Independence processes are historical moments, for sure. First, because a nation is self-determinating their identity and their future, against some oppressive regime is a definitory moment in the life of these peoples; second, are mythical spaces of narrations, where different people explore, construct and negotiate the values for that nation; third, is an instance in which political, military, religious and cultural leaders create institutions and implement technologies to make a country work for its people. Independence is a major reconfiguration of values, things, and people in a very short time. Perhaps, for that same reason, some people also called revolutions. All these elements are wonderful reasons to dedicate some time to observe in detail how Latin America overcome (mostly) their colonial times.Independence isn´t neutral: There are winners and losers because, at the same time a nation is created, not everyone gets recognized. For the caudillos, Most indigenous peoples long remained as uncivilized peoples who don´t deserve the same level of political rights, being forced to support a project that barely belonged to them. Simultaneously in the early republics of Latin America, and for a long time, just men from wealthy families had the right to get educated and to vote. Workers, mostly illiterate and dispossessed, were excluded from shaping and defining the futures of their peoples. Without elements as inclusion, justice, or representation, fundamental in our current democracies, the early Latin American nations were projected in construction. Even, one country became its own empire!, extending the colonial influence in other means for almost a century.The roles which nature, religion, education, and territory during the XIX century had situated meanings for each country (or even city) in Latin America, but there are trends and common ideas which we can extract from a panoramic view of them. A key element it´s the huge influence of the Catholic church in political events. Until today, when several states claimed in their constitutions a non-religious state, priests and cardinals had a huge effect on the public opinion in matters like a woman and reproductory rights, sexual diversity, marriage, and death.During this week we also want to give some attention to the role of natural resources, a key element on the expansionist desires of European empires and early American nation-states, on the configuration of the territory and its economy. Major migrations were supported (or even forced) to deploy extractivist industries, catalyzing the country-city migration which most modern nations had after the first industrial revolution but just to provide the commodities to the industrialized European nations.The Learning Objective of this week is to describe the structuration of Latin American nations, from the independence movements (where it happened), and the constitution of modern institutions. In particular, key attention to territory, religion, nature, and education will be placed during these conversations. In this week we will explore the indigenous and colonial history of the region, which include elements from:- Describe common characteristics from the Independence process in major Latin American nations- Analysis of the construction of national myths and institutions for the new Latin American Nations.- Identification of the main political and territorial disputes during the XIX century, as the resolution of colonial regimes and national expansionist desires.- Exploration of cultural developments in the Latin American nations in the late XIX century. The topics for this week are: Independency process of Latin AmericaBorder reconfigurations, common histories: South Cone, Andean Region, La Gran Colombia, Mexico, Central America, The Caribbean, and BrazilInterdependencies: Institutional, Revolutionary, and modernist processes.You must submit a 300-word summary and 5 references for your policy paper at the end of this weekCountry Project 3: Independence and the nations birth (PART 1)In this module, we will start with the observation of the process of Latin American Independence. The independence process of several Latin American countries starts in the first two decades of the 19th Century. Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Central America, Peru, Chile among others started their statehood in these years, fighting against the Kingdom of Spain, as well their own fears and anxieties from the Colonial times.The video from Crash Course is simple, but share the essential elements from that process. (As well, the specific assignment from this section)But, a major surprise is how Brazil developed during that time. Because of that special case, you must pick one of the two options as your reading to learn about that process with more depth. Both perspectives will enhance your understanding of the independence values and challenges for this class. (Lucky for those who pick Brazil on the Country Project).Latin American Revolutions: Crash Course World History #31 (2012)londonessays.com, pick one of the following papers, for your reading on the topic.a) Salgado, P. (2020). Agency and geopolitics: Brazilian formal independence and the problem of Eurocentrism in international historical sociology. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 33(3), 432-451.b) Joao Paulo Pimenta (2016) Brazilian Independence: Change and Continuitylondonessays.com processes are central to the creation of national identities and political myths. This week, look at the independence of your country and summarize this process in approx. 300-400 words. Consider these three main questions as a guide:- Who are the people who led it? There is a âfounding fatherâ?- What are the main conflicts/situations during the independence process?- Which key institutions emerge? Do not restrain yourself to constitutional institutions, also check if some academic, religious, military, cultural, or political institution, like parties, universities, or national theater, were created during the independence process.Border Reconfigurations (PART 2)After independence, the new countries still had a very intense process of installation. During that time, new cultural, economical, and military institutions were implemented. But, a contingency point was the elaboration of borders among territories. The evolution of The Central American Republic in the current nations, the dissolution of the Gran Colombia, and the annexation of California into the U.S. as part of these transformations. These boundaries are political but also guided the pathways of the cultural evolution that defined the common traits of Latin American populationsIn this section, you will explore three videos showing border evolution. Johnny Harris explains how the south b
