Seminars:
Tuesday and Thursday 2:00 - 3:15pm
Meeting Place: Congdon Hall
355
Office Hours:
MWF:
10:00 -
11:00
TTH: 3:30
- 4:30
and by appointment
Contact Information:
Office:
David Hayworth Hall 119
Phone: 336/841-9018 (office); 336/834-0185
(home, before 8:00 p.m. only)
Email:
msetzler@highpoint.edu
Class Website:
https://www.marksetzler.org
UNIVERSITY CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
An introduction and comparative analysis of
the contemporary political systems of Latin America. Emphasis on the
region's ongoing struggle to build enduring democratic political institutions
that are capable of addressing Latin America's most pressing and longstanding
challenges: fostering economic growth, delivering high-quality basic social
services to all, battling endemic political corruption, and empowering everyday
citizens to take a more active role in building democratic governance. Three
hours credit.
COURSE OVERVIEW AND TEACHING METHODS:
This course surveys the contemporary realities of political life in Latin America.
The semester begins with an overview of the major political,
social, and economic actors that have shaped the region's historical patterns of
political and economic development. The unit focuses principally on
the question of why democratic governance and economic modernity
have long faced tremendous
challenges in taking root in Latin America. The second course unit
closely examines the region's often troubled democratic
governments. We will closely analyze and
compare the political systems of
Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.
Our inquiry will be guided by questions that are central to the long-term
prospects of democracy in Latin America as a whole: What role do political
parties, electoral systems, legislatures, and non-state
actors play in fostering democratic transitions and consolidation? Can
presidential and multi-party systems work well in developing
country democracies? What can
be done to strengthen the ties between the region's most fragile democratic
governments and their frequently disenchanted populations? In the last unit of
the class, we will look at how political choices shape economic
development. The unit surveys several countries that have been promoted as
potential models of development for the region as a whole: Cuba, Chile,
Argentina, and Venezuela. We will
pay close attention to whether everyday citizens will continue to support democracies if
their political leaders fail to
promote prosperity and equity. The
course ends by asking if Latin American countries will
be able to compete in an increasingly globalized
economy, and why leftist
politicians—and
even revolutionaries—still
have such a prominent
role in the region's political life.
One of the main goals of this class is to stimulate student input, questions,
and discussion. In most seminars, I will either present
new materials or lead discussions of your assigned readings. In both cases, I
typically will organize our dialog around a loosely-structured, lecture format
that relies on active, informed class participation. Please make the most of our
seminar discussions and class exercises by consistently coming to class
well-read and fully prepared to ask questions, to comment insightfully on the
day's reading assignments, and to engage the ideas and perspectives of other
students.
SPECIFIC COURSE OBJECTIVES (After completing this course,
you should be able to do the following):
-
Be able to
emphasize with, critically analyze, and compare a variety of non-US cultural
views on the leading
issues and problems shaping political life in
contemporary Latin America.
-
Demonstrate an
understanding of the basic political history, institutions,
and important actors of Latin
America's most influential nation states.
-
Be able to
analyze and systematically compare Latin American countries with varying regime types,
formal and informal political institutions, and dominant political
ideologies.
-
Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of and an ability to apply the
main concepts and theories that social scientists-especially political
scientists, economists, and political sociologists-use to study the
social and economic policy choices of
Latin American societies.
-
Recognize the necessity of and be able to
appropriately use thesis statements, effective topic sentences,
a standard citation format.