Latin American History through its Art and Literature

This book explores 2,000 years of Latin American history through the words of the writer, the brush of the painter, the pen of the cartoonist, and the lens of the photographer. The interdisciplinary approach to Latin America focuses on the way the region has related to the United States.

Jack Child is professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at American University. He was born of American parents in Argentina and lived in South America for eighteen years, coming to the United States to attend Yale University. After graduation from Yale, he served twenty years in the U.S. Army as a Latin American specialist, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. His courses at American University include a general education offering, "Latin America: History, Art, Literature," and this book was originally written as a text for that course.

Chapter 1 List of Illustrations Chapter 2 Acknoledgements Chapter 3 1. Introduction Chapter 4 2. The Geographic Setting Chapter 5 3. The Pre-Columbian Period: Overview and the Maya Chapter 6 4. The Aztecs and the Incas Chapter 7 The Encounter Chapter 8 The Conquest of Mexico Chapter 9 The Conquest of Peru and Chile Chapter 10 The Indigenous Perspective and "The Defender of the Indians" Chapter 11 The Colonial Baroque Chapter 12 Independence and Neoclassicism Chapter 13 Neoclassicism - Forging the New Nations Chapter 14 Civilization and Barbarism Chapter 15 Romanticism Chapter 16 Costumbrismo Chapter 17 Positivism, Realism, Naturalism Chapter 18 Modernismo Chapter 19 The U.S. Emerges Chapter 20 The Mexican Revolution Chapter 21 Early 20th Century Nationalism, Ethnic Relationships, Role of Women Chapter 22 Guatemalan Reform/Revolution Chapter 23 The Cuban Revolution; Che Guevara Chapter 24 Central America: Conflict and Peace Chapter 25 Chronology Chapter 26 Index Chapter 27 About the author