This introductory-level lecture course will introduce students to the central topics of early Latin American history beginning with the pre-Columbian period and concluding in the early 19th century. Lectures will structure the course both thematically and chronologically.
The first part of the course will consider pre-Columbian societies, the impact of disease in the Americas, and the arrival of Europeans and Africans.
Building on this foundation, the course will focus on the political, economic, social, and cultural transformation of the Americas over the course of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
