Dear students, We would like to introduce you to a new course, History 289, Law, Crime, & Society in the Non-Western World, which can count toward the new legal history concentration, toward the concentration on regions of the world other than the US and Europe, or as the requirement for all majors in upper-level regions other than the US and Europe. This fall the course will focus on "Crime and Justice in Latin America," taught by Prof. Amy Chazkel. It meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:10 to 4:25 pm. This course will take students on an amazing journey through the last five hundred years of the history of justice, crime, and policing in Latin America. Professor Chazkel is a specialist in the history of crime in Latin America who has conducted decades of research and published books and articles on the subject. The class will take students all the way back to the colonial era and reach up to the present day. We will look at the whole region, from Mexico to Chile, from Puerto Rico to Brazil, from Honduras to Argentina, and read about both famous figures and everyday people who made history. Some of the most pressing issues of our day--violence, drugs, inequality, poverty-- have a fascinating past that will help understand how, for example, the massive-scale production and international traffic in cocaine came to be, how oppressed people like slaves and the poor have fought for their rights --and sometimes even won their rights, against all odds. There are no prerequisites for this course, and students at all levels, from all backgrounds, and in all concentrations are welcome. Students who have some special interest in Latin America will certainly find this course a useful way to deepen your knowledge of the region. And since there is no prior knowledge of Latin America required at all, students with no background whatsoever in Latin America will have the opportunity to be introduced to this fascinating region of the world even as they delve into some of the most critical issues of our time -- not only in Latin America but also across the globe. We strongly encourage all students to think about how law and crime in general are crucial to the understanding of history, as well as the pivotal role of Latin America in world affairs over centuries. Register now!