben Vinson III. African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Meade, Teresa A. A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present. Malden: Wiley

Blackwell, 2016. Second Edition.

Miller, Marilyn Grace. The Rise and Fall of the Cosmic Race: The Cult of Mestizaje in Latin

America. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003.

Pratt, Mary Louise. Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation. New York:

Routledge, 2008. Second Edition.

Christopher Schmidt-Nowara, Slavery, Freedom, and Abolition in Latin America and the

Atlantic World. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2011.

Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History. Boston:

Beacon Press, 2015. 2nd Revised edition.

Williams, Gareth. The Other Side of the Popular: Neoliberalism and Subalternity in Latin

America. Durham: Duke University Press, 2002.

REQUIRED PREPARATORY READINGS

e will be reading and

discussing primary and

advanced secondary sources

on modern Latin American

history. In order to engage successfully

with these texts, you will need a strong

foundation in the basic periodization and

chronological development of Latin

American history since independence.

Teresa A. Meade’s A History of Modern

Latin America: 1800 to the Present

provides a synthesis of some of the major themes in Latin American social history with a

clear chronological framework. Additionally, because this course is devoted mainly to

research in primary sources, it is advisable to read one of the most important and powerful

critiques of the production of history: Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of

History by Michel-Rolph Trouillot. Trouillot’s emphasis on historical silences will help you

understand why certain themes (such as race and gender) have been less prominent fields of

inquiry until recently. The list of books below can help introduce you to some of the main

themes and issues we will be addressing over the course of the semester and help you build

W

Academic Integrity

The Honor Code is strictly enforced in this course. I have a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism and cheating. Students who engage in any

form of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students in all cases, regardless of the degree of violation. Students who

plagiarize, cheat or engage in any other form of academic dishonesty will fail the assignment, and run the risk of failing the course, and

getting expelled from the university. For more information about what constitutes plagiarism, please see my Plagiarism infographic on

Blackboard. If you see or suspect cheating, it is your duty to report it. In sum, Cheating is just NOT worth it.


the necessary foundation to examine texts critically. I do suggest that

you complete these readings before the Summer term starts.

ASSESSMENT

WRITTEN WORK (50%):

Written work submitted in service of each conference role will be

assessed on five basic parameters: originality and coherence of

argument; interpretation and analysis of evidence; organization and

structure; clarity of prose; and historical accuracy. All written work

must be turned in on time, conform to the formatting requirements, and

include properly formatted Chicago Style footnotes in order to be

considered for credit.

PARTICIPATION (25%):

Attendance is imperative for your success in this course. Because this is

a reduced seat-time course, absences or excessive tardiness cannot be

accommodated. Moreover, it is not enough to simply show up to class.

Participation grades will be based on the student’s performance of the

different roles described above. Students should arrive to each class

meeting having carefully and thoroughly read the materials and they

should be prepared to engage in discussion.

FINAL PROJECT (25%):

The Final Project for this course requires students to select one of the

primary source analysis papers they wrote and revise it on the bases of

the comments, critiques, and suggestions offered by Dr. Lucero and

your peers. Papers will be assessed on the coherence and

convincingness of the main argument, the degree to which the author

addressed the critical feedback, and the level of polish in the written

prose, interpretation, and analysis. Following the revisions process,

students tailor an abstract of their research paper to a real Call for

Papers for a conference on a relevant topic. Final submissions must

include: the original graded version of the paper, the revised version of

the paper, a print out of the Call for Papers for the Conference you

found, and your tailored paper abstract conforming to the guidelines in

the Call for Papers.

CLASS SCHEDULE

WEEK ONE: Introductions

June 7: Meet in Person

Secondary Sources (Everyone Read):

Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation. By Mary Louise Pratt (Introduction & Parts II & III)

AND Testimonio: On the Politics of Truth. By John Beverley

Formatting Your

Assignments All assignments must be formatted

as follows:

Typed

Times New Roman

12pt font

Double-spaced

One-inch margins

Pages numbered

Stapled

Name, course, section #,

professor’s name, and

assignment title clearly labeled

on the top of the first page

Assignments not conforming to

these formatting requirements will

not be accepted for credit. Students

wishing to fix incorrect formatting

may turn a correctly formatted

hardcopy, subject to the Late Policy.

