Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Course Description

This course invites us to explore the causes, dynamics and outcomes of Latin America’s drug wars. Our work will consider the social, political, economic, and cultural scope and scale of the drug wars. We will learn about the role of United States policy as it intersects with the internal, domestic factors in Latin America. Our discussion will include consideration of criminal cartels, gangs, migrants, militaries, politicians, business people, and ordinary citizens, as well as the relationship between formal and informal sectors of society. Several key questions and themes are in play. What is the historical evolution of the drug wars in Latin America? What is the relationship between capitalism and the war on drugs? What is the impact of the drug wars on the nation-state? What happens to citizenship and civil society in the war on drugs? How do people experience the war on drugs in their everyday lives? What are the cultural manifestations of the drug wars? Once the war on drugs starts, why does it escalate, and how does it end? What are appropriate policies? What can we learn about corruption as well as power by studying the war on drugs. These questions and themes will guide our exploration of the topic.

Student Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to exercise the following three outcomes and two content specific learning goals: Outcome: Analytical skills - evaluate historical arguments, historiographical debates and develop and frame historical arguments in their own work. Outcome: Breadth of historical knowledge - understand the past with respect to diversities of culture, geography and chronology Outcome: Writing and Oral Communication Skills - communicate complex historical analysis in written form with appropriate scholarly attribution and communicate effectively in class discussions and presentations.

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