PSC424 Dictatorships, Human Rights and Historical Memory in Chile and the Southern Cone

This course is taught in Spanish, with optional tutorials offered in English for students who need extra language support. Students who attend English tutorials or complete assignments in English are not eligible for SPA credit.
This course focuses on the military coup of 1973 and the systematic implementation of violence and fear as an effective method of control over society and as a formula for stability during the military government of Augusto Pinochet. Within this context, marked by the pain and suffering of certain sectors of Chilean society, this course aims to study this time period and evaluate its significances and contributions to the configuration of social, political and economic aspects of Chile today, highlighting the role of U.S. foreign policy in the installation of the Pinochet government as well as the U.S. role in the issue of human rights in Chile. Includes site visits to a former public prison for political detainees and other historical memory sites and institutions in Santiago (these visits are scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays).

Cross-listed with HST/IRP/LAS 424/PAI 624. Additional work is required of graduate students who register at the 600-level.

Prereq: SPA 202 or equivalent

Taught in Spanish at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica and may not be offered every semester. An analysis of the processes, structures and contents of Latin American politics during the 20th and 21st centuries. Pre-requisite: introductory political science course. (UC code: ICP 0105)

Taught in Spanish at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica and may not be offered every semester. This course will study the ideas, range, levels, and forms of corruption, in terms of both structural and socio-cultural components, with an emphasis in the impact of globalization, privatization, neo-populism, lobbying, organized crime, poverty, and political patronage as factors that help explain the problem. (UC code: ICP 0125)

Taught in Spanish at the Universidad de Chile and may not be offered every semester. The purpose of the course is to familiarize students with international regulatory systems that have a growing humanitarian, political and academic interest: the International Law of Human Rights and also the International Humanitarian Law, the Law of refugees and international legislation to combat terrorism. The goal is for students to understand the formation and development of international law of the Human Rights and other humanitarian systems as part of the evolution of political ethics; to know the main native components of such systems, their legal and meta-legal enforcement and protection, their main institutions and movements, as well as their relationship to other topics; to appreciate the moral dilemmas posed; and to detect opportunities in these fields to act both as citizens and as professionals.

Students enrolling in this course will achieve a comprehensive view of the political development of Chile and the role of institutions in this political evolution. Through lectures, forums, and field study, students will analyze the way in which these institutions have mediated conflict, adapted to authoritarianism, and transitioned to their current roles in the post-authoritarianism democracy. Los estudiantes alcanzarán un visión comprensiva del desarrollo político de Chile y del papel de las instituciones en esa evolución. Por medio de conferencias, foros, y estudios de campo, los estudiantes analizarán la manera en que estas instituciones han actuado como mediadoras de conflictos, se han adaptado al autoritarismo, y han efectuado la transición a sus nuevos papeles en la democracia posautoritaria. Class taught at Pontificia Universidad Católica and may not be available every semester.

This course studies the evolution of Chilean foreign policy from the 19th century to the present, with a particular emphasis on the last two decades. Students will examine the role of Chilean politics on the world stage through the lens of domestic and international political culture, addressing the issues of economic development, international society, and reinstated democracy. El curso estudia la evolución de la política exterior de Chile desde el siglo XIX hasta el presente, con particular atención a las dos ultimas décadas. Los estudiantes examinarán el papel de la política chilena en el escenario mundial a través del lente de la cultura política doméstica e internacional, prestando atención a los problemas del desarrollo económico, la sociedad internacional y la reinstaurada democracia. Class taught at Pontificia Universidad Católica and may not be available every semester.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the organization and operation of the Chilean political system. Students will examine Chile’s government institutions, political parties, interest groups, and electoral system. El objetivo del curso es una introducción a la organización y operación del sistema político chileno. Los estudiantes examinarán las instituciones gubernamentales, los partidos políticos, los grupos de intereses especiales y el sistema electoral de Chile. Class taught at Pontificia Universidad Católica and may not be available every semester.

Taught in Spanish at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica and may not be offered every semester. This course analyzes the foreign policy of Latin American countries, comparing the different strategies and perspectives that each country of the region has designed to integrate itself into the globalized world. Also, the course will analyze the processes of integration, cooperation, and defense that are currently in place in Latin America. The various foreign policies will be studied in light of the particular politics, economics, and social processes that each Latin American country has experienced from 1980 until today. Meets with LAS 380.31.

For Syracuse PSC majors, this course can count toward the Comparative Politics concentration.

(PSC #ICP0342)

Taught in Spanish at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. This course introduces students to the analysis of re-democratization in Chile considering the role of parties and the characteristics of the party system. The course delivers basic knowledge of the recent history of Chile, to which it is attached a detailed analysis of the main election polls conducted since 1989 to the last presidential election in 2005. The course also offers to complement the study of Chilean public opinion according to major national and international surveys, identifying trends and fractures that can help understand the keys of contemporary Chile. (ICP0123)

This course aims to expose students to academic discussions and theories that have had a major influence in the social sciences: topics such as social change, the theory of conflict, and the theory of social revolutions will be used to analyze and compare three Latin American revolutions that have impacted the whole continent: the cases of Mexico, Cuba, and Venezuela (the contemporary revolution inspired in Simon Bolivar’s image). For each case, the course will study the pre-revolutionary social atmosphere, the particular dynamics of the processes, and the post-revolution evolution. For SU PSC majors, this course counts as part of the “Comparative Politics” cluster. (ICP0138)