Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Could the "War on Drugs" be getting closer to ending?

Here is the UK Guardian article suggesting just such a possibility.

Yerba Mate myths (article)

Christine Folch, "Stimulating Consumption: Yerba Mate Myths, Markets, and Meanings from Conquest to Present," Comparative Studies in Society and History 52/1 (January 2010).

Belgians drink less beer

Anheuser-Busch InBev plans to eliminate nearly 20% of its jobs in Belgium because of a decline in sales there.  Belgian consumption fell 20% from 2000 through 2008 and continued to fall in 2009.  Beer consumption has fallen in all major markets except for Latin America.  Supposedly alcohol consumption has shifted to wine and spirits. For more, see here.

Drug history syllabus: Cocaine, the Drug Trade, the War on Drugs, and U.S.-Latin American Relations

Prof. Myrna Santiago, Cocaine, the Drug Trade, the War on Drugs, and U.S.-Latin American Relations (syllabus)

St. Mary’s College of California                                                            Prof. Myrna Santiago

Fall 2009                                                                                                  311 Galileo x 4606

MWF 9:10 -10:10                                                                                    [email protected]

Office hours:  MWF:  10:30 to 11:30 and by appointment

 

History 154:

Cocaine, the Drug Trade, the War on Drugs, and U.S.-Latin American Relations

 

Description.  For the last thirty years, one of the dominant themes in the relations between Latin America and the United States has been the drug trade, specifically the trafficking in cocaine.  The policy of successive US administrations has been to wage a “war on drugs” to the exclusion of alternatives.  The question then becomes, what has such a war accomplished?  How has it affected relations between the United States and Latin America?  What effects has the war had on production, transportation, and consumption patterns?  This course will examine these questions by looking at the history of cocaine production from the late nineteenth century until today, tracing the changes the humble coca leaf underwent to become a powerful addictive substance.  We will follow the trajectory of cocaine production and transportation through the countries most affected over the course of the late nineteenth and the whole of the twentieth century—Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and now Mexico—paying attention to the impact such illicit trade has had on politics, economic development, and democracy.

 

Objectives.   The primary goal of this course is to have students develop an informed and sophisticated analysis of the impact the drug trade has had on U.S.-Latin American relations and within Latin American countries themselves, in addition to gaining knowledge about the history of cocaine and a developing a more critical view of media representations of drug matters in general.

 

As usual, students will continue to sharpen their writing skills and their critical reading and thinking.

 

Requirements.  Students are expected to be in class every day, prepared to answer questions in the Socratic tradition as part of their participation.  In addition, students will do mini presentations for “drugs in the news or the news on drugs?” every day, as a way to keep up with and be critical of media coverage of the topic (instructions attached).  There will also be a mandatory reception tied to the photographic exhibit prepared for this course that will be at the Library in November (see class schedule below).  Participation is 15% of the grade. 

 

There will be three writing assignments.  The first one entails creating a primary source, to be shared with the whole group online (instructions attached; 4-5 pages; 20% of the grade). The second written assignment asks students to do synthesis and analysis, putting together the readings from class, an additional scholarly article chosen from outside sources, at least one of the primary sources created by the class, and a film (instructions attached; 7-8 pages; 25% of the grade).  The final writing assignment will be a paper answering one of three questions in standard expository writing style, with an argument based on the evidence (see attached instructions; 5-6 pages; 25% of the grade).

 

In order to do the second paper, and to sharpen those critical thinking skills, students will have to watch at least one film of the several that will be shown outside of class hours.  The schedule of classes has included a number of films, but there may be more, depending on student interest.  Please note that the films will be open for the whole community, so bring your friends!

 

The final assignment will be a group presentation during our scheduled exam time.  Each group will answer the question, “what is to be done?” and give the answer in a PowerPoint presentation (see instructions attached; 15%), in addition to turning in an outline, a list of sources, and the thesis for the presentation.

 

Class Etiquette.  Education is a formal, serious, and professional undertaking.  Thus, class demeanor should be up to par:  no tardiness, no early departures, no food (drinks are fine), no cell phones, no pajamas, no checking e-mail or other personal internet sites.  If you are caught using your computer for non-class activities, your participation grade will be severely adversely affected.  Remember that agreement on ideas is by no means expected; but respect for each other’s opinions is required.

 

Note.  There is no extra credit.  Paper due dates are not flexible.  Make sure you are intimately familiar with what plagiarism is.  If you plagiarize, even unintentionally, you will not only fail the course (nor just the paper), but also face disciplinary action.  Check your student handbook for definitions and information about plagiarism at St. Mary’s.

