This course page is an automatically-updated version of the main course page at dashboard.wikiedu.org. Please do not edit this page directly; any changes will be overwritten the next time the main course page gets updated.
This course is a comprehensive survey of the relationship between the Latin American nations and the United States from the nineteenth century to the present day. It focuses on the political, economic, diplomatic, ideological, and cultural aspects of this important relationship.
Students begin with the ideological foundations of the US-Latin American relationship, examining the Monroe Doctrine and the idea of Manifest Destiny. We move through the next two centuries with a particular focus on representations of Latin America (and Latin Americans) in the popular imagination of the United States. Topics include William Walker's filibustering efforts in Nicaragua, the Spanish-Cuban-American War, and US drug policy in Latin America.
Emphasis is placed on reading a diverse range of voices, in both primary documents and scholarly articles.