COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES. Inter-American Relations analyzes interstate relationships in the Americas (i.e., the western hemisphere) with an emphasis on U.S.-Latin American relations with some attention to Canada and the Caribbean. The course examines the relevant actors, issues and political history of the region as it pertains to interaction of these states. Attention is given to current policy topics of significance to the Americas, e.g., drugs, immigration, security and trade.

READINGS. There are two required texts for the course plus other readings that will take the form of handouts, online readings, or materials obtained from library databases.

Dominguez, Jorge I. and Rafael Fernandez de Castro. 2009. The United States and Mexico: Between Partnership and Conflict., 2^nd Edition. New York: Routledge.

Weeks, Gregory. 2008. U.S. And Latin American Relations. New York: Pearson Longman.

Dr. Taylor's Classroom Rules. (especially my attendance, plagiarism & Wikipedia policies)

Additional readings as noted below.

GRADING. Students will be evaluated on a standard 100 point scale (A=100-90, B=89.9-80, C-79.9-70, D=69.9-60, F=59.9-0). Grades will not be curved.

Keep in mind the following: A=Outstanding, B=Above Average, C=Average, D=Below Average and F=Failing. If you need a particular grade, start working towards it from DAY ONE. It is difficult to be sympathetic to students who “need to get X, but who did not put effort into the course from the start of the term.

Breakdown

Exams (2) (Mid-term, 9/23;Final, 12/8) 45%

Research Project

Proposal/Annotated Bibliography (due: 10/5) 5%

Paper (10-12 pps) (Due day of presentation) 35%

Presentation (11/6, 11/18, 11/20) 5%

Class Participation 10%

Writing Assignment. Each student will choose a research topic related to one of the policy issues from the second unit of the course. Each paper will be 10-12. See the Writing Assignment page for more information. As part of the overall assignment, each student will prepare a proposal with an annotated bibliography of 10 scholarly soucres, plus put together a class presentation of 10-12 minutes in length.

Both the paper and the proposal need to be uploaded to Turnitin.com. The course ID number is 2767860 and the course password is democracia.

I still need a hard copy of the work turn in to me.

Online Study Guide. Each student will be required to sign onto my pages at Wikispaces (http://taylorstudyguides.wikispaces.com/). Students will be expected to contribute weekly based on the readings and the lectures, leaving comments concerning why they added what they added. I will go back and edit the document as needed.

The exams will be based off the study guide.

Students who failed to participate will not only lose 10% off their exam, but will not be provided the final version of the guide. Also, students who do not contribute to the study guide will not be allowed to participate in in-class reviews.

The exact process will be discussed in class.

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING SCHEDULE

8/12: Course Intro

I. CONTEXT OF INTER-AMERICAN RELATIONS

A. Intro to the Region and Basic Issues in Inter-American Relations (8/14 & 8/17)

Cope, John A. and Frank O. Mora. 2009. Hemispheric Security: A New Approach. Current History. 108,715 (February): 65-71.

Shifter, Michael and Daniel Joyce. 2009. No Longer Washington's Backyard. Current History. 108,715 (February): 51-57.

Weintraub, Sidney. 2009. An Economic Storm Hits Latin America. Current History. 108,715 (February): 58-64.

B. Intro to Latin American Politics (8/19)

Wiarda, Howard J. and Harvey F. Kline. 2007. An Introduction to Latin American Politics and Development. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. C1 and C2 (handout)

C. Intro to Inter-American Relations (8/21)

Weeks, C1

II. POLITICAL HISTORY

A. The Nineteenth Century/Early Twentieth (8/24, 8/26. 8/28)

Weeks, C2-C4

B. The Cold War Era (8/31, 9/2, 9/4, 9/9, 9/11, 9/14)

Weeks, C5-C7

Video (CNN’s Cold War)

9/7: Labor Day Holiday

C. Post-Cold War Era (9/16, 9/18, 9/21)

Raymond handout

Smith handout.

9/21: Wrap-up and overflow

9/23: Mid-Term Exam

II. THE KEY RELATIONSHIP: THE US AND MEXICO (9/25, 9/28, 9/30, 10/2, 10/5, 10/7)

Dominguez and Fernandez, complete

Pastor, Robert A.. 2004. North America's Second Decade. Foreign Affairs.

10/5: Proposals Due

III. ADDITIONAL KEY CASES

A. Colombia (10/9, 10/12)

Taylor 2009, C1, C2 and C7 (Handout)

B. Venezuela (10/14, 10/16)

TBA

C. Brazil (10/19)

TBA

IV. POLICY ISSUES IN INTER-AMERICAN RELATIONS

A. Trade/Economics (10/21, 10/23)

Weeks, C8

John Cavanagh; Sarah Anderson; Jaime Serra; J Enrique Espinosa. 2002. Happily ever NAFTA? Foreign Policy. (September/October).

Hakim, Peter. 2004. The Reluctant Partner. Foreign Affairs.

LARG Brief: Dollarization in Latin America

B. Immigration (10/26, 10/28, 10/30)

Weeks, C9

Huntington, Samuel P. 2004. The Hispanic Challenge. Foreign Policy

Drezner, Daniel W. 2004. Hash of Civilizations. The New Republic Online.

Citrin, Jack, Amy Lerman, Michael Murakami, and Kathryn Pearson. 2007. Testing Huntington: Is Hispanic Immigration a Threat to American Identity? Perspectives on Politics (March): 31-48.

Jacoby, Tamar. 2006. Immigration Nation. Foreign Affairs. New York: 85, 6 (November/December).

Skerry, Peter. 2006. How Not to Build a Fence. Foreign Policy. 156 (September/October) [Via ProQuest]

C. Humans Rights and Democracy (11/2, 11/4)

Weeks, C10

Youngers and Rosin handout.

D. Security (Drugs and Terrorism) (11/6, 11/9, 11/13)

Weeks, C11

Tickner handout.

TBA on Mexican drug cartels.

Weeks, Gregory. 2006. Fighting Terrorism While Promoting Democracy: Competing Priorities in U.S. Journal of Third World Studies. 23, 2 (Fall). [ProQuest]

Video: Killing Pablo.

11/11: Veteran’s Day Holiday

11/16, 11/18 & 11/20: Presentations/Papers Due

11/23-11/27: Happy Fall Break/Thanksgiving!

11/30: Wrap-Up and Review

12/2: Dead Day

12/8 (Tuesday) 8-10 ***FINAL EXAM**