Legacies of Inequalities: Understanding Divergent Socioeconomic Developments in the Americas

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Why have some countries in the Americas struggled economically while others have thrived? What has been the impact of European colonization, the decimation of the aboriginal populations, and the arrival of millions of enslaved African Black people? This socio-historical survey course contrasts the differential socioeconomic developments of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S. using writings from Dominican sociologist Pedro Francisco Bonó, Peruvian economist José Carlos Mariátegui, Cuban humanist José Martí, Puerto Rican humanist Luis Llorens Torres, Argentinian economist Raul Prebish, U.S. sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, and other scholars. In addition, we delve into the influences of foundational, widely translated texts such as Black Skin, White Masks by Martinican psychologist Franz Fanon, Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire, and Open Veins of Latin America by Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano.