Syllabus
1. Introduction and geographic overview
2. Modern history I – From independence to the revolution
3. Modern history II – From PRI to AMLO
4. Political system – end of one-party rule?
5. Economy – last bastion of neoliberalism?
6. Society, minorities and emigration.
7. Drugs, cartels, and violence
8. Foreign relations I – Mexico and the U.S.
9. Foreign relations II – Mexico and the rest of the World
10. Current affairs – independent candidates, education reform, PEMEX, Odebrecht, Donald Trump, AMLO
11. and
12. Students‘ presentations The Mexican presentations and example of a paper will be available on cloud.
Annotation
This course examines why it is important to study Mexico if we want to better understand the nuances of cross-border dynamics on the North American continent. We are going to analyze Mexico principally from four different perspectives: politics, economy, society and foreign relations.
Emphasis will be given on key current issues facing Mexicans today. Each topic will also cover the ties with their northern neighbor, the United States of America, as many present problems (emigration, drugs, economic cooperation under the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA/ USMCA), etc.) are transnational and should be studied from a broader perspective.