Mexico Since 1876: The Road to Ayotzinapa

(History 74 is for 3 units; History 174 is for 5 units.) In September of 2014, 43 students from a Mexican teacher's college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero were abducted and disappeared via the actions of police and organized crime. This shocking human rights violation, as well as the violence and impunity it represented, were symbolic of the decline of the rule of law embodied by Mexico's drug war. How did the nation arrive at this crossroads? This course is an introduction to the history of Mexico from 1876 to the present. Through lectures, discussions, primary and secondary sources, film and documentaries, and written assignments, students will critically explore the events and people that shaped Mexico for over a century. From the Porfirian dictatorship, to the Revolution, to the PRI's "perfect dictatorship," this course analyzes socioeconomic and racial inequality, foreign intervention, urbanization and industrialization, technological innovation and environmental degradation, education and ideology, modernity and migration, culture and media, and the drug trade.