This is a class dealing with Latin American wars, from racial conflicts to civil wars, conventional or sovereign wars to low-intensity conflicts, dirty wars and wars on terrorism, narcotraffic, and so on. The main hypothesis is that the question of war should always be articulated to the historical transformation of the accumulations processes and the metamorphoses of sovereignty (power relations). We will focus mainly on racial conflicts of the 18th century, the Independence wars of the early 19th century, the pacification processes of mid-late 19th century, the Mexican Revolution, the Cuban revolution, the Latin American guerillas, the cold war, and the Containment, up to the current wars against terrorism and narcotraffic. The class is, in other words, an interrogation of the securitarian paradigm informing Latin American history, its pollical economy of violence, and the relations between law and stasis.

This course counts as literature credit toward the Spanish minor.

Class Format:

For Fall 2021: Given the actual conditions related to the pandemic, but considering also the pedagogical demands of the class, the instructor has decided to develop this class 50% in campus and 50% online. On Tuesdays, the class will meet in campus, under the safety and health recommendation given by the University. On Thursdays, the class will meet through zoom!