Looking back to the start of the term I had no idea what I would be exactly learning in the course because I was unfamiliar with all the texts and haven’t done any courses that analyzed texts since my first year. Now that the term is over I can happily say that I know a little more about indigenous cultures in Latin America and how to analyze texts in a different perspective. It was interesting to learn more about the backstory of the book I, Rigoberta Menchu and Our world is our Weapon, and I am also happy we got to read Falling sky as our last book of the term.

I think the main take aways from this course I got was:

1. Understanding the voice of the writer and understanding their thinking process causes much controversy. Critically analyzing Guoma Poma’s letter to the king really lead to a lot of  “why” questions. Why did he write this, why did he draw this, and why did he want to write to the king…etc. In Falling Sky, the provided context about the author bluntly admitting that his own voice may intertwined with Davi’s in the text also shows that interpretation and presentation in the text is never accurate. I honestly respect that he included this in the book because most translational authors would not like to admit that their own voice was incorporated into the text, fearing this would taint their writing quality.
2. Corn and connection with nature and gods are important to the indigenous in Latin America. It is not only a part of their culture but history and way of life. I really liked reading about the history about corn in the Population Vuh and learning more of its importance in I, Rigoberta Menchu.
3. Oral stories are more valuable than text. Of course text is important because it serves as a record of what is once said and is another way of passing on information to generations to come, but it cannot capture what emotions were truly felt in the voice of the author or “speaker”.
4. As humans we are always striving to make the most of our lives and do our best to survive and understand the strange world we live in. This point is kinda just me overthinking, but we are always trying to advance our way of life and better our changes of survival to the point of almost becoming immortal. This point came to me after reading Falling Sky. Everyone lives their lives differently, and societies vary around the world. The majority of the world that is striving for modernization is so fast paced and stressful we don’t often have the time to enjoy the world around us, often causing those who can’t advance fast enough to suffer and eventually parish. This makes me wonder what will happen to indigenous groups in the future. How many of the tribes will be left and what kind of modern society will we be living in?

Hope everyone has a good rest of the term and have a good summer!