Although I really enjoyed pondering through all of our readings for tomorrow, one that really got me to reflect was The Lima Reader’s “The Transformation of Lima after 1895.” José Galvéz’ chronicles of the life and culture of the city during that time emphasize his opinions of what a modern, culturally-adequate city should be. Everything that is newly positive about the city, in his point of view, relates to how close it is to western and particularly European culture. This stuck out to me because it reminded me of a class I took in the first semester of this year. It was called “Issues in Development in Modern Latin America.” Part of what we talked about in that class was development, and how the United States is considered the top of the development scale that every other country has to strive to become like. To be considered “developed,” a country has to leave certain aspects of its own culture to appear more similar to the United States and other “developed” western countries. After all, western ideas of development involve a certain kind of organization, which in itself is cultural. It involves a certain kind of work or education for a set time in the week, and a life in a certain kind of home. The changes that Galvéz describes in Lima involve “[h]armonious foot races, soccer and cricket [that] replaced the deforming and acrobatic systems of bars.” He also mentions how “out went the vehement and often rude debates that took place between candidates vying for the same seat in congress.” The changes he describes as positive not only have to do with Europeanness, but also in an absence of cultural expression. When things become too organized and cookie-cutter, there is no room for a particular culture and individuality for that culture to develop.
Galvéz mentions that the reforms that take place in Lima bring that country a little bit closer to civilization. In this way, the word “civilization” is practically synonymous to “development.” He believes that the closer the country gets to reflecting the organization and culture of some European countries, the better it’ll be. Unfortunately, to get closer to the western idea of “development” does not mean that everything automatically improves for a country. As mentioned in the opening description for this piece, “the traditional and romantic city, [the limeños] thought, was giving way to a new metropolis filled with crime and danger.” While some things could have been positive about changes made in Lima, new negative aspects of the city undoubtedly occurred with modernization and “civilization.” This, of course, came with a loss of some culture that was distinctly from Lima. One question we can ask from this reading is what makes a certain location or group of people “civilized.” How have we been taught to view this word and how might certain cultures or groups of people be alienated because of it?
4 replies on “Modernization and Civilization – Not Necessarily a Positive?”
Hey Yasmin! Great post! I’m so jealous that you got to take “issues of modern development in Latin America”. I really wanted to take that course last year but it conflicted with my schedule. I also like the mention of how amongst too much order, things are given little room to grow with imagination. I find this interesting because in one of the readings (was it Rama maybe?) there was mention of how this order was to fulfill the Spanish imagination. I think this also plays into your point on who is considered “civilized” and who has the right to use this new found rank in society to design it to their imaginings.
Hey Yasmin,
I’m so glad that you wrote about this topic! This question of what beliefs and practices are considered “superior”, “advantageous”, or more “successful” is one that I’ve been mulling over a lot in recent years. The answer is tricky. I don’t think that there is in fact a superior way of existing in the world that is inherently better than others… there are however measures of success that are culturally defined based on on the time and place that we live in. These measures typically applied all that are impacted by the current standards.
For example, one that I think about on a regular basis are individual’s relationship to psycho-active substances, because I work with people with addiction struggles. There is a range of beliefs surrounding this topic which typically goes like this… if its legal it’s OK or even good. If its illegal its bad and carries a lot of stigma, and if its in between (only allowed for medical/ceremonial purposes, it’s only OK in those specific contexts. All of these beliefs are fluid though and change with popular cultural beliefs of the time, just like what is defined and ‘success’ and civilized’.
Andree
Heyo Yasmin
First off, “Issues in Development in Modern Latin America” sounds like an amazing class, I wish I knew about that course earlier, sounds like something i’d have love to have taken.
I think it is a sad reflection of society that notions over the past centuries notions of progress and civility have been increasingly co-opted by notions of rapid economic development and industrialization rather than anything meaningful on the human level. This focus, especially in Latin America has marginalized indigenous communities and led to the destruction of their traditional ways of life in the name of modernity.
Hi Yasmin! 🙂 Your words really resonated with me! When I read this section of the Lima Reader, I could not help but feel a sense of loss surrounding many of the changes that came with modernization. I also struggled to see how much of the celebrated changes were considered improvements, rather than being culturally different. Your insights have helped me further understand why I felt this loss when reading the text, thank you so much for sharing!