Ben's Peru Blog

Back home in Vancouver, it is very possible to live day-to-day life without thinking of religion or interacting with religious institutions or iconography in any substantial way. Despite the religious motivations that existed for settler colonialism in Canada, I think that the more secular nature of contemporary Canadian society has caused me not to think as deeply about the early interactions between Christianity and indigenous systems of belief. This isn’t to say I don’t think about Christianity’s enduring role as it relates to indigeneity at home at all, but here…read more

I wouldn’t have thought that out of all the things we have seen thus far I would have the most to say about the erotic art section of the Museo Larco, but alas, here we are. In this exhibit awash with Moche sexual effigies, functional as pots and expressive as sculptures, adorned with sex acts ranging from realistic representations to borderline body horror, myself and others noticed commonalities and trends among these pieces that got the ol’ gears turning in my head. A particularly interesting trend was that despite the…read more

After reading The Lettered City, an aspect that I’ve been mulling over in my head is the discussion of Neoplatonism specifically, and how this philosophy could be (and was) applied to the design of colonial cities. While I’m certainly no philosopher, I am a big Plato fan, so I did have an understanding of what Neoplatonism means. Still, I had never before made the connection or even considered it as a basis for urban design, but it makes sense. I find it fascinating in the role it played in shaping…read more

Hey there! My name is Ben, or you can call me Benjamin if you’d like, I don’t mind. I am beyond excited to use this blog to share my experiences in Peru and all the wonderful new things I learn. I am writing this from My mom’s home in Nayarit Mexico. While I’m officially here to visit my mom, it’s also a place to fumble about with my comically limited Spanish and soak in some Latin American vibes before landing in Lima. However, in typical Ben Collins fashion, I came…read more