Monthly Archives: September 2017

Week 4- Independence Narratives

“How do you get people who do not care about your existence to listen? Is revolt the only way?” That was my first question when I thought about Latin American independence. This week I will be mostly focusing on Simon Bolivar’s piece, because I was really struck by its originality in the sense of the choice in which Bolivar depicted Latin America.

I was mostly surprised and at the same time very uncomfortable by how Bolivar makes Latin America seemed less like an abused step-son as he alludes to, but more like a spouse. In his essay he continuously says that the region is able to be independent and break free, but that at the same time it cannot be done so right away. He says that, “[t]he American states need the care of paternal governments to heal the sores and wounds of despotism and war” (24). Although he says Americans hate everything about “greed[y]” (23) Spain, he still says that Latin America needs Spanish ‘help’ or ‘aid’ to reach proper independence. By not being able to define what independence is, but only saying that an absolute leader is a priority, he leaves a lot of room for speculation and misuse of his words (which I’m sure critics of Chavez say that is precisely what he did in his speech many years later).

In his essay he says that the Americans have about as much say and freedom in their politics than slaves. Bolivar turns to Latin America’s history in order to drive home the point that Americans have really never had a choice in their government structure or how the laws that were made and made official in Europe would be enacted down south. This is a really effective way of making people aware of how little freedom they have (in Latin America) and how little freedom they are giving them (in Spain).

Although he says that the Americans have been excluded for too long and almost makes Latin America sound weak, he says this all with a very strong voice. I guess I was mostly confused by this juxtaposition. It may be because I am reading it much later in time, but it sounds like Bolivar does a lot of complaining without any concrete suggestions. However, it does not go over my head that the anti-colonial message itself was really pushing the boundaries, it still lacks concreteness in my opinion.

I guess to answer my first question, one method to get people to listen is to write a fairly broad yet poignant letter with some pretty serious yet fair accusations and see what happens!

Considering that Bolivar was a criollo and belonged to a higher tier of colonial society…Is it because his goals of how to reach independence are broad that his letter resonated with so many people? Did it give people a loud, yet blank canvas to make up their own idea of how to reach independence and its benefits? (I know canvases can’t be loud so my own metaphorical use of idioms failed me)

Week 3- Casta Paintings and the Colonial Experience

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This week we have looked at various casta paintings and how they reflect the ‘colonial experience’. At a first glance, through the lecture video and just by viewing the casta painting I have attached, it is easy to see that the colonial experience was NOT easy to navigate and had many more levels of social complexity that I think the Spanish colonial conquistadors and later colonial elites would have preferred. Even the term ‘colonial experience’ alludes to one experience, and not the reality of the various experiences that took place.

There were a lot of aspects that had to be explored and constructed in order to maintain the Spanish at the top of the newly emerging colonial social hierarchy in the Americas. Through this week’s reading on the casta paintings on top of what I have already discussed, there is a very clear comparison between the individuals depicted in the paintings and those people that were photographed for eugenic research purposes in the 19th and 20th centuries.

I believe that the reason these casta paintings were so prevalent and are still discussed today (our class is an example of that) is due to the authority that surrounded them. As the reading mentioned, the paintings were displayed in prestigious institutions as well as offices and places of work. Additionally, bearing large similarities to the eugenics, the paintings were illustrated as sort of a ‘sure thing’ with little possibility for questioning, at least within the paintings themselves. In the painting I have attached, the ‘product’ of the mixing of races is much like a mathematical equation. A plus B clearly equals C and will not equal D or E, only C.

Of course, we know that the realities of the colonial life were not so clear-cut and by creating a chart like these ones, all realities outside the specific chart are ignored. In the case of eugenics, when an individual did not meet their racial measurements, they were simply said to be ‘abnormal’. Thus, when discussing Latin American identity, if a person that is supposed to be depicted in the chart does not identify with their depiction, that may have caused for a very problematic sense of identity, much like Professor Beasley- Murray mentioned in his lecture.

The social hierarchy that is created through these paintings is clear as you look towards the bottom of the grid, in which the individuals are physically darker, have complicated names, and are wearing no shoes.

However, because the reading suggests that the casta paintings may not have been expensive at their time, would a Tente en el Aire or a No te Entiendo family have displayed these in their homes? If not, how effective was the painting’s not-so-subliminal message? Do people today who may experience a complicated relationship with identity and culture reflect on these paintings a possible root of the problem or are they viewed as historical obsolete pieces?

Week 2- Columbus and Guaman

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This week we have explored various representations of Columbus’ arrival in the New World, through texts and student videos.

