History 286: Making Modern Mexico

This course explores the history of Mexico since independence. Throughout the semester we will focus on some of the transformative events of the country — the Mexico-US War of 1847, the liberal reforms of the late 19th century, the Mexican Revolution, and the end of the one-party rule in the early 2000s — while also examining the ongoing processes of class relations, gender dynamics, complexities of racial and ethnic identities, cultural and artistic movements, rural and urban oppositions, and the close yet turbulent relationship with the United States. The course will use primary and secondary readings, as well as fiction, and will be conducted by lecture and discussion. May be taken for credit toward the Indigeneity, Race, and Ethnicity Studies major or minor.