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Colonial Latin America

History 4359, Section 501, Fall 2005
CB 1.104, T 7:00-9:45
Dr. Monica Rankin

Office: Jonnson 5.704 Office Hours: T, TR 12:00-2:00

Office Phone: 972-883-2152 Or by appointment
Email: mrankin@utdallas.edu Website: www.utdallas.edu/~mar046000

Overview of Course: This course is designed to give students an overview of the

political, economic, social, and cultural history of Latin America from the pre-Conquest
era to the end of Independence (roughly 1821). Broadly speaking, each week’s material
will be presented in a chronological fashion, but within those broad chronological
divisions, we will be examining material thematically. We will specifically focus on the
different themes that affected the way life and society were organized during the colonial
period, and how these themes were interrelated.

Readings: There are four required books for this course and all should be available in
the campus bookstore.

Jonathan C. Brown, Latin America: A Social History of the Colonial Period, 2nd ed,
Thompson Wadsworth, 2005. ISBN: 0-534-64233-0

Kenneth Andrien, ed. The Human Tradition in Colonial Latin America, SR Books, 2002.
ISBN: 0-8420-2888-9

Lyman Johnson, et. al., eds. The Faces of Honor: Sex, Shame, and Violence in Colonial
Latin America, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998. ISBN: 0-8263-
1906-8.

Richard Boyer, et. al., eds. Colonial Lives: Documents on Latin America History, 1550-
1850, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN: 0-19-512512-6.

There will be readings assigned every week from one or more of these texts. Analysis
suggestions for the readings as well as any changes to the class schedule will be posted
on my website.

Students are responsible for all of the readings for discussion, projects, and exams. Due
to the lack of time for lecture to cover all of the key aspects of the course material,
students are responsible for material from the readings that will not be covered in
lectures. Students should feel free to ask for clarifications about the readings during class
time or see the instructor during office hours.
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Class Requirements and Grading: The grading in this course is based on class
participation, a formal essay, a mid-term, and a take-home final exam. The breakdown of
the grading is as follows:

Participation 100 points

Formal Essay Project 200 points
Mid-term 100 points
Final Exam 100 points
Total 500 points

Class Participation: All students are expected to participate in class discussions by

incorporating information from assigned readings and class lectures. Students’
participation should be constructive and contribute to the overall discussion. Please
consider quality as well as quantity in class discussions. On most days, we will allot time
at the beginning of class to discuss assigned readings. Reading assignments out of the
Andrien, Johnson, and Boyer books will correspond to the previous week’s lecture.
Students should use their reading responses as the basis for class discussion.

NOTE: There is no formal attendance policy in this class, but please keep in mind the
following. It is not possible to “make-up” class participation. If you are not physically
(and mentally) present in the classroom, it will affect your participation grade.
Furthermore, past experience has proven that students who attend class regularly tend to
earn higher grades. I frequently include information in my lectures that is not necessary
covered in your reading. It behooves you to be present to listen to lectures and
participate in class. Finally, please refrain from disruptive behavior such as arriving late,
departing early, talking, sleeping, reading the newspaper, etc. (I reserve the right to add to
this list as needed).

Reading Response: Students will prepare a reading response for each secondary reading
assigned from the Andrien and Johnson volumes. (Please note: no response papers are
required from the Brown text.) The papers should include a brief summary stating the
author’s main argument, followed by general points that tie the readings and lectures
together. These papers should be typed and prepared prior to class meetings. Students
will also prepare a response for each of the primary documents assigned from the Boyer
volume. These sheets should include the most important points students have identified
from the primary documents and a brief analysis of how the documents relate to lecture
and other readings. Responses should be 2-4 typed pages, double-spaced. They do not
need to be written as formal essays. Instead, think of them as a set of notes to provide
quick reference to reading material for in-class discussions and in writing the mid-term
and final papers.

Reading responses will be graded with a check/check + system and will be incorporated
into the participation portion of the final grade. See my website for suggested topics for
response papers.
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Formal Essay: A major formal essay project will be due late in the semester and will
account for 20% of the final grade in this course. The project should be an in-depth essay
analysis of primary and secondary readings of your choice. You will find a nice selection
of readings already assigned for the class, which are suitable choices for the formal essay.
You may also consult reputable outside sources. Due date for the formal essay is listed
on the course schedule.

Mid-term and Final Exam: The mid-term and final exam in this class will be take-
home formal essay exams. I will provide students with exam questions in advance.
Exams will be due on the days listed in the course schedule.

