9/2/2025 8:31:04 PM	HIST 8.2 Course Outline as of Fall 2026	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  HIST 8.2	Title:  LATIN AMERICA FROM 1830
Full Title:  History of Latin America from 1830 to Present
Last Reviewed:8/25/2025

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		6 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly: 

Catalog Description:

Students will be introduced to a survey of Latin American history from the early 19th century to the present.  Students will analyze the convergence of different ethnic groups and their contributions to the new socio-political systems that developed after independence, the intervention of the United States in these countries, neo-colonialism, and specific revolutionary movements in Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL C1000 (formerly ENGL 1A), or eligibility for EMLS 10 (formerly ESL 10), or equivalent; or appropriate placement based on AB705 mandates

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

Students will be introduced to a survey of Latin American history from the early 19th century to the present.  Students will analyze the convergence of different ethnic groups and their contributions to the new socio-political systems that developed after independence, the intervention of the United States in these countries, neo-colonialism, and specific revolutionary movements in Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL C1000 (formerly ENGL 1A), or eligibility for EMLS 10 (formerly ESL 10), or equivalent; or appropriate placement based on AB705 mandates
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:	Fall 2025	Inactive:
Area:	D L4	Social and Behavioral Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	D	Social Science		Fall 2008
	D6	History
	D	Social Science		Fall 1981	Fall 2008
	D4	Gender Studies
	D5	Geography
	D6	History
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	4	Social and Behavioral Science		Fall 1981
	4F	History
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the formation of new nations in Latin America and the social, political, and economic problems these countries faced to overcome the colonial period.

2. Analyze modern geo-political and economic relations between the United States and Latin America.

3. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources as historical evidence.

 

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate critical thinking and analytical skills by utilizing methods of inquiry used by historians and other social and behavioral scientists.

2. Utilize critical thinking skills to assess and distinguish between factual and interpretive sources of information in the analysis of contemporary issues facing Latin America.

3. Integrate geographical knowledge with cultural and historical knowledge so as to understand the development of modern day Latin American countries.

4. Examine, evaluate, and discuss the experiences, roles, achievements, and contributions of the European, Indigenous, and African people in Latin America from 1830s to present.

5. Analyze the historical roots of movements of liberation from neo-colonialism and the response from the U.S.

6. Examine the role of Latin American women and their participation in liberation movements and their struggles for equality and representation in Latin American political, social, and economic systems.

Topics and Scope

I. Terms, Definitions and Methods of Analysis

   A. Primary source

   B. Secondary source

II. Brief Review of Indigenous Societies and the European Conquest

    A. Colonial system and the establishment of slavery, Christianization, and land acquisition from the Indigenous peoples

    B. Wars of independence

III. Building Independent Societies:  Internal Struggle for Power between Criollos and white Mestizos

    A. U.S. Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny

    B. Loans and railroads create a U.S. economic dependency

IV. Revolutions and the Economic, Social, Political, and

    Cultural Transformation in the Development of the New Latin American Nations

    A. Development of monocultural economies in Latin America

    B. Displacement of indigenous peoples

V. Early Twentieth Century Revolutions

    A. Mexican Revolution

    B. Social rebellions in Brazil and Nicaragua

VI. Populist Reforms Facilitate the Contemporary Social, Economic, and Political Structures

    A. Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico

    B. U.S. interventions

VII. WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII

    A. Nationalistic resistance and response to U.S. intervention

    B. Creation of regional production and trade programs

    C. World War II and the new order:  world economy

VIII. The Cuban Revolution

    A. Spanish American War

    B. Batista dictatorship and the role of the U.S.

    C. July 26th revolutionary movement

IX. Latin American Revolutionary Movements

    A. Salvador Allende - Chile's failed transition to socialism

    B. Nicaraguan Revolution

    C. Salvadorean Revolution

    D. Latin American women in Liberation Movements

X. Neo-Liberalism and the New World Order

    A. U.S. strategies in Latin America

    B. The "Washington Consensus"

XI. Mexico's Indigenous Movement

    A. Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional Zapatista Guerrilla Movement

    B. A new alternative to armed revolution

Assignments:

1. Reading Assignments consist of both primary and secondary sources (30 to 50 pages per week)          

2. Writing Assignments (2000-4000 total words) that will critically interpret primary and secondary sources, such as:

    a. Reaction papers

    b. Analytical essays

    c. Book reviews

    d. Research papers

3. Essay exams, including a final; exams may include objective questions

4 Participation in discussions

5. Additional assignments as determined by instructor may include: Objective quiz(zes)

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 30 - 50%
Writing Assignments
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 40 - 60%
Essay exams
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 0 - 10%
Attendance, Participation, quiz(zes) (if assigned)

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

Latin America: An Interpretative History. 10th ed. Charlip, Julie and Burns, Bradford. Prentice Hall. 2017 (classic)

 

Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. 5th ed. Casteen, John Charles. W. W. Norton and Company. 2024

 

Born in Blood and Fire: Latin American Voices, A Reader. Casteen, John Charles. W. W. Norton and Company. 2016 (classic)

 

History Will Absolve Me. Castro, Fidel.  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2015 (classic)

 

Guerilla Warfare. Che Guevara, Ernesto. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2013 (classic)

 

A History of Latin America, Volume II. 9th ed. Keen, Benjamin and Haynes, Keith. Cengage Learning. 2012 (classic)

 

The Death of Artemio Cruz. Fuentes, Carlos. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2009 (classic)

 

Lost City Radio. Alarcón, Daniel. Harper Perennial. 2008 (classic)

 

One Hundred Years of Solitude. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Harper Perennial Modern Classics. 2006 (classic)

 

Latin America: From Colonization to Globalization. Chomsky, Noam and Dieterich, Heinzet and Glasbeek, Denise. Ocean Press. 2002 (classic)

 

In Cuba. Cardenal, Hernesto. New Directions. 1971 (classic)

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