SINQ – Introduction to Latin American Studies

Sample questions for final exam:

1. What is the Columbian Exchange? What has been its impact on the Americas the rest of the world?

2. How did depopulation in the colonial period, then repopulation in subsequent centuries, affect ethnicity in Latin America?

3. How has physical geography affected settlement patterns in Latin America? Include discussion of both landform features and climate and vegetation characteristics.

4. Why did caudillismo become so important in post-independence Latin America? What has been its legacy in the region?

5. What is the significance of the Cuban Revolution to Latin American politics and how did it influence political developments in the region?

6. How did the US intervene in political circumstances in Guatemala (1954) and Chile (1973)? What was the global context of US interventionist policy in the second half of the 20^th century?

7. What was the rationale behind the promotion is ISI? What was its impact (generally) on Latin American economies? Was it successful or not? Why?

8. How has the structure of Latin American economies changed over the 20^th

century? What are the social implications of this change?

SINQ – Introduction to Latin American Studies

More sample questions for final exam

For final exam you are responsible for the following chapters in Understanding Contemporary Latin America: 1 (Introduction), 2 (A Geographical Preface), 3 (The Historical Context), 4 (Latin American Politics), 6 (The Economies of Latin America), 7 (International Relations), 8 (The Environment, Population, and Urbanization), 9 (Patterns of “Race,” Ethnicity, Class, and Nationalism), and 11 Education and Development, pages 297-316 only).

1. What are ‘austerity measures’ and ‘structural adjustments’ and why have they been imposed in some Latin American countries? What have been the social and environmental costs of these ‘measures’ and ‘adjustments’?

2. What is the relationship between a country’s social and economic conditions and its political system? Why have so many Latin American nations alternated between democratic and authoritarian regimes?

3. How have relations with industrialized nations – especially the US – affected the political systems of Latin American countries?

4. Guerilla movements in Latin America are typically radical groups dedicated to revolutionary change. What fundamental social structures in the region lead to the creation of these groups? Have they been successful? Why or why not?

5. In what ways are population growth, migration, the informal economy, industrialization and political movements--issues that are often discussed as "gender-neutral"--women's issues?

6. What are the social, political, and environmental impacts of urbanization in Latin America? How has the landscape of cities been transformed?

7. How has migration affected population, race, and ethnicity in Latin America?

8. What factors account for changes in population growth rate in Latin America, historically and at the present time?

9. What characteristics can be used, besides per capita income (GDP, GNP, PPP), to determine levels of economic development and why? What are the general patterns of economic development in Latin America?