Topics course. This seminar shows how gender shaped the political and social history of 19th and 20th century Latin America. Focusing on the recent historiography on gender in Latin America, we will explore some of the themes at the center of this still-emerging body of scholarship, such as the role of honor and sexual morality in shaping post-independence Latin American societies, the efforts of states to regulate the family, and the role of gender in the organization of the modern labor force. Other topics include: changing conceptions of homosexualities in the twentieth century; gender and imperialism and anti-imperialism; and eugenics-inflected efforts to control reproduction. Throughout the semester, we will discuss the intersections of race, gender and class that are at the heart of changing understandings of sexual morality and ideals of modern family organization.