BA History and American Studies / Course details

The goal of this course is to identify and analyse the alternation between authoritarianism and democracy in Latin America from the late nineteenth century to our time. By doing so, we seek to uncover broad patterns of structural change over time in the region. After achieving independence, most Latin American countries found themselves plagued by social disparities which translated into institutional inequalities which, in turn, created a fertile soil for authoritarian governments. 

The course will begin by analysing Latin America in the late nineteenth century, a time when the region was characterised by the constitutionalism of liberal political leaders and the personal power of Caudillos. Then, we will proceed to address some of the most relevant elements of Latin America's economic, social and political history of the twentieth and early twenty-first century: from inter-war nationalism to the military rule of the 1960s and 1970s to the democratisation wave of the 1980s to the Pink Tide of the 2000s and the current political polarisation.  

Restricted to History programmes, History joint honours programmes (please check your programme structure for further details).

• To develop knowledge of key concepts and events in the study of Latin America’s historiography 

• To address key issues affecting the democratic tradition of Latin America 

• To use critical frameworks and pericentric perspectives to challenge some of the traditional narratives on Latin America’s economic and political history 

• To equip students with skills in reading, analysing and contextualising texts about Latin America’s social, economic and political history 

Introductory lecture on a subject, various seminar activities, presentations. 

Analysis of primary and secondary sources 

• Apprehend the complexity and heterogeneity of Latin America’s complex experience with democracy and authoritarianism  

• Demonstrate a broad understanding of the major processes affecting Latin American political trajectories 

• Develop a critical understanding of existing narratives about Latin America’s political transformations 

• Locate, interpret, and synthesise information and debates from a wide-ranging secondary literature on Latin America which includes writing from several disciplines – History, Politics, International Relations, Sociology – and use these to deliver coherent, persuasive, and original arguments in assessed work.   

• Think critically about how Latin American political and economic history is produced and narrated. 

• Analyse a range of complex primary and secondary sources from a variety of perspectives. 

• Connect Latin American economic and political history with current debates about democratic backsliding in the region. 

• Digital humanities skills developed through the use of online resources and archives from a wide range of actors in Latin America and beyond.  

• Teamwork skills developed through developing and delivering a presentation as part of a group.  

• Communicating your own arguments and interpretations in verbal and written formats. 

• Contributing to group discussions on complex historical and theoretical debates in seminars.  

• Independent research skills for seminar preparation and assessed work. 

Organisational and time-management skills developed through organising and managing independent study.  

•  Understand and clearly articulate complex topics verbally and in writing. 

• Develop clear and coherent arguments that bring together and critically interpret information from a range of sources. 

• Develop confidence in verbal presentation skills through seminar participation and group presentations. 

• Carry out independent research on primary and secondary sources.  

• Teamworking skills will be developed through group activities and group presentations. 

Feedback method	Formative or Summative
Verbal feedback on group presentation and seminar activities.	Formative
Written feedback on the literature review.	Formative
Additional one-to-one feedback (during consultations and office hours).	Formative

• Altamura, C. E., “Global Banks and Latin American Military Dictators, 1974-1982”, Business History Review, 2021, 301-332.  

• Bertola, L. and Ocampo, J. L., The Economic Development of Latin America Since Independence, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. 

• Brands, H., Latin America’s Cold War, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010. 

• Fajardo, M., The World That Latin America Created. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in the Development Era, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2022. 

• Htun, M., Sex and the State: Abortion, Divorce, and the Family under Latin American 

• Dictatorships and Democracies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.