1. Objectives: In this course we will examine how important political problems in Latin American politics are treated in film. We will view both popular Hollywood films as well as films made in (and largely for) Latin America, and attempt to understand the way in which these films represent political ideology, construct political identity, and foster or limit the terms of debate about political issues. We will seek to understand how films reflect popular images and opinions about Latin America, how these images have changed with the times, and whether movies serve to maintain the status quo or can act as catalysts of political transformation.

NOTE: this is NOT a course in film theory, and while discussion will of course revolve around what the films "represent," we will not focus our discussion on theoretical issues related to the semiotics of film, or around the history of so-called "3^rd World Cinema" (which is itself a "political" movement in important ways). As you can see below, we will be concentrating on a number of more concrete political/historical issues.

2. Requirements: while this class differs from most political science courses in that lectures will not take up most of the classroom time and the course centers around viewing and interpreting films, you will not be able to do well in this class unless you do ALL the required readings. The readings provide you with background to the issues that the films attempt to cover, and your exams and papers will be based on interpretations of both the films and the readings.

Grading will be based on three take-home exams (20% each) and a short research paper (10-12 pages) (40%). The take-home exams will be 4-5 page essays. You will be required to use the readings to answer the midterm exams. I will hand out the questions in class, and the answers will be due two days later in the political science office. Questions will be handed out in the 5^th, 9^th, and 13^th weeks. If you miss a class wherein I hand out exam questions, it is your responsibility to obtain the questions from me. The research paper assignment will be passed out early in the semester and due at the end of the last class session. It will require outside research as well as viewing of at least one "alternate" film (suggestions are provided, see below).

3. Grades will be based on University grade definitions, which establish the qualities of performance expected at different grade levels (see CLA Classroom Grading and Examination Procedures 1999-2000, p. 13-14). Note, for example, that the University defines a "C" grade as "achievement meeting the basic course requirements in every respect." I expect students to do all the readings listed on the syllabus, before the scheduled class. The readings are selected to spark questions about the films, and vice-versa. I will make time during every lecture for questions and discussion, so please come prepared with questions about the readings. I encourage students to visit me during my office hours to either discuss class topics more in depth or to get help with any aspect of the class, including exam and paper preparation.
4. Policies for make-up exams, late assignments, and incompletes: no make-up take-home exams are permitted. Handing in a take-home exam late is only allowed if the student presents written documentation of the circumstances (e.g. note from University Health Service verifying illness). Only the legitimate circumstances mentioned in the Policy on makeup Examinations (see CLA Handbook) will be accepted, and only with written documentation (legitimate circumstances include religious holidays, verifiable illness, serious family emergencies, subpoenas, jury duty, military service, and participation in group activities sponsored by the University). Incompletes will be granted only in the case of documented illness, and if the student and professor complete the CLA Agreement for Completion of Incomplete Work. Written assignments are due during the class period on the days they are due. Assignments turned in after the class period will be considered late. Late midterm exams will be marked down 0.5 points per day (i.e if you receive a 17/20 on the exam and it was two days late, your grade will go down to a 16). A late final paper (in addition to not being included in a student's final grade) will be marked down 1 point per day.
5. Texts: students should purchase the following three books, which contain required readings.

• Brian Loveman and Thomas M. Davies, Jr. (eds.). 1997. The Politics of Antipolitics: The Military in Latin America. (Revised ed.). Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources Books.
• John C. Chasteen and Joseph S. Tulchin (eds.). 1994. Problems in Modern Latin American History. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources Books.
• Tina Rosenberg. 1991. Children of Cain: Violence and the Violent in Latin America. New York: Penguin Books.

Students should also purchase a course packet, which is available at Paradigm (1501 University Ave. SE).

1. Course Schedule

Introduction (Week 1)

Clips from several films ("Predator," "Down Argentine Way," "Die Hard 2," "Bananas," etc.)

