TextsSCHEDULE OF READINGS AND LECTURESPolitical Science 407E Politics in Latin America Fall 2010 John P. Tuman Wright Hall B225 Phone: 895-5258 email: [email protected] Office Hours: T&Th 11AM-12:30PM, or by appointment This course examines the politics of contemporary Latin America. In the first part of the course, we will discuss competing theories of democratization in Latin America, examine challenges facing Latin America’s new democracies, and analyze the politics of economic reform in the region. The second part of the course provides an in-depth, comparative study of politics in selected countries, with a focus on Mexico, Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela. Requirements Lecture and Discussion: The class will meet on Tuesday and Thursdays from 1-2:15PM in Wright Hall C237 for lectures and discussion. Students are expected to finish all of the assigned readings and to be prepared for group discussion. Participation counts for 5% of the final grade. Exams, Papers, and Grading:. The mid-term exam will be given on October 7. The final exam is on December 7, from 1-3PM. In addition, students are required to write a short research paper (10-12 pp.). The paper is due on November 23. Exam 1 and the paper each count for 30% of the final grade, while the final exam each counts for 35% of the final grade. Make-up exams will be given only if the student can demonstrate she/he was absent due to illness, participation in an official university function, or due to other conditions covered by relevant university policies. Students must provide an excuse in writing from a licensed health care provider or from a university administrator. Students observing a religious holiday should refer to the Provost policy statement, listed below in the syllabus. Additional University Policies: The Executive Office of the Vice President & Provost has provided the following policy statements and/or weblinks to relevant policies: Academic Misconduct: http://studentlife.unlv.edu/judicial/misconductPolicy.html. Copyright: http://www.unlv.edu/committees/copyright/.Disability Resource Center (DRC): “The Disability Resource Center (DRC) coordinates all academic accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The DRC is the official office to review and house disability documentation for students, and to provide them with an official Academic Accommodation Plan to present to the faculty if an accommodation is warranted. Faculty should not provide students accommodations without being in receipt of this plan.” “UNLV complies with the provisions set forth in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, offering reasonable accommodations to qualified students with documented disabilities. If you have a documented disability that may require accommodations, you will need to contact the DRC for the coordination of services. The DRC is located in the Student Services Complex (SSC), Room 137, and the contact numbers are: Voice (702) 895-0866, TDD (702) 895-0652, fax (702) 895-0651.” http://studentlife.unlv.edu/disability/. Rebelmail: “By policy, faculty and staff should e-mail students’ Rebelmail accounts only. Rebelmail is UNLV’s official e-mail system for students. It is one of the primary ways students receive official university communication, information about deadlines, major campus events, and announcements. All UNLV students receive a Rebelmail account after they have been admitted to the university.” Religious Holidays Policy: “Any student missing class quizzes, examinations, or any other class or lab work because of observance of religious holidays shall be given an opportunity during that semester to make up missed work. The make-up will apply to the religious holiday absence only. It shall be the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor no later than the last day at late registration of his or her intention to participate in religious holidays which do not fall on state holidays or periods of class recess. This policy shall not apply in the event that administering the test or examination at an alternate time would impose an undue hardship on the instructor or the university which could not be avoided.” http://catalog.unlv.acalog.com/content.php?catoid=1&navoid=44&bc=1 Tutoring: http://academicsuccess.unlv.edu/tutoring/ Texts The required books for this course are: Harry E. Vanden and Gary Prevost, eds. Politics of Latin America: The Power Game (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). Peter H. Smith. Democracy in Latin America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005) . In addition, some of the required readings for this course are on reserve in the Lied library and are accessible through the web at http://ereserves.library.unlv.edu/. E-research readings are designated “E-Reserves” in the syllabus. Some readings are also available through the JSTOR and Academic Search Elite, or Project MUSE databases in the University library (Article First and JSTOR are located at http://www.library.unlv.edu/search/eralpha.php .These readings are marked with “JSTOR” or “Academic Search Elite” in the syllabus. I will give instructions in class on accessing readings from the library. SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND LECTURES 8/24-8/26 Introduction Vanden & Prevost (hereafter V&P), chapter 1 8/31-9/2 Political Regime Types in Latin America: An Overview Smith, pp. 1-43 V&P, chapter 3Suggestions for further reading for 8/31-9/2: David Collier and Steven Levitsky, “Democracy with Adjectives: Conceptual Innovation in Comparative Research” World Politics 49, no. 3, April 1997, pp. 430-451, available in Project MUSE. Scott Mainwaring, Daniel Brinks, and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, “Classifying Political Regimes in Latin America,” in Gerardo Munck (editor), Regimes and Democracy in Latin America (Oxford University Press, 2007). 9/7-9/14 Explaining Democratization in Latin America: Competing Theories and Explanations Smith, chapters 2-4. V&P, chapter 8 Recommended for further reading for 9/7-9/14: Frances Hagopian and Scott Mainwaring (editors), The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005). 9/16-9/23 Problems of New Democracies in Latin America Smith, chapters 8-11. V&P, chapters 4-5 Film 9/28-10/5 Politics of Economic Reform in Latin America: Contrasting Outcomes and Support Levels for Reform