CLHUMHI001 - Mexican Cultural and Political History: The Evolution of Modern Mexico
This lecture series considers key topics in the evolution of modern Mexico. The course spans five centuries, beginning with the indigenous societies conquered by the European invasion and the culture that emerged under 300 years of Spanish colonial rule. It reviews Mexico’s complex independence movement, the struggles of Mexican liberalism, and the accomplishments and failures of nearly three decades of autocratic rule under Porfirio Díaz. We also examine the Mexican Revolution, its causes, its ideologies and its aftermath. The class looks at the 71 years during which Mexico was ruled by the PRI, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, characterized by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa as “the perfect dictatorship.” The last two sessions discuss neoliberalism and its discontents followed by a survey of challenges facing contemporary Mexico. A recurrent theme throughout the series is the country’s complex relationship with the United States.
Course Details
Nicolas Shumway, Ph.D., is Frances Moody Newman Professor Emeritus of Spanish at Rice University. Before retiring, he served as dean of humanities from 2010 to 2018. Previously, he taught at Yale University, where he chaired the Latin American Studies program for three years and directed the Yale Spanish language program for eight years. Later in his career, Dr. Shumway served as director of The University of Texas at Austin (UT) Teresa Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies for 11 years and chair of the UT Department of Spanish and Portuguese for three years. Dr. Shumway has published and lectured widely on Latin American literature and intellectual history throughout the Americas and in Europe. His book “The Invention of Argentina” was chosen as “a notable book of the year” by The New York Times. Dr. Shumway holds a doctoral degree in Romance languages from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Online: Synchronous
This course will be delivered in a synchronous format online. Registered participants will receive login instructions to the course page, which will provide access to the virtual classroom link and other resources.
- Indigenous Mexico and Spanish colonization
- Mexican independence, liberal aspirations and the rule of Porfirio Díaz
- The Mexican Revolution
- Mexico under the PRI (the Institutional Revolutionary Party)
- The rise and fall of neoliberalism
- Challenges facing contemporary Mexico
Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures, Rice University