HIST J495

HIST J495 Prof. Michael Snodgrass

Spring 2004 Cavanaugh 503S 278-7761

Cavanaugh 203 Office Hours: M 2:30-5:00

PROSEMINAR FOR HISTORY MAJORS:

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON 19^TH AND 20^TH CENTURY US-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS

Course objectives:

This research seminar is the capstone course for history majors, offering you the opportunity to practice the skills you honed in your previous undergraduate history courses. The final outcome will be a high-quality historical essay based upon your own intensive research on the history of relations between the United States and its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors.

Research projects will cover any time period between the late l700s and the end of the Cold War and may focus upon relations between the USA and any other nation in the western hemisphere, excluding Canada. The range of issues you may cover is as vast as the Americas, from the diplomatic and military aspects of foreign relations to the economic exchanges and cultural encounters that make up the everyday life of inter-American relations. During the first half of the course we will discuss historical research methods and read secondary sources on US-Latin American relations, including textbook selections, book chapters, and two monographs that focus on specific case studies. The second half of the course offers seminar participants the time and independence needed to complete their individual research projects.

Consistent with IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning, this course is designed to develop student skills of critical and comparative analysis, improve writing proficiency, and enhance one’s capacity to organize and express his or her thoughts. Students will sharpen these skills by writing short essays, engaging in classroom discussions and constructive debate, and preparing for examinations.

Required readings available at Indy’s College Bookstore (601 W. 11^th St.) or IUPUI Bookstore:

1) Nick Cullather, Secret History: The CIA’s Classified Account of its Operations in Guatemala, l952-l954

2) Richard Marius, A Short Guide to Writing About History

3) Eric Paul Roorda, The Dictator Next Door: The Good Neighbor Policy and the Trujillo Regime in the Dominican Republic, l930-l945

4) ERROL readings posted to the library’s Electronic Reserves system. (To access these readings, go to http://errol.ulib.iupui.edu/, click Snodgrass under instructor, click on our class J495 and then enter the password HISTJ495 to open the documents.)

Course requirements and grading (based upon 1,000 total points):

Class participation (100)

Critical reading reviews (2@100)

Research prospectus and annotated bibliography (200)

Oral presentation of research (100)

Research paper (400)

* Assignment descriptions and expectations may be found below. Familiarize yourself with them immediately so you can plan a research agenda. Be forewarned: this capstone course requires more hours of work on your behalf than any other history class you will take at IUPUI.

Final grade scores: A (1,000-930), A- (929-900), B+ (899-880), B (879-830), B- (829-800), C+ (799-780), C (779-730), C- (729-700), D (699-600), F (599 or less).

Remember...

* You are expected to attend all classes and come prepared to discuss all reading assignments. Class participation grades reflect active participation in classroom discussions.

* All late assignments will be penalized as follows: one grade (B to C) for assignments not turned in on due date, and two full grades (B to D) for assignments turned in more than one week late. ASSIGNMENTS MORE THAN TWO WEEKS LATE ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

* Be sure to save all papers on your hard drive and a diskette and to retain graded assignments until final grades are posted. Check Oncourse to ensure your grades are recorded correctly.

* Plagiarism and cheating will be punished in accordance with university policy, as outlined in the Indiana University Academic Handbook (p.123) and the IUPUI Campus Bulletin, 2000-2002 (p.36). The following is from the School of Liberal Arts official statement on plagiarism:

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“Plagiarism is the use of the work of others without properly crediting the actual source of the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, entire articles, music or pictures. Using other students’ work (with or without their permission) is still plagiarism if you don’t indicate who initially did the work. Plagiarism, a form of cheating, is a serious offense and will be severely punished. When an instructor suspects plagiarism, he/she will inform the student of the charge; the student has the right to respond to the allegations. Students whose work appears to be plagiarized may be asked to produce earlier drafts of work or all the books/articles used in a paper or speech. Students should, for this reason and as a protection in cases of lost papers, retain rough drafts, notes, computer files and other work products for three weeks after the end of each semester. The penalties for plagiarism include reprimands, being failed for a particular take-home exam, paper, project or the entire course, disciplinary probation, or dismissal. Faculty, after consulting with their chair and/or the School of Liberal Arts Dean of Students must notify students in writing of their decision. Students have the right to appeal such decisions by submitting petitions to the Academic Affairs Committee. Petitions can be obtained in CA 401. For further information, see ‘Code of Student Ethics,’ available in CA 401.”

