The idea of "Latin America" emerges from the intersection of local, global and transnational histories marked by the flows and interactions between states and peoples. From this perspective, this course stresses the importance of “transnational contact zones” for the study of critical issues in the history and present of US - Latin America relations.The course relies on primary and secondary sources, including various forms of cultural production (film, caricature, music and iconography) to introduce a notion of "empire" that takes into account moments of consent, coercion, conflict and resistance in these shared histories. The course thus provides a historical perspective on the present by examining the trajectory of hemispheric relations in a global context, including the southward expansion of the American Frontier, the cycle of interventions in Central America and the Caribbean, the Cuban Revolution and U.S. support for dictatorial regimes, and the development of crucial spheres of interaction and integration such as the economy, culture and migration. *A People, Places & Encounters (PPE) Cluster course.*