The midterm examination will be held during the normal lecture hour on Thursday, March
15, 2012. This will be a closed-note examination.
The midterm will be divided into two parts:
You will be given four terms drawn from key vocabulary raised in lecture, the assigned readings, and the weekly ELMS discussion boards. You must select three (and no more than three) of the four options, defining each term for its historical significance. Each ID should not exceed three sentences.
Two of the following three questions will appear verbatim on the midterm. You will answer one. Your essay should draw on the various assigned readings, lecture, discussion section, and the weekly ELMS assignment. There is no expectation that you incorporate outside reading or research.
1) John Chasteen argues that the political process of independence in Latin America was largely controlled by a creole elite who came to rule over independent nations while still maintaining the social and political hierarchies of the colonial era. Critically analyze this interpretation of the political and social victors of independence, assessing the strengths and limitations of Chasteen's argument.
2) Political violence is a running theme in the history of post-independent Latin America. Develop and support an argument that explains why political violence was so significant in nineteenth-century Latin American history.
3) John Chasteen characterizes as "neocolonial" postindependent Latin America's economic dependency on foreign economic interests and markets. Critically analyze this interpretation of economic life in nineteenth-century Latin America, assessing the strengths and limitations of Chasteen's characterization.
An optional review session will be held Tuesday, March 13, 2012. 4:00-5:30pm in 2120 Francis Scott Key Hall (Merrill Room).