Dr. Michael LaRosa, associate professor of history, has published a new textbook titled The Third Century (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers) with historian Mark Gilderhus and Rhodes alumnus David LaFevor ’03. Tim Garton ’14, who is a graduate student at New York University studying American literature, served as editor and researcher.
Gilderhus wrote the book’s original edition but after his death in 2015, LaRosa and the Rhodes alumni took over the project to complete this second edition.
The text focuses on U.S. relations with Latin America from the advent of the New Diplomacy late in the 19th century to the present. It presents both the United States’ view that the Western Hemisphere needed to unite under a common democratic, capitalistic society and the Latin American countries’ response to U.S. attempts to impose these goals on its southern neighbors. The authors examine the reciprocal interactions between the two regions, each with distinctive purposes, outlooks, interests, and cultures. They also place U.S.–Latin American relations within the larger global political and economic context.
LaRosa, who is on sabbatical this academic year, focuses his research on the social, political, and religious history of Latin America, specifically Colombia. Most of his work has been conducted in collaboration with historians in Latin America and social scientists in the U.S.
LaFevor is an assistant professor of history and digital humanities at the University of Texas at Arlington and an expert on Cuba. The Third Century includes photos shot by him to “help students visualize the region, the people of Latin America, and the indescribable beauty of the culture and landscape/cityscape.” LaFevor graduated from Rhodes with degrees in international studies and Latin American studies.