Hello, my name is Jason Suárez, and I am excited to be your instructor this semester in History 133 Online: The History of Latin America. This is an 16-week fully online course. There are no textbooks or materials that need to be purchased for this course. All of your required readings will be included in the Canvas course modules.

Your success is extremely important to me. I’ve worked hard to design a course that is interesting, well-structured, and insightful, and I hope you’ll find it both enjoyable and rewarding. To make things easier, you don’t need to purchase any texts for this course—everything you need is available through Canvas, El Camino College’s course management system.

I’m passionate about helping students engage with the stories of the past and develop the tools to think critically about history. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or need support. I look forward to exploring these fascinating topics with you this semester and hearing your perspectives along the way. Let’s get started!

BEFORE WE BEGIN SOMETHING ABOUT ME

• I was born in Wichita Falls, Texas. I have lived in many places and countries since my father was in the U.S. Air Force.
• I attended Santa Barbara City College and transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) where I majored in history. I also completed by graduate work at UCSB.
• My first teaching appointment was at Seattle Central College (1998-2001). I was hired by El Camino College in 2001. I am currently tenured at El Camino College and also serve as the Faculty Coordinator of Student Equity.
• I have been married since 1995 and my wife is a tenured Counselor/Articulation officer at Santa Barbara City College.
• I live in Carpinteria, California. Yes, I have been commuting back and forth to LA (El Camino College) since 2001. 100 miles to work and 100 miles home. Covid-19 temporarily put a stop to my commute, but I am back on the road again.
• Five months out of the year I live in Spain where my wife and I have second residence.
• And yes, as you can tell from the picture above, my passion outside of the classroom is cycling.

HARDWARE/SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Let’s review some of this course’s hardware and software requirements. Students must have at a minimum the following:

• A computer (PC with Windows and a Pentium processor or a Macintosh with at least system 9.0 recommended).
• A recent version of a web browser such as Microsoft Explorer, Opera, Firefox, or Chrome.
• An Internet Service Provider.
• An ECC email address provided by the college.
• PDF reader software.
• Access to a word processor that can convert text files to a PDF format.

As for the technical aspects of Canvas, I’ll be upfront: I’m not a computer or Canvas technician, so I may not be able to assist you with technical issues. However, I want to make sure you’re fully supported if you encounter any challenges. For help with Canvas, please contact the Online Education Office: https://www.sbcc.edu/distanceeducation/

COMMUNICATION

There are three ways you can contact me this semester should you have any questions about the course.

• First, you contact me via email (jrsuarez@pipeline.sbcc.edu) or Canvas. Your communication is extremely important to me so I will do my best to reply within 24 hours. To ensure that I see your message among my emails, please use the class name and number HIST 133 Online in your subject line. Be sure to use your ECC email account when contacting me. I cannot address official course details with you if you use a personal email account.
• Second, you can visit me during my Zoom virtual office hours. My office hours are posted on the course home page in Canvas.
• Third, you can schedule an appointment via email for a virtual office meeting.

For those enrolled in this course outside of the state of California please be aware of time zone differences.

PROCRASTINATION

Why do we procrastinate? What doe studies suggest are the causes of procrastination? How can we address our procrastination? Procrastination is one of the biggest obstacles in college courses, and it’s something I struggled with during my own time as a college student. I know how easy it is to put things off, but I also know how much better it feels to stay ahead of deadlines. Here is the bottom line on procrastination. It often masks deeper issues like fear of failure, perfectionism, lack of clarity, or low energy. The first step to overcoming it is understanding why you’re procrastinating in the first place. Ask yourself reflective questions such as, “What am I avoiding?” or “What’s making this task uncomfortable?” Once you’ve identified the root cause, break down big, vague goals into manageable pieces. For example, instead of telling yourself to “write the report,” break it into smaller, actionable steps like outlining sections, finding three key sources, and writing the introductory paragraph.

Another effective method is using the “5-minute rule.” Tell yourself, “I’ll just do this for five minutes.” This psychological trick often lowers resistance and gets you started, which usually leads to doing more than you initially intended. Combine this with time management techniques like the Pomodoro Technique—25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break, with a longer break after four cycles. Tools like Pomofocus or even a simple timer can help you stay on track.

Eliminating distractions is also essential. Create an environment that supports focus by turning off phone notifications and keeping your workspace clean and ready to go. In addition, try setting “if-then” plans to incorporate rewards after task completion. For instance, “If I finish this slide, then I’ll get a coffee.” Rewards work best when they follow the effort, not precede it.

It’s also important to recognize that perfectionism is often just procrastination in disguise. Instead of aiming for perfection, aim for progress—done is better than perfect. Accountability can also make a huge difference. Share your goals with someone or use co-working apps like Focusmate, or even join an accountability or study group.

Finally, don’t forget to reflect on your wins. Keep track of what you’ve completed—no matter how small. This practice builds motivation and helps you break the “I’m never getting anything done” mindset, reinforcing positive momentum.

