Courses
LACS 290 Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
This course is an exploration of selected aspects of one of the societies and/or cultures in Latin America and the Caribbean, or a comparative treatment of aspects of these cultures. Specific case studies will include ethnographic research and/or readings of primary sources relating to Latin America and the Caribbean. Topics may include religion, migration, identity, gender, literature and art, and society. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
Credits
1 course
Spring Semester information
Glen Kuecker290A: Topics:War on Drugs
This course invites us to explore the causes, dynamics and outcomes of Latin America's drug wars. Our work will consider the social, political, economic, and cultural scope and scale of the drug wars. We will learn about the role of United States policy as it intersects with the internal, domestic factors in Latin America. Our discussion will include consideration of criminal cartels, gangs, migrants, militaries, politicians, business people, and ordinary citizens, as well as the relationship between formal and informal sectors of society. Several key questions and themes are in play. What is the historical evolution of the drug wars in Latin America? What is the relationship between capitalism and the war on drugs? What is the impact of the drug wars on the nation-state? What happens to citizenship and civil society in the war on drugs? How do people experience the war on drugs in their everyday lives? What are the cultural manifestations of the drug wars? Once the war on drugs starts, why does it escalate, and how does it end? What are appropriate policies? What can we learn about corruption as well as power by studying the war on drugs. These questions and themes will guide our exploration of the topic.