Colonial Encounters and the Creation of Latin America

Catalog description

This seminar examines how interactions between Europeans and indigenous peoples shaped the formation of early Latin America. From Florida to Brazil, invasion led to widely varied outcomes, including outright failures. Students will come to see colonization as a difficult, uneven process, as Europeans struggled to comprehend and engage unfamiliar natural and human environments; the new societies that emerged reflected complex transatlantic exchanges. Our readings will consist of primary sources from the sixteenth century, supplemented by academic texts. Students will write a series of three-page response papers, along with a ten to twelve-page essay on major themes from the course. P