Unit 1: The Drug War (Week 2)

Film:

1) "Clear and Present Danger" (USA, 1994)

Alternate Films:

• "Édipo Alcalde" (Colombia, 1996) ("Oedipus the Mayor")
• "Sniper" (USA, 1993)
• "Delta Force II" (USA, 1991)
• "Cocaine Wars" (USA, 1986)

Readings:

• Evan Bertram et al., Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial. Berkeley: UC Press, 1996, chs 1-3.
• Tina Rosenberg, Children of Cain: Violence and the Violent in Latin America (Penguin Books, 1991). Ch. 1.
• US Office of National Drug Control Policy, "1999 National Drug Control Strategy." (part 1).
• Nordlinger, Jay. "Clinton's Good Soldier." The National Review May 3, 1999.
• "Comments by Director Barry McCaffrey about Drug Policy on ABC News Nightline, March 9, 1999.
• Rohter, Larry. "Andes Battle: Right vs. Left vs. Civilians vs. Troops." New York Times 3/26/99.
• "Colombia in the Long Shadow of War" The Economist, 7/17/99, p 31-2.
• "Colombia: Warpaths" The Economist 7/24/99, p.34.

Unit 2: Immigration (Weeks 3-4)

Films:

1. "El Norte" (Week 3) (USA, 1983)
2. "The Border" (Week 4) (USA, 1982)

Alternate Films:

• "Borderline" (USA, 1980)
• "Borderline" (USA, 1950)
• "Touch of Evil" (USA, 1958)

Readings:

• Norman Zucker and Naomi Flink Zucker, Desperate Crossings: Seeking Refuge in America. ME Sharpe, 1996, chapters 1, 2, and 5.
• Judith A. Hellman, Mexican Lives, pages 171-184.

• Weintraub, Sidney. 1997. "U.S. Foreign Policy and Mexican Immigration." In Bean et al. (eds.), At the Crossroads: Mexican Migration and U.S. Policy. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, p. 283-298.
• Massey, Douglas. 1998. "The March of Folly: U.S. Immigration Policy after NAFTA." The American Prospect #37 (March-April), pp. 22-33.
• Tomás Rivera Center, "Sociologist Tackles Immigration Myths with Data Collection."

Unit 3: Revolution (Weeks 5-6)

Film:

1. "Men with Guns" (Week 5) (USA, 1994)
2. "Alsino and the Condor" (Nicaragua, 1982)

Alternate Films:

• "Salvador" (USA, 1985)
• "Under Fire" (USA, 1983)
• "Romero" (USA, 1989)
• "Latino" (USA, 1985)
• "Managua" (USA, 1996)
• "The Uprising" (Nicaragua, 1979)
• "El Silencio de Neto" (Guatemala, 1994) ("The Choices of Neto")
• "La Boca del Lobo" (Peru, 1988) ("The Lion's Den")
• "Choices of the Heart" (USA, 1983)
• "La Ciudad y los Perros" (Peru, 1985) ("The City and the Dogs")

Readings:

• Guevara, Ernesto "Che." "General Principles of Guerrilla Fighting." Reprinted in Chasteen and Tulchin (eds), Problems in Latin American History: A Reader. SR Books, 1994.
• W.W. Rostow. "Guerrilla Warfare in Underdeveloped Areas." In Loveman and Davies (eds.), The Politics of Anti-Politics. SR Books, 1997.
• William M. LeoGrande, "Cuba." Chapter 9 from Blachman et al., Confronting Revolution. Pantheon, 1986.

• Tina Rosenberg, Children of Cain: Violence and the Violent in Latin America (Penguin Books, 1991). Chapter 3-5.

• Rigoberta Menchú. "I, Rigoberta Menchú." In Chasteen and Tulchin.

• John Foster Dulles et al. "The U.S. and Latin America in the Cold War." in Chasteen and Tulchin.
• Luis Hernández Navarro, "The Chiapas Uprising." From "Rebellion in Chiapas," San Diego: Center for US-Mexican Studies, 1994.

• Jorge Castañeda, Chapter 3 and pp. 90-112 from Utopia Unarmed: The Latin American Left after the Cold War. Vintage Books, 1994.

Unit 4: Politics in Cuba (Weeks 7-8)

1. "Muerte de un Burocrata" (Cuba, 1966)
2. "Guantanamera" (Cuba, 1996)

Alternate Films:

• "Memorias del Subdesarrollo" (Cuba, 1968) ("Memories of Underdevelopment")
• "Yo Soy Cuba" (Cuba/USSR, 1964) ("I Am Cuba")
• "Azucar Amarga" (USA, 1996) ("Bitter Sugar")
• "El Súper" (USA, 1979)

Unit 5: Authoritarianism and Reaction (Weeks 9-12)

1. "State of Siege" (Germany/France/Italy, 1973)
2. "O Qué É Isso, Companheiro?" (Brazil, 1996) ("4 Days in September")
3. "Missing" (USA, 1982)
4. "La Historia Oficial" (Argentina, 1986) ("The Official Story")