 

Required Readings:

 

Paul Gootenberg, Andean Cocaine:  The Making of a Global Drug

Gabriel García Márquez, News of a Kidnapping

Roberto Escobar, The Accountant

Coletta A. Youngers and Eileen Rosin, Drugs and Democracy in Latin America

Jeffrey A. Miron, Drug War Crimes

Articles from e-reserve

 

Highly Recommended:

 

Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocker Guide to Writing in History, Fifth Edition (Boston:  Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007)

 

Schedule of Classes

 

Mon Aug 31                        Introduction

                                    www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04172009/watch.html

 

Wed Sept 2                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Coca and the first wave of cocaine, to 1890

                                    Discuss in class:  Gootenberg, Introduction, ch 1

                                    Learning objective:  understanding the historiography

 

Fri Sept 4                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Peruvian crude, 1885-1910

                                    Discuss:  Gootenberg, ch 2

                                    Leaning objective:  understanding what a commodity is

 

Mon Sept 7                        Thank the  labor movement and their (dying) unions for the day off!

 

Wed Sept 9                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Cocaine goes global, 1890s-1930s

                                    Gootenberg, ch 3

                                    Learning objective:  understanding what a commodity circuit is

 

Fri Sept 11                        The first wave of cocaine flattens, post 1910

                                    Gootenberg, ch 4

 

Mon Sept 14                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

First wave of anti-drug policies, 1910-1945

                                    Gootenbeg, ch 5

                                    Learning objective:  understanding the logic of prohibition

 

                                    Evening showing of “Cocaine Fiends” (1936)

 

 

Wed Sept 16                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

The first wave of narcotraficantes, 1945-1965

                                    Gootenberg, ch 6

                        Learning objective:  understanding the business of cocaine production

 

Fri Sept 18                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

The cocaine tsunami forming, 1970s

                                    Gootenberg, ch 7

                                    Learning objective:  understanding context and structure

 

 

Mon Sept 21                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Why Colombia?

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Francisco E. Thoumi, “Why the Illegal

            Psychoactive Drugs Industry Grew in Colombia,” Journal of Interamerican

Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 34, No. 3, Special Issue:  Drug Trafficking

Research Update (Autumn 1992) at http://www.jstor.org/stable/165924

Learning objective:  understanding the role of the state in cocaine economics

 

 

 

Wed Sept 23                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

The Colombian connection and the rise of Medellín

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Mary Roldán, “Cocaine and the ‘miracle’

            of modernity in Medellín” from Paul Gootenberg, ed., Cocaine:  Global Histories;             and, Bruce Bagley, “The Colombian Connection:  The Impact of Drug Traffic on

            Colombia,” from Deborah Pacini and Christine Franquemont, eds., Coca and

            Cocaine:  Effects on People and Policy in Latin America

            Learning objective:  understanding the effects of the cocaine trade in Colombia

 

 

 

Fri Sept 25                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Conservatism and Cocaine in the US

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Belén Boville, The Cocaine War in Context

            Drugs and Politics, ch. 5: “The Conservative Revolution”; and, Dominic

            Streatfeild, Cocaine:  An Unauthorized Biography, ch 10:  “George, Carlos, and

            the Cocaine Explosion

            Learning objective:  understanding the second war on drugs

 

                                    Evening showing of “Blow” (2001)

 

 

 

Mon Sept 28                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

The Central American Connection, Part I

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair,

            Whiteout, “Webb’s Big Story,” and “The CIA, Drugs, and Central America”

            Learning objective:  understanding the role of the US press and contra politics

 

 

 

 

Wed Sept 30                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

The Central American Connection, Part II

                                    Discuss from e-reserve: Mark B. Rosenberg, “The Politics of Drug

Trafficking in Honduras” Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs,

Vol. 30, No. 2/3, Special Issue:  Assessing the America’s War on Drugs (Summer-

Autumn, 1988) at http://www.jestor.org/stable/165984

            Learning objective:  understanding the links between cocaine and anti

            “communism”

                                     

                                    Evening showing of “Scar Face,” (1980)

 

 

Fri Oct 2                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Los Extraditables, November 1990

                                    Discuss:  García Márquez, chs 1-2

                                    Learning objective:  analyzing a primary source

 

Mon Oct 5                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Kidnappings

                                    Discuss:  García Márquez, chs 3-4

 

Wed Oct 7                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Kidnappers

                                    Discuss:  García Márquez, chs 5-6

            Learning objective:  understanding the effects of the drug war in Colombia

 

Fri Oct 9                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Kidnappings and kidnappers

                                    Discuss:  García Márquez, chs 7-8

                                   

                                    Evening showing of “Maria, Llena de Gracia”

 

 

Mon Oct 12                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

los Extraditables and the State

                                    Discuss:  García Márquez, chs 9-10

            Learning objective:  understanding the war on drugs in Colombia

 

 

Wed Oct 14                        Paper #1 due, hard copy and online           

                                    Who won?

