The course deals with Argentina’s diverse, interdependent ecosystems (the Pampa, the Andes, Northern Argentina, and the Atlantic Coast) in the context of the history of human occupation from colonial times to the present. It explores the gradual shift of human activity from the Andean region to the Atlantic coast, and the development of the dominant area of the country today, the Pampa and Buenos Aires. It analyzes the evolution of the urban and rural environments in Argentina and its consequences. Topics will include the growth of human habitat, urban history, the history of the landscape, geography and economic history.
Prerequisites:
None
Method of presentation:
Lectures, discussion, use of visual aids (maps, graphics, city and building plans, historical iconography), and visits to geographical areas and cities, including visits to museums of archeology.
Field study:
Programmed visits will include an in depth look at the historical centers of the cities, architectural monuments, and museums of history, archeology and Argentinean art.
Field study at an estancia in Chascomús. Visits to La Plata and Buenos Aires will be coordinated with other courses.
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation and oral presentation on a scholarly book (20%); field study (10%); mid-term exam (25%); research paper (15%); and final exam (30%).
content:
1. The Colonial Period: geopolitical and legal organization of colonial occupation; the realities and dreams of the development of human habitation in the various geographical regions during colonial times; relations between colonizers and indigenous cultures and the environment.
2. The hegemony of the Northwest: formative characteristics of the Andean region and the Northwest; patterns of exploitation of the native population; economic dependency on Colonial Peru; habitat and human occupation; the culture of colonial society.
3. Rise and development of the Pampa and the coast around Buenos Aires: historical emergence of the River Plate and Atlantic trade; Cattle wealth and the transformation of the Pampa; Buenos Aires and Montevideo. City and county, Creoles and Spaniards; consequences of free trade, formation of the mercantile economy; expansion southwards and incorporation of Patagonia.
4. Buenos Aires as national metropolis: its economic and political triumph over the rest of the country; railroads and centralization; crisis of the agricultural export model; national landscape; rich and poor; late industrialization; recent transformation of habitat, economic changes, degradation of urban areas; housing shortage and the role of government; current situation and future prospects.
Required readings:
Romero, José Luis: Latinoamérica, las ciudades y las ideas. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI, 1986.
--. Breve historia de la Argentina. Buenos Aires: EUDEBA, 1ed., 1965.
Recommended readings:
Martinez Estrada, Ezequiel. Radiografia de la Pampa. Buenos Aires: Losada, 1942.
Rama, Angel. La ciudad letrada. Montevideo: Comisión Uruguaya pro Fundación Angel Rama, 1988. Romero, José L. and Luis Romero A. Buenos Aires, historia de cuatro siglos. Buenos Aires: Tomo I, 1983.
Scobie, James. Buenos Aires: del centro a los barrios. Solar-Hachette, 1977 (ed. Original Oxford University Press, 1974.)
The course deals with Argentina’s diverse, interdependent ecosystems (the Pampa, the Andes, Northern Argentina, and the Atlantic Coast) in the context of the history of human occupation from colonial times to the present. It explores the gradual shift of human activity from the Andean region to the Atlantic coast, and the development of the dominant area of the country today, the Pampa and Buenos Aires. It analyzes the evolution of the urban and rural environments in Argentina and its consequences. Topics will include the growth of human habitat, urban history, the history of the landscape, geography and economic history.
None
Lectures, discussion, use of visual aids (maps, graphics, city and building plans, historical iconography), and visits to geographical areas and cities, including visits to museums of archeology.
Programmed visits will include an in depth look at the historical centers of the cities, architectural monuments, and museums of history, archeology and Argentinean art.
Field study at an estancia in Chascomús. Visits to La Plata and Buenos Aires will be coordinated with other courses.
Class participation and oral presentation on a scholarly book (20%); field study (10%); mid-term exam (25%); research paper (15%); and final exam (30%).
1. The Colonial Period: geopolitical and legal organization of colonial occupation; the realities and dreams of the development of human habitation in the various geographical regions during colonial times; relations between colonizers and indigenous cultures and the environment.
2. The hegemony of the Northwest: formative characteristics of the Andean region and the Northwest; patterns of exploitation of the native population; economic dependency on Colonial Peru; habitat and human occupation; the culture of colonial society.
3. Rise and development of the Pampa and the coast around Buenos Aires: historical emergence of the River Plate and Atlantic trade; Cattle wealth and the transformation of the Pampa; Buenos Aires and Montevideo. City and county, Creoles and Spaniards; consequences of free trade, formation of the mercantile economy; expansion southwards and incorporation of Patagonia.
4. Buenos Aires as national metropolis: its economic and political triumph over the rest of the country; railroads and centralization; crisis of the agricultural export model; national landscape; rich and poor; late industrialization; recent transformation of habitat, economic changes, degradation of urban areas; housing shortage and the role of government; current situation and future prospects.
Romero, José Luis: Latinoamérica, las ciudades y las ideas. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI, 1986.
--. Breve historia de la Argentina. Buenos Aires: EUDEBA, 1ed., 1965.
Martinez Estrada, Ezequiel. Radiografia de la Pampa. Buenos Aires: Losada, 1942.
Rama, Angel. La ciudad letrada. Montevideo: Comisión Uruguaya pro Fundación Angel Rama, 1988. Romero, José L. and Luis Romero A. Buenos Aires, historia de cuatro siglos. Buenos Aires: Tomo I, 1983.
Scobie, James. Buenos Aires: del centro a los barrios. Solar-Hachette, 1977 (ed. Original Oxford University Press, 1974.)