Course Description
This course goes beyond the history of territorial disputes and diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States to analyze the multiple ways in which the peoples, cultures, and events in each country have been shaping each other for the last two centuries.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required in-depth additional readings in addition to those assigned in the syllabus for each class. The additional readings will amount to the page equivalent of one book
per week. For evaluation, the graduate students will submit a bibliographical essay by mid-semester and one 18- to 22-page research essay at the end. The research paper should be built on
primary and secondary sources, preferably from local archives and/or oral interviews.
Athena Title
Mexico US Relations since 1821
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
One HIST or LACS or INTL or POLS course
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
At the end of the course the student would be able: Summarize the main historical events in which Mexico and the United States have been involved with each other since 1821 (year of Mexican independence). Describe how policies, events, and historical process occurring in one country has impacted on the other. Identify the main contributions that each country has made in the development of the other. Discuss the possible solutions to the common problems and areas of conflict.
Topical Outline
1. Background History of Mexico and the United States to 1821 2. From the Mexican Independence to the Independence of Texas 1821-1835 3. California and New Mexico under Mexican Rule 1821-1848 4. The Mexican American War and its Aftermaths 1848-1867 5. United States-Mexico from Confrontation to Economic Modernization 1867-1910 6. Mexican Revolution and the United States 1910-1930 7. Mexican Immigration Early Stages 1910-1930 8. The United States Depression and Mexican Nationalism 1930-1940 9. Hollywood and Mexican Cinema Golden Age 1930-1950 10. Mutual Environmental Challenges from the Boll Weevil to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spills 11. Braceros vs. Mexican-American Farmworkers 1950-1964 12. American Counterculture and Youth Rebellion in Mexico 1960-1970 13. Mexican Immigration after 1965 14. Drug and Arms Trafficking on Both Sides of the Border 1980- Present 15. NAFTA, the Symbiosis of Mexican and American Labor and Capitalism 1994-present 16. The United States-Mexican border in the 21st Century