                                    Discuss:  García Márquez, ch. 11

 

                                   

Fri Oct 16                        Money Laundering, the 1980s

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Anthony P. Maingot, “Laundering the

            Gains of the Drug Trade:  Miami and Caribbean Tax Havens,” Journal of

            Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 30, No. 2/3, Special Issue:

            Assessing the Americas’ War on Drugs (Summer-Autumn, 1988)

            Learning objective:  understanding the role of banking in the drug trade

 

 

Mon Oct 19                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Money Laundering, the 1990s

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Ivelaw L. Griffith, “The Money

            Laundering Dilemma in the Caribbean,” Cuaderno de Trabajo No 4,

            Instituto de Estudios del Caribe (September 1995)

            Learning objective:  understanding the effects of the drug wars on the

            international banking system

 

 

Wed Oct 20                        Guest Speaker:  José M. Martínez, Assistant Special Agent in

                                    Charge, Criminal Investigations, Internal Revenue Service

                                    speaking about money laundering cases

 

 

Fri Oct 23                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Becoming narcos

Discuss:  Russell Crandall,  Driven by Drugs:  US Policy Toward Colombia, pp. 25-39;  Escobar, chs 1-2

                                    Learning objective:  analyzing a primary source

 

 

Mon Oct 26                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Developing the business

                                    Discuss:  Escobar, chs 3-5

 

 

Wed Oct 28                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Class, politics, and war

                                    Discuss:  Escobar, chs 6-8

 

Fri Oct 30                        Paper #2 due

Who won?

                                    Discuss:  Escobar, ch 9-10

                                   

Mon Nov 2                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

The Mexican Context

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Peter Reuter and David Ronfeldt, “Quest

 for integrity:  The Mexican-US Drug Issue in the 1980s,” Journal of Interamerican

 Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 34, No. 3, Special Issue:  Drug Trafficking

Research Update (Autumn, 1992).

Learning objective:  understanding context

 

 

Wed Nov 4                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Mexico vs. Colombia

                                    Discuss from e-reserve: Vanda Felbab-Brown, “The Violent Drug

            Market in Mexico and Lessons from Colombia,” Foreign Policy at Brookings,

 Policy Paper Number 12 (March  2009), get the pdf version at,            www.brooking.edu/papers/2009/03_mexico_drug_market_felbabbrown.aspx

                        Learning objective:  understanding comparative cases

                                   

                                    Evening showing of “Traffic”

 

 

Fri Nov 6                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Media and Culture Roundtable

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Alma Guillermoprieto, “Days of the Dead:

                        The New Nacocultura,” The New Yorker (November 10, 2008); Phillip

 Smith, “Book Review:  Narcocorridos:  A Journey into the Music of Drugs

Guns and Guerrillas,” December 20, 2001, www.alternet.org/story/12125;

Gabriel Arana, “There’s No Drug Crime Wave at the Border, Just a Lot of

Media Hype,” The Nation, May 29, 2009, www.alternet.org/story/140350;

Silja J.A. Talvi, “Mexico’s Drug War Bloodbath:  Guns from the U.S. are

Destabilizing the Country,” March 18, 2009,

www.alternet.org/story/132120

                                    Learning objective:  being media critics

 

 

 

Mon Nov 9                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

War and its Impact

                                    Discuss:  Youngers and Rosin, ch 1

                                    Leaning objective:  understanding the results of foreign policy

 

Wed Nov 11                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Military Matters

                                    Discuss:  Youngers and Rosin, ch 2

Fri Nov 13                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Drugs and Democracy in Colombia

                                    Discuss:  Youngers and Rosin, ch 4

                                    Learning objective:  understanding the effects of war

 

Mon Nov 16                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Drugs and Democracy in Peru

                                    Discuss:  Youngers and Rosin, ch 6

                                    Learning objective:  understanding the effects of war

 

Wed Nov 18                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Drugs and Democracy in Mexico

                                    Discuss:  Youngers and Rosin, ch 8

                                    Learning objective:  understanding the effects of war

 

                        Evening Event:  Reception with Bob Gumpert, Library Photo Exhibit

 

 

Fri Nov 20                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Drugs and Democracy in the Caribbean

                                    Discuss:  Youngers and Rosin, ch 9

                                    Learning objective:  understanding the effects of war           

 

Mon Nov 23                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Solutions?

