HIST 260 - The Cold War in the Americas

Credit Hours: 3

Examines the influence of the Cold War on Latin America and the United States, seeking to understand the complex and often fraught relationship between Washington and the nations of Latin America. After tracing the evolution of hemispheric relationships from independence to the mid twentieth century, the class explores how the ideological battle between communist and anti-communist forces shaped the development of regional relationships in the Americas. Revolution, guerilla warfare, counter-insurgency, as well as everyday struggles over press freedom and foreign investment, shaped the lives of Americans north and south of the equator. Students will encounter the changing historiography of US-Latin American relations, learning not only about policy choices and responses at the government level, but also how the Cold War shaped the way that the peoples of Latin American and the United States viewed one another, and how culture was shaped by these interpretations.