COURSE SCHEDULE

Jan. 14 Course introduction and expectations

Jan. 21 US-Latin American Relations: scholarly trends and research methodologies

ERROL overviews of US-Latin American relations:

a) Ben Keen, “The Two Americas”; b) Lars Schoultz, “Two Centuries Later”;

c) Peter H. Smith, “Structure and Change in US-Latin American Relations”

Marius, A Short Guide to Writing About History, pp.1-35

Begin reviewing reserve books, journals, and internet sources for research topics (see list of ‘Select Reference Sources’ below)

Jan. 28 LIBRARY TOUR (with Kristi Palmer, research librarian, in UL room TBA)

Prepare single-paragraph descriptions of two potential research topics

Marius, A Short Guide to Writing About History, pp. 85-124

Feb. 4 ** No Class Tonight: Individual Meetings to Discuss Research **

Feb. 11 Manifest Destiny and US Foreign Policy toward Latin America

ERROL readings by Louis Perez, Jr. on US-Cuban relations:

a) “Introduction” to On Becoming Cuban; b) “Binding Familiarities”;

c) “1898 to 1998: From Memory to Consciousness” from The War of 1898

Feb. 18 ** No Class: Research Week **

Feb. 25 From Benevolent Bully to Good Neighbor

Eric Paul Roorda, The Dictator Next Door

Critical reading review #1 due today

Mar. 3 The Cold War Era of US-Latin American Relations

Nick Cullather, Secret History

Critical reading review #2 due today

Mar. 10 Student presentations of research topics and primary sources

Research prospectus and annotated bibliography due today

Mar. 15 ** Spring Break Week **

Mar. 24 The Writing Process

Marius, A Short Guide to Writing About History, 36-84, 124-192

Mar. 31 ** No class **

Apr. 7 First draft of papers due today

Apr. 14 ** No class **

Apr. 21 Oral presentations (Group 1)

Apr. 28 Oral presentations (Group 2)

Final drafts of papers due today

ASSIGNMENTS

Preliminary research topic descriptions (due Jan. 28) - prepare brief descriptions of two separate research projects that you find to be both of personal interest and feasible. You will find that researching your paper will be one of the most time-consuming projects you have undertaken at IUPUI. You must therefore get a strong and early start on determining your research topic so you can then begin gathering primary and secondary sources. No student will be permitted to change their topic after March 10, when your research prospectus is due.

Critical readings reviews (100 points each) -

3-4 page analyses of the Roorda and Cullather books; assignment questions to be provided in class in week prior to assignment due date.

Research prospectus (100 points) -

This is the first and most consequential step in your research project. Your 2-3 page statement will offer a tentative title and definition of your project’s topic and intentions. Here is where you must offer evidence that your project is both worthwhile and feasible. You will therefore describe your principle sources of evidence, offer a tentative hypothesis, and outline what you hope to contribute to the literature on your topic. Think this through carefully and be prepared to explain why this topic interests you as a scholar.

Annotated bibliography (100 points) -

The annotated bibliography of at least ten sources will demonstrate your beginning mastery of the primary and secondary sources discovered to this point. At least three of these must be distinct primary sources (for example, three distinct periodicals; not three articles from the same newspaper). Those sources will range widely depending on the subject of study, but will begin with books and articles, and then go on to the primary sources discovered, whether they are news periodicals or government documents. The bibliography should demonstrate how your chosen sources will inform or serve as the empirical foundation of your study. Each entry should begin with a complete bibliographical citation in an acceptable and consistent format (see the Marius book on Bibliographies). Primary sources come first, alphabetically, followed by the secondary sources. Each entry should be followed by a short paragraph explaining how the primary sources will contribute to your project and how those secondary sources relate to your project. This and other assignments will be discussed thoroughly in class so that the instructor’s expectations are clear to all.

* A research suggestion: be sure that you accurately and thoroughly document the sources of all notes that you take so you will not have to go back and verify them.

First draft of research paper -

By the time you begin this you should have completed the majority of your research. Your next step will then be to arrange your notes and organize an outline of your essay. Then you will prepare the first draft of the essay. This begins with a solid introduction that outlines the topic and your own thesis. This will be followed by a body that includes a discussion of the existing/secondary literature on the topic, known as the historiography. You will then of course offer your own research findings, backed by well-documented evidence (cited in footnote format). You will then summarize your conclusions and restate your thesis. This first draft should be at least 15 pages long. The professor will only offer critical suggestions on this first draft, and this alone, so do not expect to hand in a semi-finished product. Be sure to attach the first draft, with written comments, to the final draft at the end of the semester.

