Argentine history bewilders Latin Americanists for its many contradictions and unanswered questions. Argentina is one of the richest countries in the region, and yet it has suffered a series of extremely severe economic crises that has left the country impoverished. Its politics also have many unanswered questions. Thus, the region enthusiastically adopted a republican system of government and yet it has been plagued by civil wars and military coups. And then there is also Peronism, a political movement which, despite its many failures, continues to have an enduring and passionate popularity among the lower classes. This course will provide an opportunity for students to analyze different hypothesis proposed by scholars to explain these riddles as well as to confront these answers with the ideas and beliefs of the people “in the streets.”
Learning outcomes:
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate orally and in writing a general understanding of the most important processes that shaped Argentine political and social history.
Use knowledge and strategies acquired in class to successfully compare and contrast Argentina´s history with those of other nations in the Americas, including the United States.
Evaluate critically different interpretations about the nature and consequences of the relationship between leaders and masses in Argentina, including those between independence soldiers and revolutionary elites, gauchos and caudillos, Juan Perón and the working class, and the Peronista party and the poor.
Analyze the complex causes that led to a spiral of violence, human rights violations and political instability in the late 20th century.
Relate their personal experiences in Argentina to the main ideas and concepts discussed in this class.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, discussions, readings, individual and group in-class activities, and oral presentations.
Required work and form of assessment:
A. Weekly Quizzes (10% of final grade): There will be weekly quizzes to be completed on the textbook readings of the week through Moodle. Quizzes will be multiple-choice, true/false questions. Readings included in the quiz will be marked with a [Q].
B. Homework and Participation (10% of final grade): You are required to complete the assigned reading by the date posted in the course schedule. All students must also post in Moodle the following assignments before Monday noon every week:
Two discussion questions on the assigned readings of the week that are not included in the quiz.
Each student will be in charge of posting notes for each class at least once during the semester. Notes will be posted in Moodle and they will be available for all students. Other students will be able to add comments to the main post in the thread.
In-class and remote assignments such as small group activities, response paragraphs, oral presentations etc., will be regularly scheduled and graded. Be ready to interview Argentines about their opinions on the most important issues discussed in class. You will notice that Argentines are extremely passionate about politics.
C. Two Exams (25% of final grade each; 50% total): There will be an in-class midterm and a take home final exam. Both will be based on all readings, videos, lectures, and class discussions.
D. Three Short Essays (10% of final grade each; 30% total): You will have to write three short essays (5-6 pages each). First essay is on the exhibition “Argentina 1848-2010. Fotografia documental y artes visuales”; the second one is on the former center of detention ESMA, and the third one will be a review of a history book of your choice on a subject related to the main themes of this class. Book review essays will be presented in class at the end of the semester.
content:
Session 1: Introduction. The Colonial Legacy. The Independence Revolution, 1810-1820.
Required Readings:
Brown, Jonathan C. A Brief History of Argentina. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2003, pp. 79-102. [Q]
Blanchard, Peter. “Miguel Garcia: Black Soldier in the Wars of Independence”. In Andrien, Kenneth J. The Human Tradition in Colonial Latin America. Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, Inc, 2002, pp. 278-292.
Session 2: Unitarians and Federalists, 1820-1852
Required Readings:
Bushnell, David and Neill Macaulay, The Emergence of Latin America in the Nineteenth Century, 2nd edition, pp. 117-135. [Q]
Salvatore, Ricardo D., Wandering Paysanos. State Order and Subaltern Experience in Buenos Aires during the Rosas Era, Duke U. Press, 2003, pp. 232-261, 361-393.
Juan Manuel de Rosas, “The Caudillo´s Order” (pp. 75-79), Pedro de Angelis, “Rosas and Washington” (pp. 91-92). In Nouzeilles, Gabriela, and Graciela R. Montaldo. The Argentina Reader: History, Culture, and Society. Durham: Duke University Press, 2002 (hereafter TAR).
