This course introduces the early period of Latin American history. We begin by exploring Amerindian civilizations on the eve of European arrival in the Americas, before turning to the Iberian Peninsula in the years leading up and through Spanish and Portuguese expansion. We study interactions among Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans, and the emergence of multi-ethnic societies, political and religious cultures in what might most accurately be called a New World for all. Primary sources – both texts and images – are our principal points of entry for understanding colonial systems, work regimes, tensions and conflicts, and evolving identities within “colonial Latin America.” Our focus extends into late eighteenth-century when a variety of struggles and rebellions across the region anticipated independence movements in the early nineteenth century.

For more information about how this course may count toward the Spanish major or minor requirements, students should visit the Romance Languages and Literature website.

Course Requirements:

A mid-term exam will count for 15% of your total grade, and two short papers will together count for 30% (15% each). A take-home final exam will count for another 25% of the grade. Attendance at, preparation for, and participation in a discussion section is required and vital, with your overall performance counting for 30% of the grade.

Assessment will be based on preparation, participation in intermittent exercises and discussions. And on performance in a series of writing, presentational, and analytical opportunities. A "take-home" essay caps off our semester

Class Format:

All students will enroll in a one-hour discussion section in addition to the lecture.