Two short essays, each of 750 to 1000 words.  Grades will be based on the strength of the argument and the amount of effective textual evidence in the form of direct quotations and specific examples from course readings that are presented in support of the argument.  No outside sources are permitted.  Essays should include a Works Cited page and parenthetical citations following each quote, including the authors last name and the page number, i.e. (Mench, 126).

Write two short essays.  Students should answer both questions, each in its own separate essay of 750-1000 words.  Therefore, the total word count should be a minimum of 1500 words (excluding the essay questions and your headings).

1.  Discuss the role of economic transformations, such as the development of capitalist economic structures, transnational trade networks, and socioeconomic class divisions, on the societies of the Americas from the colonial period through the 20th century.

You must include quotations from at least 3 READINGS (1. Latin America by Jonathan Brown, Ramon Gutirrez and Toms Almaguer, 2. The New Latino Studies Reader: A Twenty-First-Century Perspective, 3. Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution by Gil Joseph and Jrgen Buchenau), and cover material in at least TWO different centuries!!

Consider a range of regions, issues, and time periods, such as the impact of racial capitalism, the history of extractive enterprises like cash crops and mining, land conflicts/structures/policies, the impact of economic issues on the mobilization of political resistance and revolutions, and foreign investment in the economies of Latin America.

2.  How does Rigoberta Mench envision her role in her society, as she describes it in I Rigoberta: An Indian Woman in Guatemala?  Consider the ways that she describes her society in different stages and settings of her life, from childhood, in different work settings, as an organizer, in response to persecution, as well as her overall worldview.

Mench only from chapters 1-2, 4, 6-7, 14-17, 19-21, 25, 27, 33-34.
Use Powerpoint attached titled AMST 135 lecture Week 5 Guatemala.pptx and AMST 135 Genocide in Guatemala Week 6.pptx for guidance in answering this question.

P.S.

I have attached all the readings pdf needed. EXCEPT for I Rigoberta: An Indian Woman in Guatemala by Rigoberta Mench. I have also attached powerpoint slides hopefully that will help in writing the essays.

Latin America 1 and 2.pdf and j.ctv1xxz2h.11.pdf would be useful to cover the themes: Legacies for empire, Conquest, Racialized Labor and Colonial Systems of Extraction, and Racial Capitalism

Latin America 3.pdf would be useful for the theme: 19th-Century Independence and Nationalism

Chapter 2 Mexico and Chapter 8 Mexico.pdf would be for: 20th Century Revolutions in Latin America

j.ctv1xxz2h.16.pdf would be for: Racial Regimes and Colorism

Each of these themes, I have also attached powerpoint slides if you need more information or guidance!