HST425 Thinking Hemispherically: the Americas in the Twentieth Century

Please note that this is a new module for 2024-25 and is currently subject to approval by the University's academic programmes office. This means that there may still be adjustments to the module content at this stage.

15 credits, Semester two
Module leader 2024-25: Molly Avery

Module summary

The term 'American' is often used to refer to the United States, but in a literal sense it refers to the Americas as a whole, stretching from Canada in the north to Chile and Argentina at the southern tip. This module asks what we, as historians, can gain from thinking about the history of the Americas in the twentieth century in this wider, hemispheric sense.

Traditionally, histories of US-Latin American relations in the twentieth century have focused on the overwhelming influence of the United States, often reducing Latin America to a site of US interventionism and denying Latin Americans historical agency. Yet this module will draw on four recent books (published since 2019) to challenge this approach and offer an alternative history of the Americas in the twentieth century. Through discussions of inter-American feminism, military relations, anti-imperialist solidarity and the rise of neoliberalism, the module will prompt you to consider how in taking a hemispheric approach we can uncover the myriad ways Latin Americans influenced the United States, revealing the deeply entangled history of the Americas, North and South.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, you will be able to:

Distinguish between the different meanings and roots of the terms 'United States of America', 'America' and 'Latin America'
Demonstrate a critical awareness of different historiographical approaches to the history of the Americas in the twentieth century
Discuss the value and limitations of approaching the history of the Americas from a hemispheric perspective
Express ideas and evidence through clear and perceptive prose

Assessment methods

Assessment type - % of final mark

3000 word essay - 100%

You will complete a 3000 word essay on a topic related to one of the module's key themes. You will define your own essay topic in discussion with your tutor.

Additional learning and teaching information

Teaching and indicative seminar plan:

The module will be taught in five, two-hour classes. You will also have individual tutorial contact with the module tutor in order to discuss your assessment for this module.

Please note that for weeks 2-5 you will not be expected to read the entire book for each week, instead we’ll all read the introduction and conclusion and share out some key chapters. Each week we’ll be focusing on how the book helps us ‘think hemispherically’.

Indicative seminar plan:

1. The invention of the Americas

2. Katherine M. Marino, Feminism for the Americas (2019)

3. Rebecca Herman, Cooperating with the Colossus (2022)

4. Margaret M. Power, Solidarity Across the Americas (2023)

5. Amy Offner, Sorting out the Mixed Economy (2019)

Selected reading:

Michel Gobat, 'The Invention of Latin America: A Transnational History of Anti-Imperialism, Democracy, and Race' The American Historical Review, 118:5 (2013)
Walter D. Mignolo, The Invention of Latin America (2005), chapter 1
Katherine M. Marino, Feminism for the Americas (2019)
Rebecca Herman, Cooperating with the Colossus (2022)
Margaret M. Power, Solidarity Across the Americas (2023)
Amy Offner, Sorting out the Mixed Economy (2019)

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