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Mexico Since Independence



508:362/595:312




 

            

        

    



    

		
GOALS AND APPROACH:




This course will provide students an advanced introduction to the “national” history of Mexico while also covering many local and regional experiences. First we will review the three centuries of Spanish Colonial rule. Then we cover the independence process and the unstable formation of the Mexican nation and state. After that we’ll discuss the Porfirian dictatorship of the late 19th Century, the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the long developmentalist rule of the PRI from the 1930s to the 1990s. We end with the transition to post-PRI politics, the rise of narco violence and the multiple political and social crises of turn of the 21st century Mexico. Among the topics we will examine are: centralism and federalism in the formation of the state; peasant struggles over land and sovereignty; economic development and modernization; authoritarian rule and struggles for democratization; relations with the United States; populism; emigration; labor movements; and recent reformist and revolutionary challenges to the state and neo-liberal policies.


 


REQUIREMENTS:




Your enrollment in this course constitutes an agreement that you will follow the guidelines presented below. I expect a reasonable degree of enthusiasm and interest from you. You will have to complete all requirements in order to receive a grade in this course. I expect you to come to all class sessions on time, prepared, and ready to participate in discussions. You will be expected to spend between four and six hours each week outside of class time to complete the readings and requirements for this course. This means reading between 100 and 125 pages of reading each week. Most will be drawn from our very well organized, excellent text book which brings it’s own online learning guide.


Please note: I consistently screen papers for various forms of plagiarism and refer plagiarism cases to the Deans without hesitation. Please make sure that the work you hand is was written by you and not borrowed, purchased, cut and pasted from the web, or simply the result of stringing together notes from other people’s work.


    

  • Determination of Grade:

      

    • Class participation, map exercises, and short written assignments (25%)
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    • In-class exam one (25%)
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    • One discussion paper (25%)
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    • Exam period exam two (25%)
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  • Participation:

      

    • Your participation in class activities, including attendance, will be an important component of your final grade. The short assignments that form part of the participation grade include short response papers. They should be about one page long and reflect some thinking, coherent questioning, analysis or reflections upon some aspect of that week’s readings.
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    • In the calculation of the final grade of borderline cases, improvement and dynamic class participation will be decisive factors. I consider all students equally capable of successfully completing the requirements for this class with an above average grade, which does not mean you will receive a B for mediocre work.
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  • Discussion/research paper/project:

      

    • I will provide the topic for this paper. It will be based on class readings and some additional readings and will need to be 5-6 pages in length and reflect your participation in class, your completion of readings, and your own analysis of the materials. Late papers will be penalized for each day of lateness at the rate of five points per day.
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  • Web Content:

      

    • There will be assigned web-based materials for you to examine. Some of these materials will be presented in class but others will be for individual browsing. These materials are as essential to the course as any other assigned reading. You should check this web page and your email every few days for revisions and the posting of assignments.
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We have an active Canvas site for this course. Make sure to check your Rutgers email regularly.


 


BOOKS REQUIRED FOR THIS COURSE:




The following books are available at the Rutgers bookstore. Please purchase them ASAP. Other readings not ordered by the bookstore will be available on Canvas.


    

  • Timothy J. Henderson and Gilbert M. Joseph. The Mexico Reader. Duke University Press. ISBN: 978-0-8223-3042-4
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  • Philip Russell. The History of Mexico: From Pre-Conquest to Present. Routledge. ISBN: 9780415872379
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ORGANIZATION AND SCHEDULE:




Week 1: [1/17, 1/22, 1/24]  Spaniards, Natives and Africans in the 16th Century 


    

  • Russell. The History of Mexico. Chaps. 2-3.
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  • Henderson and Joseph. The Mexico Reader. 61-78; 109-113.
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  • The Website that accompanies our text book: Chronologies, study questions, quiz material, documents.
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Week 2: [1/29, 1/31] New Spain During the Eighteenth Century



Week 3: [2/5, 2/7] Independence and the Conflicted Emergence of the Mexican Nation-State, 1808-1830s



Week 4: [2/12, 2/14 ]Agrarian and Regional Strife, Foreign Intervention and Civil War, 1830s-1860s



Week 5: [2/19, 2/21] State and Elites During the Porfiriato, 1876-1910


    

  • Russell. The History of Mexico. Chaps. 12-14.
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  • Henderson and Joseph. The Mexico Reader. 285-292.
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  • Discussion Questions
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Week 6: [2/26, 2/28]  The Porfirian Modernization and Peasants and Workers, Women, Indigenous Peoples, 1885-1910


    

  • Henderson and Joseph. The Mexico Reader. 270-297.
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  • Select three of the articles by these authors from the “resources” folder of Canvas. Please note that they cover the 1810-1910 period. Try to pick different periods and themes, they are somewhat diverse. This is why I love Mexican history. I went to grad school with Guardino and Ducey.

      

    • Guardino
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    • Evelyn Hu-DeHart
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    • Tutino
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    • French
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    • Hu-dehart
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    • Purnell
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    • Van Young
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    • Ducey
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    • Brown
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    • Thomson
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    • Wasserman
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  • For Wed up to minute 17 of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVWcgOcvgV0
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  • Optional: some interesting images and ideas, not the most sophisticated analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6olifItvePo
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  • Discussion Questions
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Week 7: [3/5, 3/7]  Wars of the Revolution, 1911-1917



MIDTERM EXAM: March 7


SPRING BREAK: March 10-March18


Week 8: [3/19, 3/21] Struggles for a New Order, 1917-1940



Week 9: [3/26, 3/28] Consolidation of the PRI Elites and the New State, 1940-1968


    

  • Russell. The History of Mexico. Chaps. 21.
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  • Henderson and Joseph. The Mexico Reader. 465-470; 500-511
    

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Week 10: [4/2, 4/4] Construction of the PRI’s Hegemony and State-based Development, 1968-1980s


    

  • Russell. The History of Mexico. Chaps. 22-23.
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  • Henderson and Joseph. The Mexico Reader. 555-569.
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  • Jeffrey Rubin. “Decentering the Regime: Culture and Regional Politics in Mexico.” Latin American Research Review, Vol. 31, No. 3. (1996), pp. 85-126.
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Week 11: [4/9, 4/11] Problems within the “Mexican Miracle,” 1940-1960s: Opposition Movements



Week 12: [4/16, 4/18] Crisis and Demise of the PRI, 1980s-1990s


    

  • For Wed: One Page discussion of Alegre’s chapters from last week.
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  • Russell. The History of Mexico. Chaps. 24-26.
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  • Henderson and Joseph. The Mexico Reader. 619-646.
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Week 13: [4/23, 4/25] Mexico Since the PRI or Democratizing Development: Insurgencies and Social Movements 1990-2000 


    

  • Russell. The History of Mexico. Chaps. 27-30.
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Week 14: [4/30] Migration and The US/Mexico Border


    

  • Henderson and Joseph. The Mexico Reader. 698-750.
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  • One reading on migration/border
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