HIST4520/6520 History of Latin America II
Spring, 2008

Due date - FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2008: You can turn this in in my office, drop it off in my mailbox in the HGPS department office, or e-mail it to me at  tcorse@tnstate.edu. Remember, if you are not at a computer set up specifically to allow you to send e-mail from your own account, just clicking on that link will probably not work, and you will need to cut and paste it into whatever e-mail program you use.

Topic Areas: This exam covers the material from the following lectures:

• Failing at National Integration - The Guatemalan Revolution
• Cuba - Creating a New Society
• The National Security State and the Ideology of Death
• Resistance and Memory in the National Security State
• Radical Religion - Liberation Theology 
• Neoliberalism and The Zapatista Rebellion in Mexico 
• The Destruction of the Amazon
• "Border Culture  and Migration

ESSAYS: This is a take home exam.  You must do one of the essays in list (A) and one from list (B). In grading these essays, I will assume you have done the appropriate readings.  In doing an essay, there are certain things you should remember. A good essay will first of all answer the question. Make sure you do address all parts of the question. A good essay is both specific and general: specific in its examples, general in its use of major themes. Finally, a good essay has a definite structure: an introduction, a body with an organization and argument, and a conclusion. So, in doing your essay, you should:

• 1) State you main ideas clearly.
• 2) Give your essay structure. I'd suggest preparing an outline as you study.
• 3) Give specific examples to back up your main ideas.

List A:

1. Both Cuba and Chile experienced radical governments in in the 1970s and 1908s (and beyond, for Cuba). Based on your readings of Nation of Enemies and This is Cuba, compare how Chileans and Cubans have been transformed by those governments, and how they responded to them.
2. Compare the Chilean, Cuban, and Guatemalan revolutions. To what extent were the causes and goals of these revolutions similar? What differences can you find in their causes and goals? (By "Chilean Revolution" I mean the Allende government)

List B:

1. Why did the Zapatistas (EZLN) revolt in Mexico? What are their basic goals?
2. Considering at least three factors, asses the development of Latin America in the later part of the twentieth century and its prospects for growth and development in the future. You may focus on one or two countries if you prefer. Examples of "factors" include environmental issues, political stability, democracy and democratization, economic issues, urbanization, etc.
3. Why has the destruction of the Amazon accelerated since the 1960s, and what are the obstacles to halting that destruction? 
4. Compare the Zapatista's (EZLN) analysis of modern Latin America with that of the Liberation Theologians, and the ways that both groups have responded to the problems of modern Latin America.
5. Why did military governments from the late 1960s to the early 1980s feel justified in killing, torturing, and imprisoning large numbers of their own citizens? How did the different military structures in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Chile affect the way this repression developed?
6. What is liberation theology? How did it develop, and why is it revolutionary?
7. How has the Cold War Ethos shaped U.S. foreign policy in Cuba and Guatemala?
8. What were the aims and goals of the Guatemalan Revolution? Why did Arbenz think agrarian reform was needed to achieve those goals? What role did that reform play in Eisenhower's decision to overthrow Arbenz?

Academic Honesty and Use of Other Sources: Do not even think of turning in work other than your own. Do not download from the Internet, do not copy from books, do not share your work, do no, do not, do not. If you use a source other than the textbook, readings, or class notes, be sure to use citations. No citations equals plagiarism. Plagiarism equals a zero on the exam. If you have any questions about this policy, ask me, not another student, not your mom, or your preacher, or the mailman.