I picked the page “Argentina-United States relations” on Wikipedia. This page describes the relationship between the United States and Argentina over time. This is related to our course theme of Latin American history and Latin American-U.S. relations. The lack of enough information and outdated statistics make this page look biased toward the U.S. While this page provides information on a variety of aspects like trade and embassy functions, it does not include too much information related to the U.S.-Argentina relations before Argentina’s independence. Also, it is clear that many statistics listed in the trade and public opinion sections have not been updated since 2011 and 2012. Beyond that, the lemon dispute as one of the most important bilateral issues between the U.S. and Argentina is not fully summarized on the page and is outdated since 2012. Even the page specifically for the lemon dispute is outdated as well. 

The information is pretty U.S.-centric as it excludes most of the Spanish-written sources. I might suggest the editors add in more Spanish historical sources before the independence of Argentina to give the readers a better sense of the historical relationship between the U.S. and Argentina. Also, it would be great if the page can be updated with more recent issues and the resolution to past issues such as the lemon dispute. It is misleading that only the photos are updated but not the text. Making these changes would make the page more reliable and comprehensive.

The question that I wish to research is the involvement the United States plays in the drug war. Furthermore, how has the United States approached the drug war and what have they done to combat it from the demand side of the problem. The war on drugs has long been a source of tension for US-Mexican relations.This issue has often been portrayed as the problem being with Mexico and its people for bringing drugs to the United States, but the media does not talk about the things the United States can do to prevent the problem itself. I believe this question is important to understand Latin American history and their impact on the United States because it is often one of the main reasons why Mexicans or LAtinos in general are discriminated against and why this discrimination is justified.

For my research I will be analyzing the Church Committee and its dealings with the CIA. I want to look at the investigations that took place and examine the findings in relation to the influences the Cold War had on the sudden excess of intelligence expenditures. This research will provide specific insight into the United States’ relationship with Cuba during this time, which in turn helps to interpret current relations, and possibly even improve them. Personally, I hope to gain a better understanding of political interactions between the United States and Latin American countries, and I think the Church Committee hearings and results will give quite an interesting lens through which to view these interactions.

For my research topic I want to examine the economical significance of the growth of soccer in Latin American countries, specifically Brazil. I want examine how soccer came to be so culturally significant and almost synonymous with Latin American culture. However, my main focus will be on the economic significance that soccer has had on the growth of these countries through history. By doing this I hope to explore a subject that is near to my hearts, sports and combine it with Latin American history in order to provide both an exciting and insightful research project.

For my research paper, I want to explore the systems instilled and upheld in which come together to form what we perceive as modern-day American society, regarding the Critical Race Theory. To narrow this down, of course, this’ll view the development of these structures within colonial Latin America, specifically digging into how the economy can be seen as a contributor to the development of modern -race as well as racial discrepancies. The (CRT) Critical Race Theory examines the inner workings of societies and cultures to identify what exactly gives yields to imbalances of power, law and racial equality. I want to use this to map out the development of white supremacy as not just a power structure born of malice, but also as a tool to limit and place havoc upon the peoples native to colonial lands.

For my research project, I want to cover something related to Latin American culture, possibly solely Nicaraguan culture. Culture has always been something that has fascinated me, and I think one really gets to know another by experiencing and learning about their culture. I think it is important to learn Latin American history because one can then see how a culture is born. Time shapes a culture into what we know it as today, and it is important to learn how those changes came about. For example, in American Empire at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, there was a story concerning missionary work and how that leads to cultural imperialism. That is another possible topic- cultural homogenization in today’s world due to globalization and Americanization.

I would like to investigate the political relationship between Cuba and the United States. This topic is useful for understanding Latin American history because it is a significant example of U.S. intervention in Latin America. Just like other Latin American countries like Venezuela and Mexico, U.S.-Cuban relations have been intertwined for a long time. From the U.S. “helping” Cuba to gain its independence from Spain to the U.S.economic embargo against Cuba, these were all important moments that have affected how other Latin American countries view U.S. interventionism. While the U.S. has intervened in most Latin American countries’ politics historically, Cuba has remained its resistance against U.S. intervention and democracy. Being the only communist country in Latin America has further made Cuba a powerful ideological symbol for many Latin Americans. Cuba’s distinct revolutionary leaders like Castro and Guevara have also contributed to a big part of Latinx history, and have inspired many activists in Latin America as well as the world. Thus, understanding the U.S.-Cuban political relationship would allow us to gain an insight into the historical development of U.S.-Latin American relations.