Late Policy It is your responsibility to post your

assignments on Blackboard by the

time they are due AND turn the

Hardcopy in on time on the day they

are due. Assignments are considered

late as soon as I am finished

collecting them at the beginning of

the class period, and will be subject

to a 50% initial penalty. An

additional 10% will be deducted for

each day after the initial 24 hour

period. No electronic submissions

will be graded unless prior

arrangements have been made.


Secondary Sources (Everyone Read):

Slavery, Freedom, and Abolition in Latin America and the Atlantic World. By Christopher Schmidt-Nowara.

AND African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean. By Herbert Klein and Ben Vinson III. (Chs 5-6) Primary Sources (Panelists Choose ONE):

Brazil: Adolfo Caminha, Bom Crioulo. New York: Luso-Brazilian Books, 2006.

Thomas Ewbank, Life in Brazil. New York: Harper &

Bros, 1856.

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, The Alienist.

Translated by John Charles Chasteen.

Indianapolis: Hackett, 2013.

Cuba: Juan Francisco Manzano, Autobiography of a Slave

Autobiografia de un esclavo (English and

Spanish Edition) Paperback. Translated by

Evelyn Picon Garfield. Detroit: Wayne State

University Press, 1996.

Abiel Abbot, Letters written in the interior of Cuba:

Between the mountains of Arcana, to the West,

and of Cusco, to the East, in the months of

February, March, April, and May 1828. Boston:

Bowles and Dearborn, 1829.

Maturin Murray Ballou, History of Cuba; or, notes of a

traveler in the tropics being a political,

historical, and statistical account of the Island,

from its first discovery to the present time.

Boston, Phillip Samson and Company, 1854.

Miguel Barnet and Miguel Barnet, Biography of a

Runaway Slave, Revised Edition Paperback –

Willimantic: Curbstone, 1994.

Secondary Sources (Everyone Read): A Poverty of Rights: Citizenship and Inequality in Twentieth-Century Rio de

Janeiro. By Brodwyn Fischer

AND The Poverty of Progress: Latin America in the Nineteenth Century. By E. Bradford Burns. (Chs 1, 2, & 7)

Chair: ___________________

Panelists:____________________ ____________________ ____________________ _____________

Commentator: ____________________

Audience: ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________

Conference One: Slavery and the Body in the Nineteenth Century

Week Two (June 14): WORK INDEPENDENTLY Week Three (June 21): CONFERENCE MEETING

Chair: ___________________

Panelists:____________________ ____________________ ____________________ _____________

Commentator: ____________________

Audience: ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________

Conference Two: The Trials of “Progress”

Week Four (June 28): WORK INDEPENDENTLY Week Five (July 5): CONFERENCE MEETING


Primary Sources (Panelists Choose ONE):

Brazil: Aluisio Azevedo, O Cortiço (The Slum), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Euclides da Cunha, Os Sertões (Rebellion in the Backlands). Translated by Samuel Putnam. Chicago: University

of Chicago Press, 1944.

Costa Rica: Carlos Luis Fallas, Mamita Yunaí. San José: Editorial Costa Rica, 2010.

Mexico: Federico Gamboa, Santa. Translated by John Charles Chasteen. The University of North Carolina

Press, 2010.

Peru: Clorinda Matto de Turner, Birds Without a

Nest: A Story of Indian Life and Priestly

Oppression in Peru. Austin: University of

Texas Press, 1996.

Central America: Frederick Palmer, Central America

and its Problems. New York: Moffat, Yard,

& Co, 1913.

South America: Georges Clemenceau. South America

To-Day: A Study of Conditions, Social,

Political, and Commerical, in Argentina,

Uruguay, and Brazil. New York: G.P.

Putnam’s Sons, 1911.

Secondary Sources (Everyone Read): The Rise and Fall of the Cosmic Race: The Cult of Mestizaje in Latin America.

By Marilyn Grace Miller.