order of the United States of America was configured. The Alternative history hub invites us to speculate about the existence of Great Colombia, finally, a timeline video with the border transformations of South America and other with Central America. Some of these videos may be controversial (please, check the note at the bottom if you want to dig deeper on this section). As any historical vision is part of disputes from the analysis of the authors, but I think each of these videos has something valuable to teach us about these territorial configurations. Johnny Harris (2020) How the US stole Mexico (15 min) londonessays.com (2020) What if Great Colombia never collapsed? (12 min)londonessays.com this section, the Map Analysis for the week is the evolution of borders of South America and Central America. Each video is a sinthesys of decades of disputes, negotiations, diplomacy and even wars (But, not as much as other regions in the world)londonessays.com less than 100 words, comment on some interesting, recent, or curious border conflict for you. It can be from the country that you´re specializing in or any other country in the Latin American region. If you find, attach a map and the sources of your finding.Interdependency and Revolutions ( Part 3)The cultural transformation of the Latin American nations during the XIX century was characterized for different institutional processes. Among them, the negotiations and struggles which the nations did with their citizens during these decades affected the expectations and demands for development. The roles of environment, economy, and gender in each nation are product of their histories, which we will explore in this section. You will read two chapters of Chasteen dedicated to the exploration of the XIX century process in Latin America, and then, you will pick a reading from the collection below, to discover the emerging meanings of the climate, coffee, or women during revolutionary moments. Despite not, all these revolutions are in the same timeframe, each case illustrates the convergence and divergence of different aspects of cultural and political life in the imaginaries of Latin American development. Pick the paper in relation to which of these agendas is more interesting for your own projects, as well, which ones are more related to your interest about development in this course. Read Chasteen, Born in Blood and Fire, Introduction and Chapters 4 and 5 (Postcolonial blues, Progress) Remember that you have access to that book to the internet archive. Book can be found londonessays.com here is the link for the book we will be using for the course, you can download it for free without signing up.After that, pick 1 from the following papers: Wolfe, M. D. (2019). The Climate of Conflict: Politico-environmental Press Coverage and the Eruption of the Mexican Revolution, 1907â1911. Hispanic American Historical Review, 99(3), 467-499.Font, M. A. (1987). Coffee planters, politics, and development in Brazil. Latin American Research Review, 22(3), 69-90.Lamrani, S. (2016). Women in Cuba: The Emancipatory Revolution. International Journal of Cuban Studies, 8(1), 109-116.The cases of Cuba, Brazil, or Mexico (the three proposed study cases for this week) show how emancipatory changes had different ways to happen. Whichever case you selected, Describe the cultural and political tensions between the âliberalâ and the âconservativeâ sides on the conflict. Please, not just summarize the main elements of the selected conflict, instead interpret the evidence that you have in the paper using the ideas described by Chasteen´s chapter. In that process, identify key actors and their ideas, which institutions are in dispute, and how the author´s argument describes a socio-cultural transformation that the people´s in these countries lived. (no more than 800 words)Proposal of policy paper (Country DR) (Part 4) This is a brief paper, approximately 2500 to 3000 words, double-spaced, that examines the governmentâs science/technology policy from your selected nation-state in the region and analyzes its relevance to development. How broad or specific this policy is will depend on the country and your interest areas, as well as whether it addresses just a technological policy or controversy or overall science and technology state of the art.For this week that you must submit a 300 words summary, a proposed title and 5 references for your paper (you can modify them slightly after the feedback)The goal is to briefly assess how the country conceptualizes and potentially implements technological/scientific solutions, and what potential outcomes might be, both positive and negative for social, economic, and/or environmental development. Sources that can be used are government reports and websites that post policy, but some academic research and analysis articles will be expected, too. Take into consideration that you might need to consult materials that aren´t in English, in particular, if you focus on current local issues. Consider between 7 to 10 total references to write this piece, and you must add at least 1 reference from a scholar from that country working in a national institution or university. (That resource may be in English, Spanish or Portuguese, as well can be an interview, report in which contributed, academic paper, or another respectable reference). This one resource will be requested as part of the week 3 summary and initial references. The paper must summarize facts and ideas, and direct quotes of sentences and phrases cited within the text, as well as have a list of sources at the end (I recommend using APA style format, but if you´re more conformable with another referencing style, please let me know by week 3 in your initial submission). I´m trying to incorporate the most detailed feedback on academic writing style on your discussion post, and consider this the main product of this class, and it´s expected the higher academic quality on it. The paper should have a title that indicates or hints at the central problem or thesis, and must cover the following elements: *background to the problem this would include history, going only as far back as necessary to explain the current issue, *author´s thesis (your way to analyzing the issue and sources),*the main perspectives and sides in play (applying development theories or frameworks in case you´re a GTD student),*potential solutions that the people is implementing or considering, and *a strong and short conclusion in which the student provides an analysis of the issue.Consider this structure in your abstract, communicating each key point in one line. If you are in a program other than GTD, please feel free to explore and use concepts from your discipline.