Within the texts, it is clear that both authors, as posed in one of the week’s questions were very much aware of their audience. Columbus addresses the Crown within his introduction and Poma associates the years within his narrative to the Pope and royalty that were active during whatever time period he was addressing.

I think that Poma used his platform to describe how poorly and unfairly the indigenous peoples were treated as a result of ‘the conquest’, which is very interesting considering he knew that Europeans would read his writings. His piece addressing the critiquing the mistreatment of indigenous people I think was very courageous, even if he wrote it after the conquest itself and was a proxy more than a direct representation. Poma’s piece also introduces the idea that Columbus, much like another questions we are meant to discuss this week, was not the hero that everyone thought at his time. Although his actions were extremely beneficial for Europe, he absolutely decimated populations that had been inhabiting those areas for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

By using images alongside his writing, he introduces his audience, even centuries later, into how he wanted the conquest to be seen. A major difference between Columbus’ and Poma’s is their description of the indigenous people residing on the islands. Columbus describes the peoples as ignorant and naked, carrying no weapons and easily susceptible to conversion. Poma gives more agency to the indigenous people by describing them as well-dressed in gold and silver clothing and describing the Inca king in full glory before the Europeans and his own people. Unlike the ignorant and meek people Columbus described, according to Poma the king was very aware of his power and was not willing to convert to Christianity, leading to his capture.

I believe that viewing Columbus as either a hero or a villain is not helpful or useful for anyone. The former completely ignores the horrendous and abusive nature of his actions and leads to a very skewed view of past events. It also makes it difficult for an open and honest conversation about indigenous problems and struggles in today’s day and age and how they are a result of the conquest of the Americas. The latter ignores that fact that it is unfortunately thanks to Columbus and endeavours like his that the field of botany, anthropology, and cosmology (to name a few) exist in a an academic setting today.

What is the greatest benefit that we get today, as young academics, from the agency that Poma gives the indigenous peoples that the Europeans came into contact with that is described in his book?

Week 1- Introduction and Student Videos

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Hello!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Melissa and I am a fifth-year Anthropology major. I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and my mother is from Brazil…it is needless to say we cannot watch soccer in our house.

This week I watched a number of the Student Videos posted on the website and have since developed a couple of points I would like to discuss further throughout the course. It is difficult for me, as a student, to choose two videos to be my favourite and two to be my least favourite, as I understand the amount of work and effort that goes into putting together a final project.

However, I can say that a major problem I had watching some videos, but especially watching “The War on Drugs” (2015) were the broad statements made, like, “…cause the deaths of hundreds or thousands of lives” or “…resulted in deaths of many people”. Additionally, I did not think that the video explained what the “War on Drugs” and at one point even mentioned that “…Escobar started the war on drugs”, which to my knowledge is quite opposite from fact. The efforts were to reduce the production of drugs. I had the same feeling while watching “Power to the People” (2014), which did not address the complexities of populism , Peronism, and Kirchnerism but rather gave it a spotlight like it was an idea that only the ‘less educated’ folk would be interested in…which is not necessarily the truth in practice. These ideologies have literally split families because they are not so cut and dry.

Another video that began with a very open and overarching statement was, “Independence in Latin America” (2015), which immediately begins with a student stating that, “…in our world we believe”, and continues by stating what that group’s belief on what independence is.

Although I thought both of the following videos made broad statements about their respective subjects, which I did not find to be helpful, there were some positive aspects in my opinion. In “Power to the People” (2014), the students did a very good job in describing how the spread of populism really did affect and change Argentina as a nation, as well as the concept of populism having changed in itself throughout the years. They also emphasized quite well the importance of media in the spread of populist ideas, but I believe that all social classes were victims of propaganda, not just the lower class as they mentioned. “The War on Drugs” (2015) video also did a great job in describing how drug production molded their respective countries and how its effects were so strong that even an area in Sao Paulo was named after crack cocaine.

I also quite enjoyed the video on “Modernity in Latin America” (2016) as it did a good overview on various causes of modernization alongside the areas that they modernized. The mention of trade and export, the advances of the social status of women, the production of coffee and the effects of international investors upon countries in Latin America were very well introduced and described. One major problem I did find was that there was no initial description of what this group believed ‘modernity’ was in the first place, so I was forced to use my own perception in order to continue on with the video.

The reason I point out these broad statements is because the issues concerning Latin America are extremely complex. To be vague or impose one’s beliefs upon a whole group of countries, potentially comprised of various continents, can become problematic, especially when dealing with sensitive matters and subjects that affect people day-to-day.

I am looking forward to exploring the complexities of the various subjects in the syllabus!