AND Race and Nation in Modern Latin America. By Nancy P. Appelbaum, and Anne S. Macpherson.

(Introduction and Conclusion). Primary Sources (Panelists Choose ONE):

Argentina: Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Facundo: Civilization and Barbarism. New York: Penguin, 1998.

Brazil: Gilberto Freyre, The Masters and the Slaves (Casa-Grande & Senzala): A Study in the Development of

Brazilian Civilization. Translated by Samuel Putnam. Berkeley: Univeristy of California Press, 1987.

Cuba: José Martí, Selected Writings. Translated by Esther Allen. New York: Penguin, 2002.

Mexico: José Vasconcelos, The Cosmic Race: A Bilingual Edition. Translated by Didier T. Jaén. Baltimore:

Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979.

Peru: Jose Carlos Mariátegui, Seven Interpretative Essays on Peruvian Reality. Translated: Jorge Basadre

Austin: University of Texas Press, 1971.

Chair: ___________________

Panelists:____________________ ____________________ ____________________ _____________

Commentator: ____________________

Audience: ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________

Conference Three: Race, Inequality, and Nation

Week Six (July 12): WORK INDEPENDENTLY Week Seven (July 19): CONFERENCE MEETING

Chair: ___________________

Panelists:____________________ ____________________ ____________________ _____________

Commentator: ____________________

Audience: ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________

Conference Four: Women, Gender, and Revolution

Week Eight (July 26): WORK INDEPENDENTLY Week Nine (August 2): CONFERENCE MEETING


Secondary Sources (Everyone Read): Women and Guerrilla

Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, and Cuba. By

Karen Kampwirth

AND A Century of Revolution: Insurgent and Counterinsurgent

Violence during Latin America’s Long Cold War. Edited by

Gilbert M. Joseph and Greg Grandin (Introduction, Reflections,

Conclusion)


Cuba: Margaret Randall, Cuban Women Now. Toronto: Women’s

Press, 1974.

Victor Franco, The Morning After: A French Journalist’s

Impressions of Cuba under Castro. New York: Praeger,

1963.

El Salvador: Claríbel Alegría, They Won’t Take Me Alive:

Salvadoran Women in Struggle for National Liberation. London: Women's Press, Limited, 1987.

Mexico: Oscar Lewis, Five Families: Mexican Case Studies in the Culture of Poverty. New York: Basic Books,

1975.

Guatemala: Rigoberta Menchu and Elisabeth Burgos-Debray, I, Rigoberta Menchu. Brooklyn: Verso, 1984.

Nicaragua/Honduras: Elvia Alvarado, Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks From The Heart.

New York: Institute for Food and Development Policy, 1987.

Secondary Sources (Everyone Read): The Other Side of the Popular: Neoliberalism and Subalternity in Latin

America. By Gareth Williams

AND City of Walls: Crime, Segregation, and Citizenship in São Paulo. By Teresa P. R. Caldeira (Introduction

& Part III)


Brazil: Robert Gay, Lucia: Testimonies Of A Brazilian. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2005.

Colombia: Garry Leech, Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug

War Journalist in Colombia, Boston: Beacon, 2009.

Cuba: Andrei Codrescu, Ay Cuba!: A Socio-Erotic Journey.

New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999.

Mexico: Judith Adler Hellman, Mexican Lives, New York:

The New Press, 1994.

Sam Quiñones, True Tales from Another Mexico: The Lynch

Mob, the Popsicle Kings, Chalino, and the Bronx

Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press,

2001.

John Gibler, To Die in Mexico: Dispatches from Inside the

Drug War. San Francisco: City Lights Open Media,

2011.

Luis Alberto Urrea, The Devil's Highway: A True Story. New

York: Back Bay Books, 2005.

Final Project due August 19, 2016 b y 5pm

Chair: ___________________

Panelists:____________________ ____________________ ____________________ _____________

Commentator: ____________________

Audience: ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________

Conference Five: Border Crossings in an Age of Neoliberalism

Week Ten (August 9): WORK INDEPENDENTLY Week Eleven (August 16): CONFERENCE MEETING

hist 6330: research in latin american · hist 6330: research in latin american history summer iii:...

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