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How do debates about history affect politics and citizenship? In this class we will explore this question in modern Latin America, focusing on the 1970s to the present, as Latin America experienced a shift from authoritarian (usually military) rule to civilian democracy. The class has three main aims: to introduce students to key theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives on history, memory, and temporality; to allow students to analyze different types of knowledge about the past, their relationship to each other, and to processes of political change; to deepen students' understanding of modern Latin America. Topics include: state violence and human rights, truth commissions and transitional justice, indigenous histories and politics, film, neoliberalism, literature and testimonio. Some other questions we will consider: What kind of historical knowledge was possible under authoritarian rule? What truths are produced by truth commissions? Do debates about the past matter for democratic citizenship? What is the relationship between official history and popular culture? What role do professional historians play in democratization? Has democracy allowed for a more open, inclusive debate about the past, or has it fostered public amnesia? Some background in Latin American history is useful but not essential. The first half of the class focuses on the theme that has dominated scholarship so far: political violence, and official efforts to deal with its legacy. Later we broaden the perspective and look at how debates about the past have shaped social movements, culture, economic policy, migration.