UCC1: New Course Transmittal FormDepartment Name and Number

Recommended SCNS Course Identi�cation

Course Title (please limit to 21 characters)

Pre�x Level Course Number Lab Code

Amount of Credit

Repeatable Credit

Contact Hour: Base or Headcount

Course Description (50 words or less)

Prerequisites Co-requisites

Degree Type (mark all that apply) Baccalaureate Graduate Other

Introductory Intermediate Advanced

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Name

Phone Email

Rev. 10/10

Rationale and place in curriculum

Category of Instruction

E�ective Term and Year Rotating Topic yes no

S/U Only yes no

yes no If yes, total repeatable credit allowed

Variable Credit yes no If yes, minimum and maximum credits per semester

Professional

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UF Dept. of Political Science & Center for LAS

LAS 4XXX/POS 4XXX

Latin American Political Economy

Prof. Ana Margheritis

313 Grinter Hall

392-3174

amargher@ufl.edu

Office hours: MWF 2-4pm

PURPOSE, CONTENT, and ORGANIZATION

This course is an introduction to the study of Latin American political economy. It is a lecture course in which

students’ participation in class discussions is crucial. The main purpose of the course is to help students acquire

analytical tools to understand the relationship between politics and economics in the shaping of public policies

in the region.

The course is organized around topics and country profiles. First, it presents a historical and conceptual

background of the political economy of Latin America, giving particular attention to the question of

development, political and economic instability, and policies implemented to cope with chronic problems and

recurrent crises. Second, detailed consideration is given to the most recent development strategies and their

impact in terms of trade, capital inflows/outflows, and monetary stabilization, as well as their effects on

democratic institutional building and social inequality. Third, the course discusses the recent political and

economic performance of 6 selected countries. It ends with an assessment of lessons and major future

challenges.

DISABILITY STATEMENT

Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean

of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the

Instructor when requesting accommodation. http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc

PREREQUISITES

The course is designed for senior undergraduate students in the fields of Latin American studies, Political

Science, and Economics. For those who do not have any background knowledge on these fields, there are extra

readings required (see below).

REQUIREMENTS

Four quizzes (10 points each): based on the lectures, readings, in-class discussions, videos, and any

other materials used in class. See schedule.

Two partial exams (30 points each): fifty-minute written exams on weeks 8 and 16, in the classroom,

covering the topics as presented in the readings, lectures, discussions, and all other materials used in

class in the preceding weeks. The format will be short questions. Students are responsible for bringing

blue books.

SOME GENERAL RULES

Attendance/Participation: A respectful and active behavior is expected. Frequent and relevant

comments, directly linked to the readings and topic under discussion, are expected. Behavior such as

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arriving late, leaving early, browsing the internet, phone messaging, texting, napping, etc. is considered

offensive and not acceptable in this class. Missing up to 4 classes throughout the semester is acceptable.

Missing more classes will be penalized one-third of the final grade per 2 classes missed (e.g., from B+ to

B for the first 6 classes missed; to B- for the 8 classes missed, etc.). The same policy applies every time

a student engages in unacceptable behavior as described above and the professor has to stop the lecture

to remind him/her of the rules. Attendance and participation will also be used to judge borderline grades.

Extra credit (5 points) is available ONLY if you sign up in advance for the optional presentations. There

will be only 6 presentations in weeks 9-15 by the first 6 students to sign up. In order to obtain the points

you are expected to find 3 academic sources (internet browsing is not enough) and use them to deliver a

10-minute presentation that addresses at least one of the questions suggested in the schedule below.

There are no make-ups for missed quizzes.

Early or make-up exams are at the instructor’s discretion. Requests will be granted only under special

circumstances (e.g., medical emergency) and only if accompanied by appropriate documentation. They

can only be granted prior to the deadline.

Students are expected to adhere to the university’s standards of academic honesty. In the event that a

student is found cheating or plagiarizing, she/he will receive a grade penalty (automatic “E” in the

course) and will be reported to Student Judicial Affairs. See further rules at:

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/honorcodes/honorcode.php

Final letter grades are to be assigned according to the following scale of points accumulated:

A = 90 or above, A- = 87-89, B+ = 84-86, B = 80-83, B- = 77-79, C+ = 74-76, C = 70-73, C- = 67-69,

D+ = 64-66, D = 60-63, D- = 57-59, E = 56 or below

For information on the grading scale, see either HTTP://www.isis.ufl.edu/minusgrades.html or

HTTP://registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/regulationgrades.html.

