Latin American History

Latin American history at the University of Arizona has long been one of its most distinguished graduate programs. While we have special strength in Mexican history, our goal is to offer broad comprehensive training in the field . Our students are expected to have strong language skills in Spanish and Portuguese, and are offered a wide choice of regional and topical classes in colonial, early national, and twentieth century history. Students here also have an opportunity to work with leading Latin American scholars in Anthropology, Art History, Geography, Law, Mexican American Studies, Political Science, Spanish and Portuguese, and Women's Studies. As a group, Latin American specialists on campus are affiliated with the Center of Latin American Studies, an interdisciplinary program for teaching and research. Supported in part with Title VI funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the Center sponsors an active roster of outside speakers and community events, and offers a variety of grant opportunities and internships. Tucson itself provides a rich and stimulating environment for students of Latin America. Located just seventy miles from the border, with a large, diverse, multi-cultural population of its own, the city is the hub for a wide range of economic, political, and cultural activities that link Latin America with the United States.

Faculty:

B.J. Barickman (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne 1990)

William Beezley (Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 1969)

Martha Few (Ph.D. University of Arizona, 1997)

Kevin Gosner (Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, 1984)

Oscar Martinez (Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1975)

Jadwiga Pieper Mooney (Ph.D. Rutgers University, 2000)

Current Dissertations:
Sharon Bailey-Glasco, "Public Health, Public Spaces: Disease and the Urban Environment in Mexico City, 1760-1821."

Dina Berger, "Pyramids by Day, Martinis by Night: The Development and Promotion of Mexico's Tourism Industry, 1928-1946."

Vicki Black, "Intricate Details on Intimate Matters: Chilean State Building, International Relations, and Infant Health Care, 1911-1973."

Michael Brescia, "Sacred Politics in an Ecclesiastical City: Bishop Palafox and the Political Culture of Catholicism in 17th Century Puebla de los Angeles."

Monica Rankin, "¡Mexico la patria!: World War II and National Unity on the Homefront."

Martha Santos, "Emblems of Manhood on a Cattle Frontier: Honor and Violence in 19th Century Ceara, Brazil."

Laura Shelton, "Family and Status in Alamos, Sonora, 1786-1860."

Andrew Sherman, "Precious Metals and Powerful Miners: State-Building and the Economics of Masculinity, Mining Culture, and Silver Production in a Mexican Mining District, 1906-1947."

James Wadsworth, "Agents of Orthodoxy: Inquisitional Power and Prestige in Colonial Pernambuco.

Recent Graduates:

Oswaldo Barreneche, (Ph.D. 1997) "Crime and the Administration of Criminal Justice in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1785-1853."

Robert Buffington (Ph.D. 1994) "Forging the Fatherland : Criminality and Citizenship in Modern Mexico." Associate Professor, Bowling Green University.

Marie Francois, (Ph.D. 1998) "When Pawnshops Talk : Popular Credit and Material Culture in Mexico City, 1775-1916." Assistant Professor, Auburn University.

Rigoberto Rodriguez (Ph.D. 2001) "Sinaloa during the Restored Republic, 1867-1877."

John Sherman (Ph.D. 1994) "For Family, God, and Country : The Mexican Right and the Political Culture of the Revolutionary State, 1929-1940." Associate Professor, Wright State University."

Jeffrey Shumway (Ph.D. 1999) "Between Revolution, Power and Liberty : Continuity and Change in Family, Gender, and Society in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1776-1870." Assistant Professor, Brigham Young University.

Phyllis Smith, (Ph.D. 1996) "Contentious Voices Amid The Order : The Porfirian Press In Mexico City, 1876-1911." Associate Professor, Mars Hill College.
Wendy Waters, (Ph.D. 1999) "Re-mapping the Nation : Road Building as State Formation in Post-revolutionary Mexico, 1925-1940."

Local Resources:
Latin American Studies
Documentary Relations of the Southwest
Southwest Center
Arizona Historical Society
Arizona State Museum