Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations

by James A. Wood (Editor), Anna Rose Alexander (Editor)

Overview

Now in its fifth edition, this leading reader has been updated with new readings and visual sources. This edition includes an added final chapter on current social movements to help students reflect on the ecological realities that inform their world. In addition, the “Legacies of Colonialism” chapter has been restored to give students an understanding of the deep roots of the problems explored. Instead of a separate chapter on women and social change, women’s voices have been woven more seamlessly throughout the book to reflect women’s parity and equity in history.

With its innovative combination of primary and secondary sources and thoughtful editorial analysis, this text is designed specifically to stimulate critical thinking in a wide range of courses on Latin American history since independence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538109052
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/12/2019
Series:	Latin American Silhouettes
Edition description:	Fifth Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.24(w) x 9.37(h) x 0.98(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James A. Wood is professor of Latin American history at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro.

Anna Rose Alexander is assistant professor of history at California State University, East Bay.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Fifth Edition

Chapter I: Legacies of Colonialism

1. Worlds Collide in Tenochtitlan: Camila Townsend
2. Assessing Indian Labor in Quito: Kris Lane
3. Rethinking the Quilombo of Palmares: Stuart B. Schwartz
4. A Priest Reports on Social Conditions in Mexico: Manuel Abad y Queipo
5. The Myth of Completion: Matthew Restall
6. Visual Source: Ordering the Colonized Space

Chapter II: Independence
1. The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy: Cortes of Cádiz
2. War to the Death: Simón Bolívar
3. The Vision of Father Morelos: Enrique Krause
4. What Independence Meant for Women: Sarah C. Chambers
5. Ode to Tropical Agriculture: Andrés Bello
6. Tropical Versailles: Kirsten Schultz

Chapter III: Slavery
1. Africans in the American World: John Thornton
2. A Cuban Slave’s Testimony: Esteban Montejo
3. A Day on a Coffee Plantation: Stanley J. Stein
4. Africa’s Botanical Legacy: Judith Carney and Richard Rosomoff
5. Black Wet Nurses: Robert Edgar Conrad
6. Abolitionism in Brazil: Joaquim Nabuco
7. Visual Source: Homage to Princess Isabel

Chapter IV: Caudillos

1. Caudillos as Scourge: Charles E. Chapman
2. Caudillos as Profit Maximizers: Eric R. Wolf and Edward C. Hansen
3. Caudillos as Protectors of the Indians: Ralph Lee Woodward Jr.
4. Caudillos as Culture Heroes: Ariel de la Fuente
5. The Ribbons and Rituals of Rosismo: Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
6. Mexico in the Age of Caudillos: Frances Calderón de la Barca
7. Visual Source: Contemporary Caudillos?

Chapter V: Liberalism and the Catholic Church

1. A New Generation of Liberals: Frank Safford
2. Liberalism as Anticlericalism: Helen Delpar
3. The Postcolonial Church: John Lynch
4. Good Catholic Reading for Ladies: Carolina Cherniavsky Bozzolo
5. Generational Warrior: Francisco Bilbao
6. The Triumph of Reform: Justo Sierra

Chapter VI: Race and Nation Building
1. Neocolonial Ideologies: E. Bradford Burns
2. Civilization versus Barbarism: Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
3. Torn from the Nest: Clorinda Matto de Turner
4. The Specter of Degeneration: Mart in S. Stabb
5. Brazilianization: Aluísio Azevedo
6. A Raceless Nation: Ada Ferrer
7. Visual Source: Barbershop

Chapter VII: Nationalism

1. Our America: José Martí
2. Education and the Mexican Revolution: Octavio Paz
3. Mestizo Pride: Gilbert o Freyre
4. Plan for the Realization of Bolívar’s Supreme Dream: Augusto Sandino
5. The Shark and the Sardines: Juan José Arévalo
6. Carmen Miranda and Brasilidade: Darién J. Davis

Chapter VIII: Populism

1. The Peronist Political Vision: Daniel James
2. Doña María Remembers Perón: María Roldán
3. The First Lady’s Peronist Feminism: Eva Perón
4. Father of the Poor? Robert M. Levine
5. Cardenismo and Women’s Organizing: Jocelyn Olcott
6. Trujillo, the Benefactor: Lauren Derby

Chapter IX: Social Revolution

1. Essence of Guerrilla Warfare: Che Guevara
2. Cuba’s Revolutionary Literacy Campaign: Jonathan Kozol
3. Chile’s Revolution from Below: Peter Winn
4. The Chilean Road to Socialism: Salvador Allende
5. Christianity and Revolution: Margaret Randall
6. Reflections on Life as a Colombian Revolutionary: María Eugenia Vásquez Perdomo