A C- will not be a qualifying grade for major, minor, Gen Ed, Gordon Rule or College Basic

Distribution credit.

REQUIRED BOOKS and OTHERS

Franko, Patrice. 2007. The Puzzle of Latin American Economic Development. Lanham, Maryland:

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Third Edition. SELECTED CHAPTERS.

Wiarda, Howard J. and Harvey F. Kline. eds. 2007. Latin American Politics and Development. Boulder,

CO: Westview Press. Sixth Edition. SELECTED CHAPTERS.

Roberts, Timmons J. and Amy B. Hite. eds. 2007. The Globalization and Development Reader.

Perspectives on Development and Global Change. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Selected

chapters. SELECTED CHAPTERS.

Diamond, Larry et al. 2008. Latin America’s Struggle for Democracy. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins

University Press. SELECTED CHAPTERS.

Smith, William, ed. 2009. Latin American Democratic Transformations: Institutions, Actors, Processes.

Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. SELECTED CHAPTERS.

Smith, William C. and Laura Gómez-Mera. eds. 2010. Market, State, and Society in Contemporary

Latin America. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. SELECTED CHAPTERS -- MOST OF THEM ARE

REPRINTS FROM JOURNAL ARTICLES.

Kingstone, Peter R. 2006. Readings in Latin American Politics. Challenges to Democratization. Boston

and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. SELECTED CHAPTERS.

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Grandin, Greg. 2010. Fordlandia. The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City. New York:

Metropolitan Books.

Crane, George T. and Abla Amawi. eds. 1997. The Theoretical Evolution of International Political

Economy. Second Edition. New York: Oxford University Press – only if you don’t have a background

on politics and economics.

Munck, Ronaldo. 2007. Contemporary Latin America. Second Edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

– only if you don’t have a background on Latin American Studies.

Books are on reserve at Library West. Power point slides, some readings, and other materials will be

online on Course Reserve at www.uflib.ufl.edu. Journal articles are already online.

SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READINGS, and CRUCIAL DATES*

Week 1. 8/23-27

Presentation of the course. Why studying Latin American political economy?

How much do we know? Information, stereotypes, and misperceptions.

Readings: Pike, Fredrick. 2007. “Wild People in Wild Lands: Early American Views of Latin Americans.” In

LaRosa, Michael and Frank O. Mora (eds.) Neighborly Adversaries. U.S.-Latin American Relations. Second

Edition. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. pp. 35-50. (Smathers, LAC, F1418.N397, 2007)

Wiarda and Kline. Ch. 1.

Week 2. 8/30-9/3

Lecture: Historical background. Actors, institutions, and processes in the making of public policy.

Readings: Wiarda and Kline. Ch. 2, 3, 4, 5.

Week 3. 9/6-10

Lecture: Economic and political development: classical approaches.

Readings: Roberts and Hite, ch. 1, 2, 3, 4. Grandin, introduction.

9/6: No class – Labor Day

9/10 Quiz 1 (readings and other materials for weeks 1, 2 and 3)

Week 4. 9/13-17

Lecture: Dependency, Development, and Globalization.

Readings: Roberts and Hite, ch. 5, 6, 7, 8, 17; Grandin, ch. 1, 2, 3.

Week 5. 9/20-24

Economic policies in Latin America. Import substitution industrialization. Success or failure?

Readings: Franko, ch. 1, 2, 3. Grandin, ch. 4, 5, 6.

Week 6. 9/27-10/1

The impact of the debt crisis. Implementing the Washington Consensus and beyond.

Readings: Franko, ch. 4. Kingstone, ch. 3.2. Smith and Gomez Mora, ch 4. Grandin, ch. 7, 8.

Week 7. 10/4-8

What role for the state? The pending social agenda.

Readings: Franko, ch. 6, 11. Grandin, ch. 9, 10.

