In the current age of globalism, the idea of the United States staking claim to the Western Hemisphere seems a historical artifact, but even 35 years ago, the federal government was raising alarms about Moscow-directed foreign subversives threatening our southern border. For a good part of American history, the U.S. tried to exert an exclusive claim to this region. This course focuses on how the U.S. has implemented President James Monroe’s Doctrine. This fundamental premise of American foreign policy, issued in 1823, warned European nations that the U.S. would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs in the Western Hemisphere.  The Monroe Doctrine has been cited as the key justification for our intervention in Caribbean and Central American politics for more than 150 years. This course is envisioned as a history of U.S. sub rosa adventures where, in the name of protecting American democracy and pro-U.S. regimes, we often ended up making alliances with military juntas that were the antithesis of the values we celebrated.

Registration deadline: Oct. 21