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Ted Galen Carpenter, “Troubled

            Neighbor:  Mexico’s Drug Violence Poses a Threat to the United States,” Policy

            Analysis (February 2, 2009), at www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa631.pdf;

Statement by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, “Drugs

and Democracy:  Toward a Paradigm Shift,” February 2009, from

http://drugsanddemocracy.org/files/2009/02/declaracao_ingles_site.pdf; Ethan A. Nadelmann, “Reducing the Harms of Drug Prohibition in the Americas,” La Jornada, November/December 2005.

 

                        Thanksgiving Break

 

 

Mon Nov 30                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

The Critique

                                    Discuss:  Miron, chs 2, 4, 5

                                    Learning objective:  analyzing an argument

 

 

Wed Dec 2                        Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

Alternatives?

                                    Discuss:  Miron, ch 6; from e-reserve: Mark Kleiman, “Drug

            Abuse Control Policy:  Libertarian, Authoritarian, Liberal, and Communi-

            tarian Perspectives,” The Responsive Community, Vol. 3, Issue 1 (Winter

            1992-1993), pp. 44-54 at http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/rcq/issues/3-1.pdf

                        Learning objective:  understanding ideological positions

 

 

Fri Dec 4                        Paper #3 due

                                    Discuss from e-reserve:  Ethan Madelmann, “Thinking Seriously

            About Alternatives to Drug Prohibition,” Part 1 and Part 2, Daedalus, Vol. 121,

            No. 3 (Summer 1992), at www.drugpolicy.org/library/thiking_seriously_p1.cfm

            and www.drugpolicy.org/library/thinking_seriously_p2.cfm; Drug Policy

            Alliance Network, “Reducing Harm Treatment and Beyond,” “Maintenance

            Therapies,” “Sterile Syringe Access (Needle Exchange),” “Overdose,” “Safe

            Injection Rooms,” and “Treatment vs. Incarceration.”

 

 

Wed Dec 9  9 – 11 am           Presentations

           

History 154:  Writing Assignments

 

Paper #1:  Creating a Primary Source

 

This paper will be a drug story, in a contemporary, good journalistic style of writing that will catch the reader’s attention.  It will be 4-5 pages, double-spaced, 1-inch margins (20% of the grade).  For this paper, you will interview a person, who will remain anonymous, and answer the question:  how have drugs affected this person’s life? 

 

The objective of this paper is to understand how an individual has been touched by the structural issues discussed in class, showing the personal side of the more theoretical and academic matters analyzed in class.

 

You will turn in a hard copy of the paper to the professor and upload it to the class site for everyone else to read.  Instructions on how to upload your paper will be given in class.

 

Paper #2:  Synthesis and Analysis

 

This paper will be an analysis and synthesis of the different kinds of texts used in class, focused on a topic of your choice.   This will be 7-8 pages, plus footnotes on page 9, and a bibliography on page 10, double-spaced, 1-inch margins (25% of the grade).  In this paper you will include as your sources the readings done for class, one of the films you watched, one of the primary sources (stories) your classmates have produced and uploaded, and one scholarly source from a reputable academic journal not read in class.  A good search engine for this purpose is JSTOR, but there are others. 

 

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that you can do analysis and synthesis, that is, gathering a broad variety of materials and making sense of them in a cohesive and convincing argument. 

 

The paper follows a standard expository writing style:  a thesis based on the evidence.  Please highlight your thesis statement for this paper.  For this paper the notations will be footnotes (“end notes” in computer jargon) at the end of the document.  The rubric for grading papers is attached.

 

Paper #3:  Argumentation

 

The last writing assignment will be 5-6 pages, with footnotes at the bottom of the page, and a bibliography on page 7, double-spaced, 1-inch margins (25% of the grade).  In this paper you will answer one of the following questions:

 

1)    What did the drug trade do to diplomatic relations between the United States and Latin America over the course of the 20^th century?

2)    What was the effect of the policy of “war” on drugs in Latin American societies in the twentieth century?

3)    How did the drug trade affect the development of democracy in the Latin American countries through the twentieth century?

 

The style for this paper is a standard argument, with a clear thesis based on the evidence.  Please highlight your thesis in this paper. 

 

Group presentations on policy proposals

 

For this assignment, your group will answer the question, “what is to be done?” 

You may select any angle to answer that question, keeping in mind that you want to be convincing.  You may choose to target a specific constituency (the local school board to implement your plan for effective drug education, for example; or the President of Mexico, Colombia, or the United States; or the Governor of California).   Discuss your topic with the professor ahead of time for suggestions and direction.