Chapter X: The Cold War
1. Statements of U.S. Foreign Policy Doctrine: Presidents James Monroe, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman
2. The Lesser of Two Evils: David F. Schmitz
3. The 1964 Scare Campaign: Margaret Power
4. Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: Church Committee
5. A Search and Destroy Operation in El Salvador: Mark Danner
6. The Beliefs behind the Policies: Lars Schoultz

Chapter XI: The Global Economy
1. Neocolonial Economics: Celso Furtado
2. Neoliberalism and Its Prospects: Milton Friedman
3. Global Neoliberalism: William I. Robinson
4. “I Had Sacrificed My Life”: Norma Iglesias Prieto
5. Humanity against Neoliberalism: Subcomandante Marcos
6. The New Left and the Global Economy: Steven Levitsky and Kenneth M. Roberts

Chapter XII: Historical Memory
1. Memory, Truth, and Justice: Elizabeth Jelin
2. Opening Chile’s Memory Box: Steve J. Stern
3. Human Rights Violations Committed by Government Agents: Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation
4. Testimony of Atrocity: Rigoberta Menchú
5. Analysis of Rigoberta Menchú’s Testimonial: David Stoll
6. Memory of Silence: Guatemalan Commission for Historical Clarification
7. Visual Source: Memory Sites

Chapter XIII: Nature and Protest
1. The Death of Ramón González: Angus Wright
2. Fight for the Forest: Chico Mendes
3. Capitalism and Self-Destruction: Berta Cáceres
4. Blood on Their Hands: Philippa de Boissière and Sian Cowman
5. Rights of Nature: Ecuadorian Constitution
6. Lead Poisoning: Javier Auyero and Debora Alejandra Swistun
7. Visual Source: “Let Us Wake Up, Humanity. We’re Out of Time”

About the Editors

What People are Saying About This

Oscar Chamosa

No other reader presents two hundred years of Latin American thought and action in such convenient format. The text selection allows students to gain access to a variety of voices, ranging from the most influential political leaders to fiction writers, historians, and, crucially, people from the margins. Latin American reality evolves so quickly that this five-year update of Problems in Modern Latin America is both amply justified and warmly welcomed.

Lawrence A. Clayton

PRAISE FROM EARLIER EDITIONS A classic supplement to our basic introductions to Latin American history now updated with fresh materials, some original documents, and some interpretations. This text is a nice mix for students' first exposure to Latin America. Crafted with skill and experience to optimize the use of the "problems" approach for students, this new edition easily continues to be an indispensable tool for teachers and a wonderful source of insight for students.

Editorial Reviews

This impressive new edition continues the tradition of seamlessly blending primary sources with secondary analyses from a variety of leading historians. The diverse new documents, images, and topics in the fifth edition make it an ideal learning tool for today’s classroom. Wood and Alexander's concise section introductions orient readers, then invite them to integrate and interrogate multiple perspectives as they form their own evidence-based answers to some of the most pressing questions in the field of modern Latin American history.

Renata Keller

This book is the perfect classroom tool for undergraduates and beginning graduate students alike. Each chapter intersperses primary documents with scholarly analyses that provide rich context for the different periods, nations, and themes covered. Scholars of Latin American history, politics, culture, gender, and ethnicity will find this collection to be an excellent resource for guiding students through the past two hundred years in this complex region.

Michele McArdle Stephens

A compelling, diverse mix of primary sources and scholarly works, this edition of Problems in Modern Latin American History is sure to critically engage and interest students. With its broad coverage of important issues and themes—accompanied by provocative discussion questions—this volume encourages students to actively make critical connections between the past and present in Latin America. James A. Wood and Anna Rose Alexander have masterfully updated a classic, crucial resource for students and teachers of Latin American history.

Alexander Aviña

A compelling, diverse mix of primary sources and scholarly works, this edition of Problems in Modern Latin American History is sure to critically engage and interest students. With its broad coverage of important issues and themes--accompanied by provocative discussion questions--this volume encourages students to actively make critical connections between the past and present in Latin America. James A. Wood and Anna Rose Alexander have masterfully updated a classic, crucial resource for students and teachers of Latin American history.

This book is the perfect classroom tool for undergraduates and beginning graduate students alike. Each chapter intersperses primary documents with scholarly analyses that provide rich context for the different periods, nations, and themes covered. Scholars of Latin American history, politics, culture, gender, and ethnicity will find this collection to be an excellent resource for guiding students through the past two hundred years in this complex region.

