BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The objective of the course is to provide the student with basic elements of theory and method for understanding the complexity that characterizes the evolution of contemporary Latin American history, in its social, political and cultural aspects, in relation to U.S. power. It also enables the development of skills in the analysis of the most recent dynamics of inter-American history, both in relation to the continental area and in relation to the international scenario.
By the end of the course, the student will have acquired the necessary keys to better understand the evolution of recent developments in the Latin American context and, in particular, will have sharpened his or her analytical sensitivity to a broad thematic context by paying special attention to the area of cultural diplomacy to and from the United States.
Course Prerequisites
NO PRE REQUISITES NEEDED
Teaching Methods
The course will involve lectures and power point presentations by the instructor, while at the same time being careful to constantly stimulate debate and requests for more in-depth discussion from bystanders. The course will be successful the more interactive the participation of bystanders, who will hopefully be able to make suggestions for further study or debate on specific issues.
Lectures, also based on constant interaction with students, will almost always be accompanied by screenings of audiovisual material and guided consultation of specialized sites where primary sources, such as digital archives on the cultural cold war, can be viewed. In some cases, parallel meetings with different types of speakers, such as international scholars specializing in the field of cultural diplomacy and inter-American relations, will also be organized.
Assessment Methods
Learning assesment will be through an oral test.
Exceptionally, for those who prefer it, the possibility of taking a written exam, partial tests or in-depth partial written exams (term papers) is also contemplated. Under no circumstances can the examination texts, which must be studied in depth, be substituted for the outcome of any test taken, even if done with excellent results. For the exam, clarity of exposition, ability to summarize, relevance of answers to questions, maturity and ability to articulate reasoning and concepts, beyond the specific notions acquired, which will also be probed, will be particularly appreciated.
For those opting for the written (I still recommend oral), it will also be essential to adopt clear and comprehensible writing, in spelling as well as handwriting, on pain of the lecturer's understanding of the answers themselves.
For attending students, the test will also refer to the historiographical approach adopted by the lecturer and to all kinds of audiovisual material screened during the course. Attending students, however, are in no way dispensed from the in-depth study of the reference textbooks. For non-attending students, the test will essentially refer to the examination texts indicated. For all students there will also be an optional opportunity to add additional assessment elements in itinere, during the course, and before the exams, such as short and
Contents
Focusing mainly on social and cultural processes as well as political-institutional relations, the module aims to offer a critical reflection on issues and problems related to the relationship between Latin America and the United States. Once the terms of the historiographical debate regarding the genesis of North American imperialism in Latin America have been clarified, the reflection will focus on some salient moments. Particular attention will be paid to proposals for periodization in accordance with the various historiographical approaches, which sometimes identify dissimilar moments and contexts of continuity or rupture along that path.
After the node of the Spanish-American War of 1898 and that of the 1920s, another key moment of U.S. cultural diplomacy towards the American subcontinent, that of the 1960s and the Alliance for Progress, will be analyzed. We will next turn to the Cold War years, not only understood as a moment of great tension of a geopolitical nature, but also and especially in the broader sense of ‘popular culture of the Cold War’ in Latin America. And thus a multiplicity of sources (graphic art, satire, cinema, comics etc.) and a multiplicity of actors and events, including extra-institutional ones (cultural foundations, academic exchange programs, artistic initiatives) will contribute to recompose this complex picture.
Online Resources
More information
The course will yìtake place during the IV term
Textbooks:
Raffaele Nocera, Angelo Trento, Latin America, a century of history. From the Mexican Revolution to the Present, Carocci, Rome, 2013; 274 pp.
An essay of your choice within this volume:
Francisco Rodríguez Jiménez, Lorenzo Delgado Escalonilla, Benedetta Calandra (eds), US Public Diplomacy Strategies in Latin America During the Sixties. Time for Persuasion, NY, Routledge, 2024, 315 pp
An essay of your choice within this volume:
Francisco Rodríguez Jiménez, Lorenzo Delgado Escalonilla, Benedetta Calandra (eds), El Americano imposible. Estados Unidos y América Latina, entre modernización y contrainsurgencia, Silex Ultramar, Madrid, 2023, 289 pp.
Recommended texts for class presentations:
Field, Thomas C ; Krepp, Stella ; Pettinà, Vanni, Latin America and the Global Cold War , The University of North Carolina Press, 2020
Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo , Latin America : the allure and power of an idea, University of Chicago Press, 2020.