SPAN 307: History & Politics Of Mexico
Course Description: Examines Mexico's history and its peoples from indigenous periods to the arrival of Europeans and Spanish colonization including the mission system and rancherìas of California, New Mexico, and Colorado. Focuses on the independence movement and Mexico's relationship with the United States during westward expansion. Examines the 20th century by focusing on the Mexican Revolution and the factors which have resulted in continuous northern migration. Taught in English with Spanish readings for Spanish majors.
SPAN 307: History & Politics of Mexico, helped me fulfill MLO 3-Literary and Cultural Knowledge. By far, this course has been one of my favorite courses at CSUMB because I had never studied Mexico’s history. In other classes, I had seen some aspects of Mexico but not in its entirety like in this course. For this course, we based our discussions from the book: “The Mexico Reader.” I learned about “Lo Mexicano,” and the problem Mexico has with identifying its identity and how it extends beyond the Mexican border into the U.S. We even wrote an essay about our own identity. I also learned about the ancient civilizations and their origins and how the Aztecs believed in the legend of the fifth sun, which would end life. Although the Mesoamerican cultures were sophisticated, they were also known for being brutal. Another thing I learned about was the conquest of Mexico, when Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés entered Tenochtitlán, what is now Mexico city and how he and his soldiers killed the last standing civilization. The conquest wasn’t the only invasion Mexico suffered, there was also the U.S invasion in which the U.S took control of half of Mexico’s territory. I learned about Mexico’s fight for independence and their struggle to have a stable economy. The era known as “el Porfiriato” in which Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico for 35 years. He ruled for seven terms, the longest any president ever has and he took advantage of his power by favoring foreign companies/investors instead of his own people and due to this, indigenous people were left without land and sent into extreme poverty. Shortly after his presidency came the Mexican revolution, which was a response to the failure of “el Porfiriato” regime. Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa are two of the main Mexican figures attributed to the revolution and helping to shape Mexico. From this class I learned that history and politics are intertwined, one cannot exist without the other. This class opened my eyes to so many things and I liked taking the knowledge from this class and sharing it with my family and friends. Dr. Gómez taught this course and he’s laid a foundation in me to keep learning about Mexico. As evidence I've provided an essay about the search for identity within the Mexican community.
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