Alternate Films:

• "Death and the Maiden" (USA, 1995)
• "Ni Habrá Mas Pena Ni Olvido" (Argentina, 1983) ("A Funny Dirty Little War")
• "Una Sombra Ya Pronto Serás" (Argentina, 1996) ("A Shadow You Soon Will Be")

• Carlos Marighella. "Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla." Reprinted in Chasteen and Tulchin (eds), Problems in Latin American History: A Reader. SR Books, 1994.
• Lars Schoultz, Beneath the United States, chapter 17, "Combatting Communism with Friendly Dictators." Harvard University Press, 1998.
• Juan Corradi. "Military Government and State Terrorism in Argentina." In Loveman and Davies (eds.), The Politics of Anti-Politics. SR Books, 1997.

• Riordan Roett. "The Post-1964 Military Republic in Brazil." In Loveman and Davies (eds.), The Politics of Anti-Politics. SR Books, 1997.
• Argentine Military Junta (1983). "Final Document of the Military Junta Regarding the War against Subversion and Terrorism: The Fundamental Concepts." In Loveman and Davies (eds.), The Politics of Anti-Politics. SR Books, 1997.

• Augusto Pinochet. "The Reasons of the Junta" and "Chile Should Not Fall into the Vices of the Past." In Loveman and Davies (eds.), The Politics of Anti-Politics. SR Books, 1997.

• Kate Millet, The Politics of Cruelty, chapter 9, "The Little School: Argentina and Brazil." W.W. Norton, 1994.

• Tina Rosenberg, Children of Cain: Violence and the Violent in Latin America (Penguin, 1991). Chapter 2,6.
• CONADEP, "The Report of the Argentine National Commission on the Disappeared, Nunca Más." (Farar, Straus and Giroux, 1986), pp. 1-20.

• Brian Loveman, "Protected Democracies: Antipolitics and Political Transitions in Latin America, 1978-1994." In Loveman and Davies (eds.), The Politics of Anti-Politics. SR Books, 1997.
• Carlos Acuña and Catalina Smulovitz, "Guarding the Guardians in Argentina: Some Lessons about the Risks and Benefits of Empowering the Courts." In A. James McAdams, Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law in New Democracies. University of Notre Dame Press, 1997.

Unit 6: Politics of the Environment/Indigenous Peoples (Week 13)

Films:

1) "The Emerald Forest" (USA, 1985)

Alternate Films:

• "Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês" (France/Brazil, 1971) ("How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman")
• "At Play in the Fields of the Lord" (USA, 1991)
• "Hija del Puma" (Denmark/Mexico/Sweden, 1994) ("Daughter of the Puma")
• "La Muralla Verde" (Peru, 1970) ("The Green Wall")
• "Medicine Man" (USA, 1992)
• "Amazon" (USA, 1992)

Readings:

• Sue Branford and Oriel Glock, The Last Frontier: Fighting over Land in the Amazon. Zed Books, 1985. Chapters 5 ("The Indians and the Encroaching Society") and 8 ("Conclusion").
• Gustavo Lins Ribeiro and Paul E. Little, "Neoliberal Recipes, Environmental Cooks: The Transformation of Amazonian Agency." In Lynne Phillips, (ed.), The Third Wave of Modernization in Latin America: Cultural Perspectives on Neoliberalism. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources.
• Carlos F.M. de Souza Jr., "On Brazil and Its Indians," in Donna Lee Van Cott (ed.), Indigenous Peoples and Democracy in Latin America, St. Martins' Press, 1994.

Unit 7: Democracy and Social Decay? (Week 14)

Film:

1) "Pixote" (Brazil, 1983)

Alternate Films:

• "Los Olvidados" (Mexico, 1950) ("The Forgotten Ones")
• "Rodrigo D - No Future" (Colombia, 1994)

Readings:

• Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Daniel Hoffman, "Kids Out of Place." In Kevin Danaher and Michael Schellenberger, eds., Fighting for the Soul of Brazil. Monthly Review Press, 1995.
• Paul Jeffrey, "Targeted for Death." In Danaher and Schellenberger.
• Donna DeCesare, "The Children of War: Street Gangs in El Salvador." NACLA Report on the Americas (July/August 1998).
• Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, "Democracy without Citizenship: Injustice for All; Crimes and Impunity in Latin America." NACLA Report on the Americas (September/October 1996).