Session 3: Nation-Building and Economic Progress, 1852-1930
Required Readings:
Bushnell, The Emergence, pp. 221-234.[Q]
Skidmore, Thomas Elliott, and Peter H. Smith. Modern Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 71-80. [Q]
Baily, Samuel, Immigrants in the Lands of Promise. Italians in Buenos Aires and New York City, 1870-1914 (Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1999), pp. 93-144.
Deutsch, Sandra McGee. Crossing Borders, Claiming a Nation: A History of Argentine Jewish Women, 1880-1955. Durham N.C.: Duke University Press, 2010, pp. 105-122.
Session 4: Politics 1880-1930
Field Study: Field visit to the Paz Mansion
Required Readings:
Skidmore, Thomas and Peter Smith, Modern Latin America, 6th edition. Oxford U. Press, 2005, pp. 80-82 [Q]
TAR: Osvaldo Bayer, “Simón Radowitzky” (pp. 219-230), David Rock, “The Unión Cívica Radical”, (pp. 231-250). [Q]
Lavrin, Asunción, “Women´s Politics and Suffrage in Argentina”. In Women, Feminism, and Social Change in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, 1890-1940, U. of Nebraska Press, 1995, pp. 257-285.
Session 5: The Origins of Peronism, 1930-1945
Required Readings:
Skidmore-Smith, Modern Latin America, pp. 82-86 [Q]
Plotkin, Mariano B. Mañana es San Perón. A Cultural History of Peron’s Argentina, Scholarly Resources, 2003, pp. 3-18.[Q]
James, Daniel. Resistance and Integration, Cambridge U. Press, pp. 7-41.
James, Daniel. Doña María’s Story, Duke U. Press, pp. 32-70.
James, Daniel. 1988. "October 17th and 18th, 1945: Mass Protest, Peronism and the Argentine Working Class". Journal of Social History. 21, no. 3: 441-461.
Session 6: The Peronista Regime, 1946-1955
Required Readings:
Skidmore-Smith, Modern Latin America, pp. 86-89 [Q]
Plotkin, Mañana es San Perón, pp.105-134.
Milanesio, Natalia, “Peronists and Cabecitas. Stereotypes and Anxieties at the Peak of Social Change”. In Karush, Matthew B., and Oscar Chamosa. The New Cultural History of Peronism: Power and Identity in Mid-Twentieth-Century Argentina. Durham [NC]: Duke University Press, 2010, pp. 53-84.
TAR: Tomás E. Martínez, “Saint Evita” (pp. 296-303). [Q]
Session 7: Midterm week
REVIEW SESSION and MIDTERM EXAM
Session 8: MIDSEMESTER BREAK
Session 9: Radicalization, 1955-1976
Guest lecturer Laura Lenci
Required Readings:
Skidmore-Smith, Modern Latin America, pp. 89-98. [Q]
TAR: Guillermo O´Donnell, “Modernization and Military Coups” (pp. 399-420) [Q]
Brennan, James and Monica B. Gordillo, “Working Class Protest, Popular Revolt, and Urban Insurrection: the 1969 Cordobazo” Journal of Social History 27:3 (Spring, 1994), 477-498.
TAR: Richard Gillespie, “Soldiers of Perón” (pp. 377-385); Juan D. Perón, “Antirevolutionary Peronism” (pp. 386-394).
Session 10: Repression and Resistance during the “Proceso”, 1976-1983
Fieldstudy: Plaza de Mayo – Madres de Plaza de Mayo weekly round.
Fieldstudy: ESMA (Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada): date TBC
Required Readings:
Skidmore-Smith, Modern Latin America, pp. 98-101. [Q]
Walsh, Rodolfo “Open Letter From a Writer to the Military Junta”. In McCaughan, Michael. True Crimes: Rodolfo Walsh: the Life and Times of a Radical Intellectual. London: Latin America Bureau, 2002, pp. 284-290.[Q]
Munck, Gerardo L., Authoritarianism and Democratization. Soldiers and Workers in Argentina, 1976-1983. University Park: Penn State U. Press, 1998, ch. 3-4.