DISCUSSION BOARD POSTS

Discussion boards are meant to allow you to engage in historical problem solving with your colleagues. A quality discussion board post requires that you dedicate thoughtful analysis and detailed academic expression. In a college-level history course, we can expect to do no less. You can always email me to ask for more details about discussion board assignments or if you wish to discuss your analysis before posting. I am here to help you. Be sure to post your analysis well before the deadline. If you post at the last minute, you will not produce a thoughtful and enlightening analysis. Also, you will impact your colleague’s opportunity to post a response. In the end, it will keep you from making the most of your online experience and that of your colleagues.

Your discussion board posts will always be due on Thursdays. Your response to a colleague’s post will be due two days later on Saturday. Before hitting “submit” read over your post. Make sure you’re not going off subject and look for any spelling or grammatical errors. If you disagree with someone’s post, show that you appreciate their opinion, even if it’s different from your own. For example:

• I definitely see your point, however . . .
• Perhaps we might consider . . .
• Another approach or angle to this might be . . .

Below are examples of an acceptable discussion board post and response to a post by students from the History of Mexico. My expectations are that you will submit well written and insightful posts that are drawing evidence from the course’s content as well as your thoughtful insights.

Discussion Board Post Example:

The second coming of liberalism tried to move Mexico toward modernization through the use of foreign capital, the establishment of a communication network (railroads and telegraphs), commercialized agriculture and the expansion of the export economy. Again, this was at the expense of the peasants / Native Americans. Mexico became an authoritarian government with cientificos, who were often elitist and racist, advising Porfirio Diaz. Diaz usurped traditional village autonomy, influenced congressional and judiciary candidates, posted rurales (rural police corp.) to control peasants. He also brought the Church back in as a powerful ally. When agriculture became commercialized, public lands used by peasants were sold at auction, with over 45 million hectares now in private hands. Campesinos and village farmers were displaced and did not reap any benefits under Diaz. After the demand for exports declined in the early 1900s, it was the campesinos that felt the effects – the devaluated peso meant a rise in food prices. The combination of high food prices, low salaries, and layoffs led to tensions in the workplace and eventually to labor organizations and unions. With all the foreign capital invested in Mexico, Mexico was largely an economic colony of the U.S. by the 1900s so their involvement in the Cananea Strikes was yet another example of the country keeping campesinos/peasants in their place at the bottom rung of society.

Discussion Board Response Example:

Great job ______ in pointing out how Vitoria believed that Christianity must be embraced and not forced and that them not believing is a better alternative than feigning belief. I’d like to add that Sepulveda also used religion in his argument, just more as a passing thought when he mentions the following statement from the Book of Proverbs: “He who is stupid will serve the wise man.” He also brought up how Evangelical law was more gentle than Mosaic law which to me was once again trying to show superiority but this time it was Christianity over Judaism. Also, I don’t think he necessarily meant that masters had to be physically weak because a person could be both physically and mentally strong, I think he just meant that intellectual strength was more important.

SCHOLARLY ARTICLES

When I transferred to the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), one of the first things I noticed in my upper-division history courses was the requirement to read articles from scholarly journals. As a transfer student, I was new to the academic culture of research institutions like UCSB and found myself unsure of how to approach these types of readings. I didn’t have a clear methodology, which made the process overwhelming at first.

Scholarly journals, also called peer-reviewed journals, are an essential part of academic research. They house the latest findings and debates across disciplines such as history, mathematics, music, sociology, and psychology. Understanding how to engage with these articles is crucial because they represent the foundation of academic knowledge in each field.

When reading a scholarly article, I don’t expect you to master every technical term or detail. Instead, focus on the following key aspects:

1. What is the author’s main question or problem?
2. What sources does the author use to address the question or problem?
3. What conclusions does the author reach?
4. How is the article relevant to the topic we are studying?

Not everything in the article will be relevant, and that’s okay! The goal is to extract the most important information and connect it to the themes and topics of this course.

To help you organize your thoughts, I will provide you with article analysis forms. These forms are a tool to help you summarize the key points of each article and reflect on how the content fits into your assignments. While I won’t collect these forms, I strongly encourage you to use them, as they will make it much easier to integrate the article’s ideas into the essays you’ll be writing. Personally, I relied on tools like this throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies to manage the information I was responsible for, and I found them invaluable.

Remember, learning to engage with scholarly articles is a skill that will serve you well beyond this course. It may seem challenging at first, but with practice, it will become second nature. I’m here to support you, so don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions or need guidance. You’ve got this!

PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS

Throughout this semester, you will have the opportunity to practice one of the most fundamental skills of the historian’s craft: analyzing primary sources. A primary source is a piece of historical evidence—created during the period you are studying—that has survived to the present. These sources can include documents, letters, photographs, artifacts, newspapers, and more. Historians use primary sources to construct narratives about the past, but this process requires a specific methodology to interpret these materials effectively.

