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The U.S.-Mexico Border: From NAFTA to El Chapo

Course Description

Exploration of the history of the U.S.-Mexican border, with attention to the last forty years. Students will research and present case studies, including the NAFTA treaty, cross-border drug cartels, mass migration since the 1980s, and border security debates and policies.

Athena Title

The U.S. Mexico Border

Pre or Corequisite

One course in HIST or INTL or SOWK or POLS or LEGL or JURI or LACS or ROML or SPAN or COMM or GLOB or DMAN or GPST or CURO or HONS

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions through gathering and weighing of evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argumental continuities and discontinuities.
  • By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
  • By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the processes, events, and policies regarding the US-Mexican border shaped social and cultural identities and attitudes in the communities on the two sides of the international border, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
  • By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence.

Topical Outline

  • 1. Formation of the US-Mexican Border after the War of 1846
  • 2. Trans-border Integration in the Progressive Era
  • 3. Immigration, Guest Workers and Deportation from Depression to Post-WWII
  • 4. Central American Migration and the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980s
  • 5. The Rise and Partition of the Guadalajara Cartel 1980s
  • 6. NAFTA Negotiations and Early Implementation.
  • 7. The Mexican Crisis of 1994 and the First Mass Migration Wave.
  • 8. Border Vigilantes and Anti-Immigrant Activism 2000-2010
  • 9. The Mexican Drug War and Cross-border Violence. 2008-2018
  • 10. The Border and US Electoral Politics. 2000-present
  • 11. Mexican-US Trade Revolution. 2000-present
  • 12. Trans-Border Cultures
  • 13. Stranded Non-Mexican Asylum Seekers
  • 14. Building the Wall
  • 15. The Future of the US-Mexican Border
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