Politics
of Central America and the Caribbean
Political Science 332-001
Fall Semester 2008
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Horan
Office: Leutze Hall 261
Phone: 962-7929
Office Hours: TR 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. and by appointment
Class Location and Time: LH 111; TR 11:00 - 12:15 p.m.
This course is designed to introduce the student to the core political issues facing the Central American and Caribbean regions. Students will be exposed to the region's political history as well as contemporary processes. The major problems facing this region: authoritarianism, Monroe Doctrine impact from the neighbor to the north as well as the influence on Caribbean countries of Commonwealth membership, political and economic development, natural resources, drugs and drug trafficking, democratic transition and consolidation, the presence of a “successful” communist revolutionary regime and other issues will be introduced in turn. Students will be encouraged to think critically about development and the problems associated with moving from underdeveloped to "developed" status. Why has this been so difficult for the majority of countries in this region? How has the colonial experience of Central America resulted in a different political legacy than the experience of the Caribbean?
Required readings:
We will be using three texts for this course. The first (Booth et al.) is a survey of Central America and the major issues facing the region. This text examines the region in a traditional comparative manner by offering case surveys of selected countries. This text will be our core text for the course. The second text (Hillman) addresses the Caribbean region from an issue perspective. The text draws on the work of multiple scholars to give a variety of perspectives on multiple issues confronting the region (for example: regional integration and economic development, migration, religion, decolonization and the influence of the Westminster Model, and the legacy of colonialism). Our third and final text (Farmer) focuses on the unique Haitian experience and argues that the domestic political environment has been adversely impacted by global interests. We will supplement our course readings with some online reserve readings. ALL READINGS ARE REQUIRED. Please keep in mind that politics is not static and neither are our interests - consequently I reserve the right to adjust the readings as necessary to accommodate any unforeseen events of during the course of the semester.
Required Texts:
1) Booth, John A., Christine Wade, and Thomas W. Walker. 2006. Understanding Central America. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
2) Hillman. 2004. Caribbean Perspectives. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
3) Farmer, Paul. 2005. The Uses of Haiti. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press.
Required Reserve Readings:
1) Griffith, Ivelaw. “The Caribbean and Drugs: Challenges in Local-Global Context” in Mars, Perry and Young, Alma H. Eds. 2004. Caribbean Labor and Politics. Wayne State University Press.
2) Leonard, Thomas M. “The Cuban Revolution, 1959-1961” in Goldstone, Jack A. Ed., 2003. Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies. Wadsworth.
3) Walker, Thomas W. “The Nicaraguan Revolution.” in Goldstone, Jack A. Ed., 2003. Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies. Wadsworth. Pages 223-235.
Required Class Participation: TWENTY PERCENT of your course grade comes from your participation in this class. I do not take attendance but I do keep track of your participation. This means that I expect you to be prepared to discuss the readings and then to actually do so during class meetings. If you do not maintain an active discussion of the readings in class I will move to reading based quizzes. These quizzes will not be announced.
Required Paper: Each student will complete a 20-25 page research paper on a topic of your choosing approved by me. The paper assignment is divided into four short papers that will be combined into your larger research project. The paper assignment and due dates are listed on the web page under "Paper Assignment". The goal of this assignment is to organize the process of writing a research paper into manageable increments and to improve your performance by providing regular assessment from me. Your grade will be based on how well you write and work on each section and how effectively you bring all components of the process together for the final product. This means that your work will be strongly critiqued. Late assignments are penalized a letter grade for each day past the due date.
Required Exams: Students will take one midterm and one final exam based on the readings. Each will be worth ten percent of your final grade for a total of 20%.
Grade Basis: Participation 20% (200 points), Paper 60% (600 points - 30% - 1st three and / 30% final version), Exams 10% each for 20% of total grade (200 points) = 100% (1000 points). When I assign final grades I do not use the +/- system.
E-mail Policy: I will not accept e-mail submission of required materials. Nothing may be handed in to me in electronic form. I have too many students to be able to keep efficient track of your work. Any and all electronic submissions under any and all circumstances will be graded zero. I do not discuss grades over e-mail.
Course Schedule:
8/21 Introduction to the Course – Booth, Chapter 1
8/26 Global Forces in Central America - Booth, Chapter 2
8/28 Concepts for Caribbean -
9/2 The Common History - Booth, Chapter 3;
9/4 Costa Rica – Booth, Chapter 4
9/9 Nicaragua – Booth, Chapter 5
9/11 Walker – Online Reserves “The Nicaraguan Revolution”
9/16 El Salvador – Booth, Chapter 6
Paper One DUE TODAY
9/18 Guatemala – Booth, Chapter 7; Video: Romero
9/23 Honduras – Booth, Chapter 8
9/25 Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras – recap: Booth, Chapters 5-8
9/30 Political Participation, Attitudes, Democracy – Booth, Chapters 9 & 11
10/2 U.S. Policy in Central America – Booth, Chapter 10
Frontline Series Guatemala Toward Justice
10/7 Fall Break - No Class
10/9 Political Science Days; attendance required - No Class
Students must attend one Political Science Days event and present me with your ticket (which you will receive at the session) indicating that you were there. PLS days will be focusing on the 2008 Presidential election so the sessions should be especially relevant and interesting.
10/14 The Caribbean: A Geographic Preface – T.D. Boswell, in Hillman & D'Agostino, Chapter 2
Paper Two DUE TODAY
10/16 Caribbean Politics - S. J. Randall, in Hillman & D'Agostino, Chapter 3; What's at Stake in Haiti - Farmer pgs 41-48
10/21 The Economies of the Caribbean – D.A. Pantin, in Hillman & D'Agostino, Chapter 4
10/23 International Relations – H.M. Erisman Chapter 5; Farmer pgs 49-89.
10/28 Elite versus Poor in Haiti - Farmer pgs 90-148.
10/30 Class, Ethnicity and Nation in the Caribbean Basin - Baranov and Yelvington, in Hillman & D'Agostino, Chapter 8
11/4 A Cautionary Tale? - Farmer pgs 188-213.
Paper Three DUE TODAY
11/6 The global legacy of underdevelopment: the AIDS pandemic - Farmer pgs 263-282. Bolles, in Hillman & D'Agostino, Chapter 9
11/11 Griffith Online Reserves “The Caribbean and Drugs” and Regional Development
11/13 Leonard Online Reserves “The Cuban Revolution” and Revolution: Cuba, Nicaragua and Grenada
11/18 Religion in the Caribbean – Desmangles, Glazier and Murphy, in Hillman & D'Agostino, Chapter 10.
11/20 Literature and Popular Culture – Meehan and Miller, in Hillman & D'Agostino, Chapter 11
11/25 The Caribbean Diaspora – Hillman and Serbin, in Hillman & D'Agostino, Chapter 12
11/27 Thanksgiving Break - No Class
12/2 Last Day of Class -- Final Paper Due
Tuesday, December 9th
11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.