Undergraduate Course: The Cold War in Latin America (HIST10539)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The Cold-War rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union had major consequences for the rest of the world, where it introduced superpower resources,forces, and ideologies into local social and political conflicts. This course examines those consequences in Latin America. It asks to what extent the dialectic between revolution and counterrevolutionary dictatorships in the region had local historical roots, and to what extent it was introduced from the outside by a Cold-War dynamic. |
| Course description |
The course examines the history of the Cold War in Latin America. Through the use of country case studies, it explores how the conflict between two super-powers transformed existing social and political conflicts in the region. The course thus asks students to think about the interplay between a global process and the peculiar social, cultural, and political history of an important world region. Particular attention will be paid to the conflict between military dictatorships, militant groups inspired by the Cuban Revolution, and civil-society groups concerned with the protection of human rights.
Content note: The study of History inevitably involves the study of difficult topics that we encourage students to approach in a respectful, scholarly, and sensitive manner. Nevertheless, we remain conscious that some students may wish to prepare themselves for the discussion of difficult topics. In particular, the course organiser has outlined that the following topics may be discussed in this course, whether in class or through required or recommended primary and secondary sources: poverty, torture, racial violence, sexual violence, class-based violence. While this list indicates sensitive topics students are likely to encounter, it is not exhaustive because course organisers cannot entirely predict the directions discussions may take in tutorials or seminars, or through the wider reading that students may conduct for the course.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Introduction to Historiography (HIST08044)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Beyond Dictatorship: Human Rights in Latin America (HIST10422)
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Other requirements | A pass or passes in 40 credits of first-level historical courses or equivalent and a pass or passes in 40 credits of second-level historical courses, including HIST08044 Introduction to Historiography, or equivalent. The pre-requisite can be waived for non-History students if the elective is listed as part of their DPT.
Students should only be enrolled on this course with approval from the History Honours Programme Administrator. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have 3 History courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Enrolments for this course are managed by the CAHSS Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department. All enquiries to enrol must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
80 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
1,500 word book review (35 percent)
2,500 word final essay (45 percent)
Non-Written Skills:
Class participation (20%)
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| Feedback |
Students will receive written feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Dunn, C. 2014. "Desbunde and its discontents: Counterculture and Authoritarian Modernization in Brazil, 1968-1974," The Americas, 70:3.
Feitlowitz, M. 2011. A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture. New York: Oxford University Press.
Grandin, G. 2005. "The Instruction of Great Catastrophe: Truth Commissions, National History, and State Formation in Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala," American Historical Review 110:1.
Mallon, F.E. 2005. Courage Tastes of Blood: The Mapuche Community of Nicolás Ailío and the Chilean State, 1906-2001. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Mechú, R. 2009. I, Rigoberta Menchú. An Indian Woman in Guatemala. New York: Verso.
Stern, S.J. 2006. Remembering Pinochet's Chile: On the Eve of London 1998. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Weschler, L. 1990. A Miracle, a Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers. New York: Pantheon Books.
Wright, L. 2007. State Terrorism in Latin America: Chile, Argentina, and International Human Rights, Rowman and Littlefield. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Timo Schaefer
Tel:
Email: Timo.Schaefer@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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