[HIST W4780] Latin American Civilization, 1810 to present

This course gave an overview of Latin American history from 1810 to the present, tied fairly well to global context. Professor Piccato is somewhat difficult to understand because of his accent, and he reads what he has prepared in a somewhat monotone manner... BUT his ideas are presented very cohesively (so stay awake! when you reread your notes at the end of class you'll be surprised) and he always has a very good analysis of deeper levels of history, such as class analysis. So many professors (I think it's a U.S.A. thing) are afraid to acknowledge class antagonisms; he's not. The class is stronger for it. The readings Piccato chooses are almost always great. No Mickey Mouse history here; rather, a lot of strong social analysis... a lot of the readings are labor-centric. Also, I should add that Picatto is a very approachable man. I would reccommend this course to anyone; It satisfies a Major Cultures credit if you want. You can take part one, which is Latin Am Civ up to 1810 as well -- I didn't, but it's also supposed to be a good class. There are people who hate the class because of Prof. Piccato's delivery style. Ignore them and tough it out; you'll be glad you did.