New course offering for Spring 2014 in Latin American Politics

GOVT 444 001 & GOVT 731 001

LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY

SPRING 2014

 

Professor Jo-Marie Burt

George Mason University

Latin America has experienced tremendous social and political change in the past quarter century. Nearly the entire region has shifted from autocratic regimes of some kind to civilian-led democratic rule, though corruption remains an enduring problem. Economic growth over the past decade has given rise to a new middle class and massive urban growth, though Latin America remains the most unequal continent in the world. Violence, whether exercised from the state or guerrilla insurgencies, no longer dominates the region’s politics, but persists in new forms, from youth gangs to drug cartels.

 

This course will explore the complex and paradoxical politics of contemporary Latin America. Students will explore a range of topics, including democracy and authoritarianism in Latin America; institutions and governance; economic models of growth, human development, and inequality; revolutions and social movements; political violence and human rights; the politics of race, racism and ethnicity; the rise of the “Pink Tide” governments in the region, among others. The course’s principal objective is to familiarize students with key theoretical debates and political developments in the region, while stimulating critical analysis and research skills. The course will help students to think and write theoretically and critically about politics and society in Latin America within the framework of comparative political analysis, though texts from other disciplines will occasionallly be used as well.

 

The course is open to advanced graduate students, who should register under GOVT 444 001, and graduate students from any program, who should register under GOVT 731 001. There will be differentiated requirements for undergraduate and graduate students. Political science doctoral students will be encouraged to meet separately with the instructor, and special emphasis will be on readings relevant for the comprehensive comparative politics exam. Course syllabus will be posted for students enrolled in the class on or before January 21, 2014. For further information please contact the course instructor at jmburt@gmu.edu.