Made up of several independent nations and overseas dependencies, the Latin American and Caribbean region is both the product of a tumultuous past and a site of constant reinvention. Once the home of hundreds of distinct languages and cultures, this fascinating region has witnessed centuries of dramatic changes: from the Iberian invasions of its indigenous heartlands to the Haitian Revolution, from the struggles to build independent nation-states in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the rise of military dictatorships and more recent efforts to rebel against an overbearing United States.

This course examines diverse debates within the study of Latin American and Caribbean History, from the pre-Colombian era to the present (specific topics and approaches vary from year to year, based on instructor preference). No prior knowledge of the region or of historical research is required; indeed, the course is open to students from any discipline and specializing in other regions of the world. The goal of this seminar is to provide students with a foundation in the historiographies of colonization, racialization, nation-state formation, gender and sexuality, and the environment (among other topics).