Programme

The course aims at providing students with an understanding of the history of Latin America from the processes of independence to the end of the 20th century. At the end of the course, students will have an in-depth knowledge of the problems and events dealt with during the lessons and to be able to appropriately contextualize them over the chronological period studied.

The course addresses (among others) these key topics:

- The idea of Latin America
- The process of independence
- The construction of national states and the affirmation of the primary-export model
- European migrations and Latin America
- The English and North American presence
- The Crisis of the Liberal State
- Relations with Europe and the United States in the 1920s and 1930s
- The emergence of the populist state
- The 'great transformation' of Latin America
- The Latin American Cold War
- The Cuban Revolution
- The 1960s: crises, reforms, revolutions
- The counter-revolutionary cycle. The National Security Doctrine, military dictatorships and the neo-liberal state
- The Plan Condor and human rights violations in the Southern Cone
- Democratic transitions in the Southern Cone
- Internal armed conflicts and peace processes in Central America and Colombia
- The women's question in Latin America
- Regional integration processes
- The turn of the century and the challenges of the new millennium

Core Documentation

Attending students, in addition to the essays provided by the lecturer, should study the text:

- Loris Zanatta, Storia dell'America Latina contemporanea, Laterza, 2017


Non-attending students will have to study the following texts:

- Loris Zanatta, Storia dell'America Latina contemporanea, Laterza, 2017

- Raffaele Nocera, Stati Uniti e America Latina dal 1823 ad oggi, Carocci

- Francesca Lessa, I processi Condor. La repressione transnazionale e i diritti umani in America del Sud, 24marzo Onlus/Qudu 2023 (Part I)

Reference Bibliography

Attending students, in addition to the essays provided by the lecturer, should study the text: - Loris Zanatta, Storia dell'America Latina contemporanea, Laterza, 2017 Non-attending students will have to study the following texts: - Loris Zanatta, Storia dell'America Latina contemporanea, Laterza, 2017 - Raffaele Nocera, United States and Latin America from 1823 to the present, Carocci - Francesca Lessa, I processi Condor. La repressione transnazionale e i diritti umani in America del Sud, 24marzo Onlus/Qudu 2023 (Part I)

Type of delivery of the course

The course is divided into a series of frontal lessons aimed at providing students with the fundamental knowledge for achieving the training objectives; these will be accompanied by debates on the readings assigned by the lecturer as well as documentaries and art films on particularly relevant topics. During the last part of the course, students will prepare papers on a topic of their choice among those proposed by the lecturer. Hints, tips and useful teaching materials for the preparation of the papers will be provided by the lecturer during the course.

Attendance

Attendance is not compulsory

Type of evaluation

For attending students, the final assessment will be based 20% on lecture attendance, 25% on oral reports and 55% on the written examination. For non-attending students, a written examination is scheduled during the examination sessions. The criteria to be used for the assessment of the examination will be, above all, knowledge of the content, clarity of presentation, critical judgement, ability to discuss and to synthesize . Non-attending students and those who attend occasionally are invited to arrange a meeting with the lecturer at the beginning of the course in order to receive more detailed information on the syllabus and how the examination will be conducted. The lecturer receives by appointment.