This course is intended as a survey of modern Latin American history beginning with independence from Spain and following through the explosive impact of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The course ends with an examination of the present-day struggle for democracy and economic stability in Latin American nations, such as Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and the countries of the Central American republics. The themes of the course focus on the causes and consequences of structural instability in Latin America since 1800. Special emphasis is placed on the collapse of the region’s traditional liberal/export model of national development in the 1930s and current political and economic crises.