HIST097 CM - Human Rights in Latin America

This course examines two important case studies of genocide in Latin America to examine what changes have occurred in stopping and prosecuting crimes against humanity. The course scrutinizes the uneasy relationship between international institutions, laws and human rights advocates and local Latin American crimes against humanity and indigenous struggles for justice. The first section of the class focuses on the genocide of indigenous peoples in the Amazon during the rubber boom (1901-1912), emphasizing the role that international pressure played in ending the mass violence. Then, it delves into changes made to international human rights with the establishment of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The second section of the class examines the genocide against indigenous peoples in Guatemala during the Cold War.

Offered: Every other year

Credit: 1

Course Number: HIST097 CM