Bachelor 2025/2026

Area Studies: Latin America

Type: Elective course (International Programme 'International Relations and Global Studies')

Delivered by: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

When: 2 year, 1, 2 module

Open to: students of one campus

Language: English

Course Syllabus

Abstract

What does politics look like under conditions of economic inequality? What sort of culture does colonialism produce? When does democracy survive, and when does it break down? When do revolutions produce real improvements for ordinary people? These all sound like questions that many have been asking in the world in the last few decades. In Latin America, they have been asked for decades. This course will give a broad overview of Latin American history from the pre-colonial era to the present day. Particular emphasis will be placed on the socioeconomic, cultural, and political structures and processes that shaped and continue to influence life in Latin America. Key issues such as colonialism, nationalism, democracy, and revolution will be examined critically in light of broad comparative themes in Latin American and world history. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach: using materials from multiple disciplines in order to provide insight into the complex and diverse history of the region. Among the topics to be explored in detail will be colonialism, the Mexican and Cuban revolutions, and the transition from dictatorship to democracy. We will examine present-day issues in Latin America, including violence and inequality, and how they fit into a changing global environment. Moreover, we will cover the most pending issues of regional foreign politics as integration, relations with extra-regional actors (Russia, EU, US, China), Inter-American system.