Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines the specific development experience of a selected region, taking account of the historical context, of state capacity, development strategies and of the political economy of development - as well as of the particular problems of development across different sectors of the economy, and the outcomes in regard to poverty and levels of well-being.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course is a weekly seminar for graduate and undergraduate students on the political economy of social and economic development in contemporary Latin America. It aims to build a basic understanding of continuity and change in relationships between the economies, societies, and politics of Latin American countries during the contemporary era. As a region characterized by trenchant colonial legacies, transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, and dynamic social movements, Latin America exhibits how history and politics can affect social and economic development, and vice-versa. Drawing on multidisciplinary readings from the social sciences and history, the course explores these dynamics throughout the region, while offering more detailed consideration of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico, among other major countries. In Part I, we begin by surveying the region’s history of Spanish and Portuguese colonialism, independence, and warfare, highlighting the legacies of these eras for contemporary economic development. We also consider major animating periods of 20^th century Latin American political economy, including critical political junctures of the 1920s and 1930s, U.S. imperialism, authoritarianism from the 1960s through the 1980s, transitions to democracy and economic liberalization during the 1980s, and the more recent trend of democratic backsliding. In Part II, we assess continuity and change in 21^st century social development and explore the roots of recent change in social development. We focus on changes in social policy during the “left turn” of the early 2000s, the early and mid-2010s rise of right-wing governments, and the incipient return of left and center-left governments to national power thus far in the 2020s. 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

By the end of the course, students:
• gain substantive knowledge about major historical periods in Latin America and their relevance for contemporary political economy and society across the region;
• gain familiarity with social scientific arguments about contemporary Latin America;
• improve skills in synthesizing social scientific such arguments through writing;
• improve skills in assessing social scientific arguments through analytic writing;

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

REQUIRED READING NOTES: