LAS 312 - US Interventions Latin America

Credits: (3)
U.S. “interventions” in Latin America and other parts of the world have played an important role in world history since the 1890s. These interventions have taken various forms, from formal colonial takeovers to military occupations (“nation building”) to covert operations to humanitarian aid. This course will explore the history of U.S. interventions in Latin America in comparative perspective by focusing on this region while also encompassing other parts of the world, particularly the Philippines, Hawai’i, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Has the U.S. government forged its own type of empire through intervention, and, if so, with what strategic, economic, ideological, or humanitarian motives? In what ways have U.S. policies changed over time and in what ways have they appeared constant? We will assess both the stated and unstated goals of U.S. interventions since 1898, the conflicting perceptions and depictions within U.S. society of conditions leading up to them, and their short- and long-term effects. We will thus also explore the aftermath of U.S. interventions, including the dictatorships, violence, and radicalism that have variously followed in their wake.