Development, the Environment, and Society in Latin America
LAST 240
Spring 2018 not offered
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Few issues have defined Latin America's modern history so much as the region's quest for
economic development. But the impetus to "develop" has a much longer history of natural
resource extraction and directed social change. Policies and practices regarding land use and
labor, then, have shaped economic development, the environment, and social and political life in
the region to the present.
In this seminar we will ask what the historical relationships are between development, natural
resources, and society in Latin America from the onset of European colonialism in the 15th
century through state- and private-led improvement policies in the 20th century. Specific themes we will consider include: How have policies affected the sustainability of land use in
the last five centuries? Has the impetus for development, beginning in the 19th century and
reaching its current intensity in the mid-20th, shifted ideas and practices of sustainability in
both environmental and social terms? And, more broadly, what has been the historical
relationship between humans and their environment in Latin America? We will consider primary
and secondary sources covering periods from pre-Columbian times to the late-20th century,
and regions from Mexico to South America to the Caribbean. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS LAST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
Crosby, Alfred W. THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE: BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES OF 1492. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.
Melville, Elinor G.K. A PLAGUE OF SHEEP: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Dean, Warren. WITH BROADAX AND FIREBRAND: THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BRAZILIAN ATLANTIC FOREST. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997.
Stanfield, Michael. RED RUBBER, BLEEDING TREES: VIOLENCE, SLAVERY AND EMPIRE IN NORTHWEST AMAZONIA,1850-1933. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998
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Examinations and Assignments:
Three major assignments that will include primary and secondary source analysis. |
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