SOC 207 Bootleggers, Smugglers, Traffickers, and Cartels: The History of Crime and Justice on the Border
This course will explore the long history of crime and justice on the U.S.-Mexico border. We will begin in 1848, when Mexico ceded more than half its territory to the United States after the Mexican-American War, and end in the present day, when politicians and law enforcement agents in both countries are fiercely debating how to achieve control and security at the border. We will read about and discuss the activities of a host of lawbreakers along the border: smugglers, bootleggers, coyotes, traffickers, and cartels, as well as spies and even a few Mexican Revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries. We will likewise analyze the responses of law enforcement - including undercover agents from both Mexico and the U.S., the Border Patrol, the FBI, the DEA, the Mexican Army, Homeland Security, and many others. Throughout the semester, we will also examine and explore the role of migration and the ways that it has complicated not only the battle for control of the border, but also politics and foreign relations between the United States and Mexico. By the end of the class, students will have a deep understanding of the complexities of the history and politics of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Cross Listed Courses
ANTH 208 &
HIST 288 &
SOC 207