Well, we have finally finished the Social Studies Notes for The Penguin History of Latin America by Edwin Williamson.   This is definately the most comprehensive subject tackled by Larry McCarty so far.  It seems to me that there could be several ways to approach the subject, by chapter of course, or by country, or by topic (politics, economy, natives, etc).  Does anyone have any ideas they would like to share?

The arrival into nationhood of many of these countries involved civil war, but I had not realized the extent, especially in Mexico.  Between the civil wars of the early 20th C and the drug wars at the end of the 20th C  and into the 21st C, Mexico really has been rather unstable for a long period of time.  It is a precarious position to be in.  What are your thoughts for the future?

Shannon

I wish this update had been done a bit differently.  I found it very confusing to read through the histories of all those countries up to a certain point, and then have to go back to those countries and pick up where the previous chapter left off.  I think it would have been easier to read everything about each country up to the present. 

It was already noted in the very beginning that this book was an update to bring the histories to the most current point, so to create a ‘special’ Part IV to do this wasn’t really necessary.  I think it when writing notes and outlines it would be simlple to just put it all together and not break up the country histories.

 this book is wicked!   Just about every sentence is a fact.   Interesting, but hard to digest in large quantities, it may take a while to get through this book.

Noel and I both thought that the second chapter in the book should be the first.   If you haven’t started reading the book, The Penguin History of Latin America (TPHLA), read “Indians and Iberians,” the second chapter of Part One, first. It  provides a back history of some of the Native American Empires, as well as Spain and Portugal.

The Iberian section discusses how the Spanish reclaimed the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, beginning in the early 700s, and how many of those events affected the mentality and motives for both the Iberian governments and the conquistadors in their approach to “New World” occupation. It also points out the intricate relationship between Portugal and Spain at this time.

The first chapter in Part One covers some of the political/economic reasons behind the urgent drive to find a new route to Asia and the arrival of the Iberians to the Western Hemisphere.

The book for the UIL Social Studies contest this year is The Penguin History of Latin America by Edwin Williamson, is very thorough and while it is concise, it covers 500+ years and three continents so it is a lot of material.  It is interesting to see the differences between the Spanish and Portuguese holdings, how they achieved their independence, and how events in Europe affected the colonies.

As of today Larry McCarty, the contest director, doesn’t have either his list of general terms for the topic, or his specific list of key terms related to the book posted yet, but they will probably be long.  The book does have a glossary of key terms focusing on the Spanish and Portuguese words used throughout the book which is handy, and some are used often enough that they become part of your vocabulary.

I wouldn’t classify this as light summer reading, but getting a jump start over the summer will definitely be helpful so that when school starts in the fall you’ll be ready for some robust discussions on the political and social intrigues that helped develop our neighbors to the south.

Does anyone want to share what types of strategies they are going to use to broach this book and topic?