SPAN 4280

Between Democracy and Authoritarianism

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2016-2017.

What is democracy?  What constitute its basic conditions and limits?  How does income distribution relate to democracy?  What about class, gender, and racial relations?  With a focus on Brazil and encompassing Latin America as a whole, this course approaches the problem of democratic rule and the lack thereof from the nineteenth century to the present.  Major topics include slavery and abolition, military dictatorship, revolutionary struggle, agrarian reform, social movements, neoliberalism, and the role of religion politics.  Readings range from novels to historical documents and political manifestos, from Joaquim Nabuco to Machado de Assis, Graciliano Ramos, and Mariano Azuela.

When Offered Spring.

Distribution Category (LA-AS)

Comments This is the mandatory senior seminar for Spanish majors.

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