This course provides an overview of the conquest and colonisation of Latin America.  it does so in the context of the major theoretical perspectives and controversies surrounding this process.  Topics dealt with will include the nature of two pre-Columbian empires - the Aztecs and the Incas, the motivations for the conquest, the dynamics of settler societies, theoretical perspectives on colonisation and the "rise of the west" and key political and economic structures of colonial Latin America.  These topics are dealt with in terms of the Implications of each for Latin America today.

On successfully completing this course students will:

1. be able to evaluate the major perspectives on the conquest and colonisation of Latin America.
2. have a basic knowledge of several of the societies that existed before 1492 and of how their interaction with European societies shaped the political economony and future history of Latin America.
3. have a basic knowledge of the political and economic structures of early colonial Latin America
4. have considered how these structures influenced the future course of Latin American society.

1. A 2,500 word research essay assignment (40%); Learning Outcomes 1-4.
2. Two book reviews (2 x 20%), each of 750 words;  Learning Outcomes 1-4.
3. One, in-class test (20%); Learning Outcomes 2 and 3.

Students will be expected to spend 10 hours per week on the course, including the class times outlined above.

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Recommended:  POLS1007 An Introduction to Latin American Studies

An electronic reading "brick" will be provided

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