Oral presentation of research (100 points) -

Each student will offer a 15-20 minute presentation of his/her research paper, to be followed by a 10-15 minute discussion based upon questions put forth by classmates. Students will be expected to offer an overview of the topic, explain what other authors have written about it, and state how his/her thesis relates to the existing literature. Presenters will also briefly explain the primary sources that served as their major sources of evidence. Students will be graded on preparation and delivery, thoroughness of the presentation, and ability to convey pertinent information within time frame of 15-20 minutes. This is a formal presentation, not a casual discussion, and so solid preparation and practice will be of upmost importance in one’s overall performance.

Final draft of research paper (400 points) -

This research essay offers you the opportunity to place the skills you honed as a student of history on display. Final drafts will be no less than 20 to no more than 25 pages (double-spaced, 12 pt. font) in length. Papers in excess of 25 pages may be presented only after consulting with the professor. All papers must conform to the format discussed in class: introduction/thesis, body that includes discussion of both research findings and the established secondary literature on the topic, and a solid conclusion. All primary and secondary sources must be properly cited in footnotes. Final drafts will be graded on quality of research, exposition of evidence, articulation of strong and well-supported thesis, and grammar/punctuation/spelling.

Outstanding papers may be nominated for the History Department’s Thelander Award - and its $250 prize - for best undergraduate research paper.

Class participation (100 points) - perfect attendance and prior completion of all reading assignments is expected of all students in this senior seminar, without exception. This held true for all of your upper-division history courses. What distinguishes this capstone course is that it is a seminar, meaning that the professor does relatively limited lecturing and more often directs our discussions and debates of the topics at hand. All students are expected to offer their critical insights into each week’s reading assignments and should be fully prepared to engage their classmates when called upon to do so. Let me be clear about this issue from the outset: students who attend all classes but rarely offer any significant input can expect to get a C (75 points) for their class participation grade.

SELECT REFERENCE SOURCES ON US-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS

Getting started: in addition to materials introduced during our library visit, the following books, journals, and internet sources offer starting points for the selection of research topics, for reviews of the secondary literature on your proposed subjects, and for some primary source materials that are both accessible and credible

I. Secondary sources

The following texts are on reserve at the IUPUI library and available for a 2 hour/overnight period. They are grouped by general subject matter.

Surveys of US-Latin American Relations -

Dan Coever and Linda Hall, Tangled Destinies: Latin America and the United States (l998)

Walter LaFeber, Inevitable Revolutions: the United States in Central America (1993)

Lester Langley, The United States and the Caribbean in the Twentieth Century (l982)

William LeoGrande, Our Own Backyard: the United States in Central America, l977-l992 (l998)

Thomas O’Brien, The Century of US Capitalism in Latin America (1999)

Lars Schoultz, Beneath the United States: a history of US policy toward Latin America (l999)

Gaddis Smith, The Last Years of the Monroe Doctrine, l945-l993 (1994)

Peter H. Smith, Talons of the Eagle: dynamics of US-Latin American Relations (2000)

General Histories of US Foreign Policy -

The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations (l993):

Volume 1: Bradford Perkins, The Creation of a Republican Empire, l776-l865

Volume 2: Walter LaFeber, The American Search for Opportunity, l865-l9l3

Volume 3: Akira Iriye, The Globalizing of America, l9l3-l945

Volume 4: Warren Cohen, America in the Age of Soviet Power, l945-l991

Thomas McCormick, America’s Half-Century: US Foreign Policy in the Cold War (1989)

Surveys of Latin American History -

James Cockroft, Latin America: history, politics, and US policy (l996)

Thomas Skidmore, Modern Latin America (1992)

The following academic journals focus on foreign policy issues:

Diplomatic History (electronic journal)

Foreign Affairs (electronic)

Foreign Policy (electronic)

International Affairs (J-STOR)

Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs (J-STOR)

The following Latin American and US history journals will also prove helpful:

American Historical Review, Journal of American History, Hispanic American Historical Review, Journal of Latin American Studies, Latin American Research Review, Latin American Perspectives

II. Primary Sources

Readily accessible and indexed periodicals that cover inter-American relations (a very brief selection):

The New York Times

Wall Street Journal

Chicago Tribune

The Nation

The New Republic

Harpers

The Economist

Time

Select primary sources related to US foreign policy and/or Latin America on the Internet:

Prof. Vincent Ferraro’s extensive collection of documents on US foreign policy history: