This seminar is an introduction to some dimension of the history of a nation, region, people, culture, institution, or historical phenomenon selected by the respective instructor. Students will come to understand, and develop an appreciation for: the origins and evolution of the people, cultures, and/or political, economic, and/or social institutions of a particular region(s) of the world. They may explore how human encounters shaped individual and collective identities and the political, economic, and social orders of the region/nation/communities under study. Instructors prioritize critical reading, engaged participation, and focused writing assignments.

Migration from Latin America into the United States has helped stitch the Americas together, both reflecting and strengthening deep cultural, political, and economic ties across the region. The contemporary United States is a society that has been built in part by generations of immigrants and refugees from Latin America, and many Latin American societies have likewise been influenced by the history of large-scale migration to the United States. This seminar offers an introduction to the scholarship on migration from Latin America to the United States, with an emphasis on migration from Mexico, Central America, and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Topics and themes addressed include the varied root causes of migration from Latin America to the United States, the history of the US-Mexico border, US immigration policy and nativist backlash, security crises and refugee populations, and comparative race and ethnicity in the Americas. The class places the history of migration in the Americas in a transnational framework, and is well-suited for students interested in both US history and Latin American history. Instructor bio: Miles Culpepper holds a PhD in history from UC Berkeley and is currently writing a book on the history of Guatemalan exiles during the Cold War. He has taught history at Chabot College, the University of Nevada, Reno, and UC Berkeley.

This seminar will open for enrollment on Tuesday, July 19.

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Requirements class fulfills