As I finished Unit 3, the first keyword that came to mind was agency. In the blog post, it is defined as “someone’s capacity to act and make free choices, independent of a supervising authority” (Lalonde et al., 2020), which instantly made me think about how the Garinagu people of Honduras (although I shouldn’t say this as they have various origins) have been able to successfully establish themselves as an Indigenous group, and gain their rights to food sovereignty, as discussed in the podcast lecture. Furthermore, it proves how globalization is not necessarily inadequate when it comes to smaller communities. Instead, it has allowed locals to gain further access to foodstuffs from abroad as they do in Belize and has encouraged them to participate in social movements to continue fighting the appreciation for Indigenous groups.
The way Kern described how women of the Garinagu weren’t “bound by most of the culturally defined and socially enforced restrictions…instead, they act as the primary enforcers of those ‘rules’.” (1983) gave me mixed feelings on the fact that these women are so proud of their identity, yet the author had to constantly had to reinforce and repeat these ideas on how society did not make women the center of this group, they were always like this. It shows how nowadays it is hard to believe that women have been capable of taking care of their families for years, which is quite unfortunate. Nonetheless, as I was watching the video by Native Dish, I noticed that women see themselves as resilient, survivors, and take their African roots very seriously. It made me think about how I knew none of this, all because of the way our world is shaped, how we are given access to the histories of elite groups, those that have made the world as it is, and fails to recognize those who have originally lived on our lands for centuries.
Even then, thanks to globalization and agency, the Garinagu people have had the chance to connect with the outer world while maintaining their origins, something I wish I am able to do as I grow up.
Works Cited:
Lalonde, G., Sever, A., Nogués, G., & Vyskotova, K. (2020). Keyword 2: Agency [Web log post]. Retrieved 2020, from https://blogs.ubc.ca/course0935bb2c1345dfa4e91d0701421d97f5c03a0045/2020/10/10/keyword-2-agency/
Hall, K. M. (2019). Honduras’ Ereba Makers. Naming a Transnational Black Feminist Framework, 27-48. doi:10.4324/9780429290923-2
Hi!
Thanks for your post! I agree with the idea that globalization and outside influences are not necessarily a bad thing. In my own blog post for unit 3 I also addressed how culture is always changing and its inevitable. The world is not a static place and people are extremely adaptable. Although we like to conserve our traditions (because its a huge part of identity), it is hard to be completely closed off to change because there can be many missed opportunities which detrimentally can set one back. This really ties in the the keyword “agency”- people have the capacity to make their own choices and adapt to change the way they need to. Culture doesn’t have to be completely lost, but it can be influenced to adapt to modern days which I believe is key to its survival.
Hello Khushi,
I really liked your post and reflection about agency and globalization! What stood out to me was the little detail about Garinagu women you made and the fact that in the reading the author had to keep justifying women’s ability to be in charge so much. I did not notice this little detail with such precision. I also identify with the fact that sometimes in our societies it can be hard to see the real value of women. Nevertheless, the video Native dish proves the strength of women to be real, yet sometimes forgotten. It is important that we have more material of similar context available rather than just the material concerning “elites” as you say. It will help us to see the world from a wider perspective and understand that there is much more than we are just shown in our society.
Thank you very much! Beautiful reflection!
Katerina 🙂
You make an astute observation when you note that the author’s persistent repetition that Garinagu women have agency is a reflection of how unusual that situation is.
Re: your closing comment… Having learned a little bit about your background in these blog posts, I think you’re well on your way to connecting with the outer world and exercising your own agency 🙂 I appreciate your desire to also stay in touch with your roots — I hope that you are able to achieve that!