This impressive new edition continues the tradition of seamlessly blending primary sources with secondary analyses from a variety of leading historians. The diverse new documents, images, and topics in the fifth edition make it an ideal learning tool for today's classroom. Wood and Alexander's concise section introductions orient readers, then invite them to integrate and interrogate multiple perspectives as they form their own evidence-based answers to some of the most pressing questions in the field of modern Latin American history.

From the Publisher

A compelling, diverse mix of primary sources and scholarly works, this edition of Problems in Modern Latin American History is sure to critically engage and interest students. With its broad coverage of important issues and themes—accompanied by provocative discussion questions—this volume encourages students to actively make critical connections between the past and present in Latin America. James A. Wood and Anna Rose Alexander have masterfully updated a classic, crucial resource for students and teachers of Latin American history.

Alexander Aviña

A compelling, diverse mix of primary sources and scholarly works, this edition of Problems in Modern Latin American History is sure to critically engage and interest students. With its broad coverage of important issues and themes—accompanied by provocative discussion questions— this volume encourages students to actively make critical connections between the past and present in Latin America. Anna Alexander and James A. Wood have masterfully updated a classic, crucial resource for students and teachers of Latin American history.

Alexander Avina

For twenty years, Problems in Modern Latin American History has been of inestimable value to undergraduates and their instructors. James A. Wood has made the new edition fully his own, incorporating new areas of interest into the volume’s wide-ranging thematic coverage and updating the text for a new generation of students. Among the notable results is that Problems, entering its third decade, remains as vital a resource as it was at the dawn of its first.

James Woodard

Problems in Modern Latin American History provides a delightfully diverse collection of primary sources mixed with scholarly analyses. This potent combination offers an ideal means of instructing students in historical interpretation and historiographical criticism. James Wood helps instructors and their students focus on vital selected problems, thus avoiding the usual pedestrian compilation of factoids. Students can explore a range of often-conflicting views of important problems and gain experience in constructing and critiquing historical interpretations, not regurgitating minutiae. My students have responded with high-level critical thinking, because the readings challenge rather than bore. I've used the book since the first edition with excellent results in both classroom and online courses.

Richard W. Slatta

No other reader presents two hundred years of Latin American thought and action in such convenient format. The text selection allows students to gain access to a variety of voices, ranging from the most influential political leaders to fiction writers, historians, and, crucially, people from the margins. Latin American reality evolves so quickly that this five-year update of Problems in Modern Latin America is both amply justified and warmly welcomed.

'scar Chamosa

No other reader presents two hundred years of Latin American thought and action in such convenient format. The text selection allows students to gain access to a variety of voices, ranging from the most influential political leaders to fiction writers, historians, and, crucially, people from the margins. Latin American reality evolves so quickly that this five-year update of Problems in Modern Latin America is both amply justified and warmly welcomed.

Oscar Chamosa

PRAISE FOR EARLIER EDITIONS
Chasteen and Wood's superb edited work is a welcome addition to resource materials on Latin American history. The careful mixture of primary and secondary documents helps students to understand key issues as well as the evolution of historical analysis. Interesting and provocative units lend themselves to short reaction papers based on central themes and concepts.

Hispanic Outlook

PRAISE FOR EARLIER EDITIONS
At last a 'problems' book that is utterly readable and as attentive to race and culture as to political and economic issues! Students will appreciate the volume's sensible mix of documents and secondary literature (including a series of lively historiographic debates), its use of visual imagery, and the provocative discussion questions that accompany each chapter. A worthy successor to earlier editions.

Gil Joseph

PRAISE FOR EARLIER EDITIONS
Problems in Modern Latin American History is an exciting collection of primary and secondary texts and images. The thirteen thematic headings offer multiple perspectives on a wide range of controversies in modern history. This volume not only covers a lot of ground and a long period of time but it also provides a critique of historiography by including earlier summaries as well as recent perspectives.

Donald F. Stevens

PRAISE FOR EARLIER EDITIONS
John Chasteen and James A. Wood provide a broad selection of classic essays focused on numerous significant issues that any instructor would want to address in Latin American history. Their coverage also includes such timely contemporary issues as women and social change and globalization. The strength of this collection lies in a combination of insightful interpretations by leading academics and intellectuals North and South as well as in the moving voices of Latin American actors themselves.

Roderic Ai Camp

PRAISE FROM EARLIER EDITIONS
A classic supplement to our basic introductions to Latin American history now updated with fresh materials, some original documents, and some interpretations. This text is a nice mix for students' first exposure to Latin America. Crafted with skill and experience to optimize the use of the "problems" approach for students, this new edition easily continues to be an indispensable tool for teachers and a wonderful source of insight for students.

Lawrence A. Clayton