 

Your group will develop a PowerPoint presentation (CaTs will teach you how to do one if you don’t already know) for the whole class.  The PowerPoint will contain no text, only images.  The text your group produces will be turned in to the professor and must contain the following (at least):  the names of the presentation group, the outline or text used for the presentation, and the sources consulted and used for the presentation. 

 

The size of the groups and the number of minutes allotted to each presentation will be determined according to the final class size, sometime around week three of classes.  This presentation will count for 20% of your grade.

 

The presentations will take place on the day scheduled for our final exam, with prizes and cheers to the most convincing group!

 

 

 

Participation Assignment:  Drugs in the News or the News on Drugs?

 

Choose an item in the press in the days prior to your scheduled presentation date.   You may use a mainstream source (a major newspaper or television source) or a more obscure source.  Bring a copy of your article or the URL for the video clip to class and prepare a one-page paper (single space) that includes the following, in separate paragraphs:

 

 

1. a summary of the article (what are the main points?)
2. your analysis of the tone of the article (whose side is it on? How does it talk about the issue and/or people? )
3. your analysis of what is missing from the article (is its focus too narrow? who or what is being ignored?)
4. your evaluation about the sources the writer used, the reliability of the sources the writer used, and your explanation of why you concluded that the article was reliable or not, and what criteria you used to judge its reliability.

 

Present the article to the class, covering briefly all the points above.  Be prepared to answer questions about your article.

 

The objectives of this exercise is to sharpen your skills in close readings, to practice identifying and summarizing the important points in a text, to pay close attention to sources for media pieces, to think of what is left out of a media story, and to become a media critic.

 

The questions I ask in this exercise are:  do you know how to write a summary? Did you read the article closely to identify the main points?  Did you think about what you read?  How do you judge what is reliable or not?

 

 

 

 

           

                                   

                       

 

Andean drug control & the expansion of US capitalism (article)

Suzanna Reiss, "Policing Development: Andean Drug Control & the Expansion of US Capitalism, Social History of Alcohol and Drugs 23/2 (Spring, 2009): 128-150.

Latin American theme for Social History of Alcohol and Drugs (Spring 2009)

The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs 23/2 (Spring 2009) focuses on Latin America with articles on Brazil, the Andean countries, and Mexico.  The book reviews cover many parts of the world. Details later.

CFP: history of alcohol in Latin America

Collection on the history of alcohol in Latin America, edited by Aurea Toxqui and Gretchen Pierce.

We are soliciting proposals from both senior and junior scholars for an edited collection on the history of alcohol in Latin America from the pre-Hispanic to the modern era.  We are looking for submissions that relate alcohol production, consumption, distribution, or control to (among other topics) politics, religion, race, class, gender, identity, space and place, and power. The proposal should be 1-2 pages (300-700 words), and should include a list of keywords.  They may be written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.  Please send the proposal and a short cv to [email protected] and [email protected] by September 1, 2009.  Successful applicants will be notified by October 15; papers, which ought to be 20 pages, plus notes, would be due on July 1, 2010.

-- 
Gretchen Pierce, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Latin American and World History
Shippensburg University

Rum, beer, and chocolate in Latin America (book review)

José Angel Rodríguez, review essay of three books in Jahrbuch für Geschichte Lateinamerikas43 (2006): 343-349.

on rum: Carlos Viso, La Epopeya del Ron de Carúpano: 200 Años en la Historia de Paria (2004). Venezuela.

on beer: Edgar Helmut Kölb, Die Brahma-Brauerei und die Modernisierung des Getränkehandels in Rio de Janeiro 1888 bis 1930 (2005)

on chocolate: Carlos F. Duarte, El Arte de Tomar el Chocolate: Historia del Coco Chocolatero en Venezuela (2005)

Special issue on alcohol and drugs in the history of Latin America

The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs: An Interdisciplinary Journal, is planning a special issue on alcohol and drugs in the history of Latin America. We encourage paper submissions in any aspect of this broad theme. Deadline for submissions will be July 31, 2007.

Dan Malleck, PhD
Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Editor-in-chief, Social History of Alcohol and Drugs: An Interdisciplinary Journal
[email protected]
http://historyofalcoholanddrugs.typepad.com

Latin American drug dealers prefer euro instead of the dollar

Latin American drug dealers now prefer the euro over the dollar. For more, see here. The same International Herald Tribune article says that drugs now often enter Europe from West Africa (Latin American cocaine, Asian heroin, Chinese chemicals).