10/1 Quiz 2 (readings and others for week 4, 5, and 6)

* The schedule may change during the semester to accommodate unexpected events, delays, etc. Changes will be announced in class.

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Week 8. 10/11-15

10/13: first exam

10/15: No class – Homecoming

Week 9. 10/18-22

Going from support to backlash against neoliberalism.

Readings: Smith, ch. 3, 19. Roberts and Hite, ch. 18, 22, 27. Grandin, ch. 11, 12.

10/22 Optional presentation: To what extent has Venezuela benefited from the economic and political changes

implemented by Chavez? Does Venezuela fit the assumptions and predictions of resource curse thesis?

Week 10. 10/25-29

Selected issues from a comparative perspective and country profiles. Brazil.

Readings: Wiarda and Kline, ch. 7. Diamond et al. 2008, ch. 9. Grandin, ch. 13, 14.

10/27 Quiz 3 (readings and others for weeks 7, 9, and 10)

10/29 Optional presentation: To what extent is Brazil an emergent economic power and high-profile political

player at the international level?

Week 11. 11/1-5

Economics, the state, and social protest. Argentina.

Readings: Wiarda and Kline. Ch. 6. Smith and Gomez Mera, ch. 5, 6. Grandin, ch. 15, 16.

11/5 Optional presentation: Why has Argentina gone through frequent financial and political crises? What

accounts for the recurrent reversal of economic trends and political turmoil?

Week 12. 11/8-12

Transitions and prospects of structural transformations. Chile.

Readings: Wiarda and Kline, ch. 8. Kingstone, ch. 8.2. Diamond et al., ch. 10. Grandin, ch. 17, 18.

11/12 Optional presentation: Why is Chile considered the “successful case” of democratization and market-

oriented reforms? What are the challenges that the Chilean model faces today?

Week 13. 11/15-19

The quality of democratic and economic governance. Mexico.

Readings: Wiarda and Kline. Ch. 16. Diamond et al., ch. 15, 16. Grandin, ch. 19, 20.

11/17: Quiz 4 (readings and others for weeks 11, 12, and 13)

11/19 Optional presentation: How much has Mexico benefited from being part of NAFTA? To what extent is

drug trafficking challenging the Mexican state sovereignty and the capacity of the current administration to

govern effectively?

Week 14. 11/22-26

11/24 class cancelled

11/26: No class - Thanksgiving

Week 15. 11/29-12/3

At the laboratory: transitions underway? Cuba.

Reading: Wiarda and Kline. Ch. 17. Kingstone, ch. 10. Grandin, ch. 21, 22.

12/3 Optional presentation: Cuba: Is there a transition to democracy and the market? If so, how is this taking

place? What kind of socio/politico/economic model is emerging?

Week 16. 12/6-8

Trends and prospects.

Readings: Wiarda and Kline, ch. 26 or Franco, ch. 15. Grandin, ch. 23, epilogue.

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12/6: second exam

UCC: External Consultations

Rev. 10/10

External Consultation Results (departments with potential overlap or interest in proposed course, if any)

Department Name and Title

E-mailPhone Number

Comments

Department Name and Title

E-mailPhone Number

Comments

Department Name and Title

E-mailPhone Number

Comments

UCC: Syllabus Checklist

Rev. 10/10

All UCC1 forms and each UCC2 form that proposes a change in the course description or credit hours must include this checklist in addition to a complete syllabus. Check the box if the attached syllabus includes the indicated information.

Instructor contact information (and TA if applicable)

Course objectives and/or goals

Policy related to class attendance

Policy related to make-up exams or other work

Statement related to accommodations for students with disabilities

Information on current UF grading policies for assigning grade points

Syllabus MUST contain the following information:

It is recommended that syllabi contain the following information:

1. Critical dates for exams and other work

2. Class demeanor expected by the professor (e.g., tardiness, cell phone usage)

4. Contact information for university counseling and mental health services

The University’s complete Syllabus Policy can be found at:

3. UF’s honesty policy

http://www.aa.u�.edu/policy/SyllabiPolicy.pdf

A topical outline (at least tentative) of subjects to be covered

Required and recommended textbooks

Methods by which students will be evaluated and their grades determined