Writing Format: All journal entries and exams must be typed with 12-point font and all
pages should be stapled. Exams and formal essays must be double-spaced, journals may
be either double or single spaced. Your name, course number, assignment description,
date, and my name should appear at the top LEFT corner of the first page for journal
entries. All exams should include a cover page with the above information. Exams and
formal essays must follow the format for formal academic writing. In addition to content,
exams will also be graded for suitable grammar, appropriate style, and proper mechanics.
Proper citations must be used in formal essays. Please see Kate Turabian’s Manual for
Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations for a guide to grammar and stylistic
concerns in formal writing (see also www.dianahacker.com). You may also see my
website for general writing tips.

Make ups: No late exams will be accepted except in the case of extreme emergency and
there is no make-up policy for in-class work. I will NOT accept reading response papers
or exams as e- mail attachments. You MUST turn in a PAPER COPY of all written work
to me.

Administrative Matters :

Academic Dishonesty: As in every class at UT Dallas, cheating, plagiarism, and/or any

other form of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students caught doing either
will be reported to the Office of the Dean of Students. For a description of plagiarism
and academic dishonesty, see www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/dishonesty.html. Students
engaged in any type of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade in this course.

NOTE: FULL CITATIONS MUST BE USED AS APPROPRIATE ON ALL FORMAL

PAPERS. Although reading response papers are to be informal in nature, it is still
possible to plagiarize. Please take care to avoid word-for-word duplication of the
readings. Reading responses should primarily contain your individual analysis.

Email: all course correspondence by e-mail must now occur through the student’s UTD
e-mail address. UT-Dallas provides each student with a free e-mail account that is to be
used in all communication with university personnel. This allows the university to
maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individuals corresponding and
the security of the transmitted information. The Department of Information Resources at
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UTD provides a method for students to forward e-mail from other accounts to their UTD
address and have their UTD mail sent on to other accounts. Students may go to the
following URL to establish or maintain their official UTD computer account:
http://netid.utdallas.edu.

Every effort is made to accommodate students with disabilities. The full range of
resources available through Disability Services can be found at the following site:
www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/hcsvc.html.

I reserve the right to make changes to the following course schedule as needed. All
changes will be announced in class with sufficient notice.
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8/23 Introduction to the Course

Pre-Conquest Spain
Pre-Conquest Americas

8/30 The Conquest of Mexico

Read: Brown, Chapters 1-2
Journal 1 Johnson, Introduction and Chapter 1

9/6 The Conquest of South America

Read: Brown, Chapter 3 (77-94)
Journal 2 Andrien, Chapter 1
Boyer, Introduction and Chapter 1

9/13 The Consolidation of Conquest

Read: Brown, Chapter 3 (95-end)
Journal 3 Andrien, Chapter 2
Boyer, Chapters 2 and 4

9/20 Colonial Administration: Church and Crown

Read:
Journal 4 Andrien, Chapter 3
Johnson, Chapter 2
Boyer, Chapters 3 and 5

9/27 Development of Colonial Society

Read: Brown, Chapter 4
Journal 5 Andrien, Chapter 4
Johnson, Chapter 3
Boyer, Chapter 7

10/4 Natives and Slaves

Read: Brown, Chapter 5
Journal 6 Andrien, Chapter 5
Johnson, Chapter 4
Boyer, Chapter 6 and 12

10/11 MID-TERM EXAM DUE IN CLASS

Economic Development in the 18th Century
Read: Brown, Chapter 6 and 7
Journal 7 Andrien, Chapter 6
Johnson, Chapter 8
Boyer, Chapter 20
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10/18 The South American Emphasis

Read: Brown, Chapter 8-9
Journal 8 Johnson, Chapters 5 and 6
Boyer, Chapters 12 and 13

10/25 Crisis in the Andes

Read: Brown, Chapter 10
Journal 9 Andrien, Chapter 12
Boyer, Chapters 15 and 18

11/1 FORMAL ESSAY DUE IN CLASS

The Colonial Exceptions: Brazil and Haiti
Read: Brown, Chapter 11
Journal 10 Andrien, Chapter 14
Boyer, Chapter 16

11/8 The Age of Reform

Read: Brown, Chapters 12 and 13
Journal 11 Andrien, Chapters 7 and 13
Johnson, Chapter 8
Boyer, Chapter 22

11/15 Revolution and Independence in Colonial Mexico

Read: Brown, Chapter 14
Journal 12 Andrien, Chapter 11 and 12
Boyer, Chapter 21

11/22 Revolution and Independence in South America

Read: Brown, Chapter 15
Journal 13 Andrien, Chapters 15 and 16
Boyer, Chapter 23

11/29 FINAL EXAM DUE

BY 9:00
JO 5.704