Session 11: Democracy and its Limits, 1983-Today (I)
Required Readings:
Skidmore-Smith, Modern Latin America, pp. 101-108.[Q]
TAR: Osvaldo Soriano, “Living with Inflation”, (pp. 481-486), Novaro-Palermo, “Menem: A New Style in Politics” [Q]
Veigel, Klaus Friedrich. Dictatorship, Democracy, and Globalization: Argentina and the Cost of Paralysis, 1973-2001. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009, pp. 182-201.
Session 12: Democracy and its Limits, 1983-Today (II)
Auyero, Javier. Poor People’s Politics. Peronist Survival Networks and the Legacy of Evita (Durham, NC: Duke U. Press, 2000), ch. 119-205.
Auyero, Javier. “The Political Makings of the 2001 Lootings in Argentina,” Journal of Latin American Studies (2006), 38: 241-265.[Q]
Session 13: Oral Presentations
Session 14: Oral Presentations. Field Report on book review due. Review session.
Session 15: Finals Week, Final Exam
*Professor reserves the right to change this schedule and list of readings if needed.
Modern Argentine History
Argentine history bewilders Latin Americanists for its many contradictions and unanswered questions. Argentina is one of the richest countries in the region, and yet it has suffered a series of extremely severe economic crises that has left the country impoverished. Its politics also have many unanswered questions. Thus, the region enthusiastically adopted a republican system of government and yet it has been plagued by civil wars and military coups. And then there is also Peronism, a political movement which, despite its many failures, continues to have an enduring and passionate popularity among the lower classes. This course will provide an opportunity for students to analyze different hypothesis proposed by scholars to explain these riddles as well as to confront these answers with the ideas and beliefs of the people “in the streets.”
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
Lectures, discussions, readings, individual and group in-class activities, and oral presentations.
A. Weekly Quizzes (10% of final grade): There will be weekly quizzes to be completed on the textbook readings of the week through Moodle. Quizzes will be multiple-choice, true/false questions. Readings included in the quiz will be marked with a [Q].
B. Homework and Participation (10% of final grade): You are required to complete the assigned reading by the date posted in the course schedule. All students must also post in Moodle the following assignments before Monday noon every week:
In-class and remote assignments such as small group activities, response paragraphs, oral presentations etc., will be regularly scheduled and graded. Be ready to interview Argentines about their opinions on the most important issues discussed in class. You will notice that Argentines are extremely passionate about politics.
C. Two Exams (25% of final grade each; 50% total): There will be an in-class midterm and a take home final exam. Both will be based on all readings, videos, lectures, and class discussions.
D. Three Short Essays (10% of final grade each; 30% total): You will have to write three short essays (5-6 pages each). First essay is on the exhibition “Argentina 1848-2010. Fotografia documental y artes visuales”; the second one is on the former center of detention ESMA, and the third one will be a review of a history book of your choice on a subject related to the main themes of this class. Book review essays will be presented in class at the end of the semester.
Session 1: Introduction. The Colonial Legacy. The Independence Revolution, 1810-1820.
Required Readings:
Session 2: Unitarians and Federalists, 1820-1852
Required Readings:
Session 3: Nation-Building and Economic Progress, 1852-1930
Required Readings:
Session 4: Politics 1880-1930
Field Study: Field visit to the Paz Mansion
Required Readings:
Session 5: The Origins of Peronism, 1930-1945
Required Readings:
Session 6: The Peronista Regime, 1946-1955
Required Readings:
Session 7: Midterm week
REVIEW SESSION and MIDTERM EXAM
Session 8: MIDSEMESTER BREAK
Session 9: Radicalization, 1955-1976
Guest lecturer Laura Lenci
Required Readings:
Session 10: Repression and Resistance during the “Proceso”, 1976-1983
Fieldstudy: Plaza de Mayo – Madres de Plaza de Mayo weekly round.
Fieldstudy: ESMA (Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada): date TBC
Required Readings:
Session 11: Democracy and its Limits, 1983-Today (I)
Required Readings:
Session 12: Democracy and its Limits, 1983-Today (II)
Session 13: Oral Presentations
Session 14: Oral Presentations. Field Report on book review due. Review session.
Session 15: Finals Week, Final Exam
*Professor reserves the right to change this schedule and list of readings if needed.