When you analyze a primary source, your goal is to go beyond simply understanding what it says. Instead, you’ll evaluate the source critically, asking questions that help uncover the context, purpose, and perspective behind it. To guide your analysis, strive to identify the following:

• Source Type: the type of primary source: artifact, document, image you are analyzing.
• Source Date: when the primary source you are analyzing was created/written. 
• Content: the details the primary source you are analyzing records.
• Context: identifying why the primary source you are analyzing was created/written.
• Data Analysis: your discussion of content and context of the primary source after you have analyzed it.
• Discussion: the implications your analysis of the content and context of the primary source has identified for the study of history.

To help you organize your thoughts and prepare you to discuss this text, I provide you with primary analysis forms. This form can be filled out and printed and filed in your course records. Be sure to save your form regularly to avoid losing information. You are not required to submit this form to me. It is a tool to help you master the primary sources. 

THE PAST OR A HISTORICAL NARRATIVE?

When I was first hired by El Camino College in 2001, a student stopped by my office and asked me a question I’ll never forget: “Do you teach the real history of the past, or do you teach that other stuff?” This question struck me as important—and complicated. It’s something I’ve carried with me ever since. As we begin our work together this semester, I want to make it clear that the historical narrative we are studying is interpretive. I cannot verify for you with certainty that the narrative we’re exploring represents the past exactly as it was. Instead, we will approach history as a field of inquiry—one that involves constructing interpretations based on evidence. We’ll examine this concept—narrative versus the past—in more depth during your first topic. For now, it’s important to recognize that history is not simply a list of facts but rather a process of interpretation.

Equally important to share with you is that this course, like any other, has a certain bias. What do I mean by this? As the instructor, I made decisions about what we’ll read, what topics we’ll study, and how I’ve designed your assessments. While this means that the course reflects my choices, it also gives you a foundation from which to develop your own perspectives and decide what historical truth means to you.

Think of this course not as a destination, but as the start of a journey. The knowledge and skills you gain here will help you critically evaluate history and continue to grow in your understanding long after the semester ends. Each of you will take this journey in your own direction, and I look forward to being part of the first steps in your exploration.

A STORY

I would like to end this introduction to History 133 with a fascinating story shared by James Burke in his work The Day the Universe Changed. Burke recounts an interaction the philosopher Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (1889–1951) had. Someone once approached Wittgenstein and remarked, “How stupid medieval Europeans living before the time of Copernicus must have been to look at the sky and think that the sun was circling the Earth. Surely, even a bit of astronomical good sense would have told them the reverse was true.”

To this statement, Wittgenstein replied, “I agree, but I wonder what it would have looked like if the Sun had been going round the Earth.”

The point Wittgenstein was trying to make is that if the Sun were, in fact, circling the Earth, it would look exactly the same as what we see every day when it rises and sets. Let me explain with a simple experiment you can try yourself.

Tomorrow morning, just before the Sun rises, go outside and mark an “X” on the ground. Stand on the mark and face east. As the Sun begins to rise, point at it with your right-hand index finger and follow its movement across the sky throughout the day. Notice what happens: does your arm move as it traces the Sun’s path? Have you moved, or does it feel as though the Sun is moving around you? For most of human history, this everyday observation led people to conclude that the Sun revolved around the Earth. After all, it looks that way, doesn’t it?

From this story, James Burke concludes, “When we observe nature, we see what we want to see, according to what we believe we know about it at the time.” This statement captures a central idea about how perspective and context shape our understanding of the world.

In the Middle Ages, Europe’s inhabitants had a geocentric view of the cosmos (Earth-centered), based on their observations and the knowledge available at the time. It wasn’t stupidity—it was a worldview grounded in their understanding of nature and the universe. Today, with the advantage of centuries of scientific discovery, we know that although it appears as though the Sun revolves around the Earth, it is actually the Earth that revolves around the Sun. This is what we call a heliocentric (Sun-centered) solar system.

What can we learn from this story? This story invites us to think deeply about the nature of perspective and context. For medieval Europeans, the belief that the Sun circled the Earth wasn’t stupidity—it was a reflection of the knowledge and worldview available to them at the time. In many ways, history works the same way. It requires us to examine past peoples, events, and ideas not from our own perspective, but within the context of their time. History asks us to set aside modern assumptions and strive to understand how and why people interpreted their world the way they did.

As we embark on this course, I encourage you to think critically and approach the past with curiosity. Like Wittgenstein’s remark, history challenges us to reconsider what we think we know and explore the complex relationship between knowledge, perspective, and the human experience. This journey will not only deepen your understanding of the past but also help you develop the tools to critically evaluate the present and shape your own narrative of the world.

IN CLOSING

Before we embark on our journey of uncovering Latin America’s past, we need to first establish a foundation in historical thinking. In our first topic, Decoding the Discipline, we’ll examine some key concepts that will help you succeed in this course and better understand how history is constructed, interpreted, and applied.

Again, welcome to History 133. I’m excited to work with you this semester, and I encourage you to reach out with any questions or concerns about the course.