First I have to say that I am so glad that I was able to participate in the MACLAS conference both as an intern and as a presenter. Maritza, Lydia, and I were mainly in charge of the film festival and bringing director Peter Sanders to campus, but I feel like we became involved in many aspects of the conference and that it was great preparation for any future event planning activities. We spent several meetings and many hours deciding which films to show, where to get them, and when to present them. Together we also designed a film festival brochure containing the film schedule to hand out at the conference. Throughout the process we thought about the theory involved as curators of a film festival and Latin American film production in general.
One thing in particular that I learned from my MACLAS experience is that even the best-laid plans sometimes fail. For example, two of the films that we selected fit into our schedule, were available at Swem library, and were relevant to the theme of globalization. However, when I went to check them out two weeks after we had viewed them, the library said that they were unavailable because they could not be located. Additionally, for the film that I had checked-out, the library records indicated that there had been no activity on that film since 2007! Obviously that was impossible since I had checked it out on my card two weeks earlier. We were unable to procure the films from another source because of time constraints, so we had to cut the films from our program. While we were very grateful that Swem had many films that we used in our film festival, it was disappointing and stressful that they could not find films in their own building. We also initially had difficulties as students trying to use VHS tapes for the conference because students are not allowed to check them out. It took a little bit of work to get the necessary forms to check-out more than three DVDs at a time and to check-out VHS tapes. This was both a valuable experience in dealing with bureaucracy and learning how to stay flexible.
Despite some difficulties, I think that the conference was a huge success. It was great to have so many scholars who concentrate in Latin American studies at our campus and to hear about their work. The panels contained a lot of useful information about the field and made me realize the broad nature of the discipline. For example, one of the most interesting panel sections had two speakers who presented on Second Life, a virtual online world, and how it can be used to teach Spanish. That is both a program and an application of technology that I never would have thought about it if I had not heard it at the conference. While I don’t know if I will ever need to use Second Life to teach Spanish, it showed how professors are using technology to push the boundaries of classroom learning. Another panel that I especially enjoyed was the panel on the Hispanic community of Hampton Roads. My freshman seminar focused on this topic, and it was inspiring to hear from a group of professors and scholars who study the Hispanic community of my local area. Beyond the panels I heard a lot of participants having discussions with each other in the hallways and at meals, so hopefully they left feeling like the connected with one another as a community of scholars. It was also an added bonus to be able to show off our campus to MACLAS members, and many people commented to me that they enjoyed attending the conference at William and Mary. I think that the location of the Hospitality House in relation to Blair made it fairly easy for participants to navigate on our campus. Of course it is always nice to hear how beautiful our school is!
I hope that in the future other William and Mary students will be able to serve as interns for the MACLAS conference. We were pioneers this year, but I think that our experience shows that it would be valuable for both the conference and for the academic and professional development of students to continue to have interns.
March 27, 2009
March 7, 2009
Marvin de los Reyes : Sueño en llamas
The final presentation I would like to mention was different to the others I attended because it was about an issue I am pretty well informed on. Sueño en llamas is a book Marvin de los Reyes just wrote, covering the collective memory of the people of Guatemala of the burning of the Spanish embassy in Guatemala City in 1980. It was very interesting to have him as a speaker, learning the process he underwent in order to accomplish his novel. Through newspaper clips, readings of his own passages of the book, and the Q&A afterward we see how even today nobody knows how set the fire at the Embassy and that this issue has never really been treated in the literary form. He had to create a character that would appeal to both sides, so he chose a streetboy, who he could use as a migrant to the U.S. (just like him). This boy, then, could use his hybridity of being from Guatemala but living in the U.S. (like so many of us). Between the victims of his story, he created one to sort of guide, and take the journey with the boy to help him tell the story of the Embassy. One question that I came up with however, is if everyone who was at the Embassy died, how can the boy tell the story? It's definitely a book I would like to read, and see exactly how the author treated the whole subject.
Panel 14
In between switching out films for the film festival and walking back to Blair for the panel sessions, I was able to catch a few brief moments from the following speakers:
The first presenter, Meghan McInnis-Dominguez, covered a topic about Medicine and Identity in a Pre-Globalized Hispanic world, where she makes the point of authors looking at medical issues to look and find their identity. One of her texts, Cabeza de Vaca, she discusses how he is the ideal shaman figure, where he experiences a minimal space of being both an insider and an outsider. The Spanish reaction is pre-determined, which is why accompanying the shaman character, prayers are often recited to highlight Christian elements. By doing so, he separates himself from the native healer and creates a hybrid; accordingly, the hybridity makes him acceptable to encountering tribes.
The discussion by Alvaro Kaempfer about post colonial Bolivar was interesting. He used a small part of a larger document and studied the perspective of it towards the indigenous community.
Argentina in the 19th century was covered in this panel session by Carlos Rodriguez McGill. He first began with a bit of Argentine history,highlighting how important immigration was in creating the sense that Argentina would be saved through European immigration. "Civilizacion es poblar." However, there was a point when Argentina stopped allowing so many European immigrants because they weren't getting the ones they wanted. Instead of getting Germans, they were receiving south italians, and Spanish. His presentation was based on Gutierrez, who over 10 years produced 35 folletines, and nine novels. He highlighted the transculturation in the 19th century through tradition and modernity. What part of your identity did you want to maintain? And what part did you need to incorporate into the new culture?
The first presenter, Meghan McInnis-Dominguez, covered a topic about Medicine and Identity in a Pre-Globalized Hispanic world, where she makes the point of authors looking at medical issues to look and find their identity. One of her texts, Cabeza de Vaca, she discusses how he is the ideal shaman figure, where he experiences a minimal space of being both an insider and an outsider. The Spanish reaction is pre-determined, which is why accompanying the shaman character, prayers are often recited to highlight Christian elements. By doing so, he separates himself from the native healer and creates a hybrid; accordingly, the hybridity makes him acceptable to encountering tribes.
The discussion by Alvaro Kaempfer about post colonial Bolivar was interesting. He used a small part of a larger document and studied the perspective of it towards the indigenous community.
Argentina in the 19th century was covered in this panel session by Carlos Rodriguez McGill. He first began with a bit of Argentine history,highlighting how important immigration was in creating the sense that Argentina would be saved through European immigration. "Civilizacion es poblar." However, there was a point when Argentina stopped allowing so many European immigrants because they weren't getting the ones they wanted. Instead of getting Germans, they were receiving south italians, and Spanish. His presentation was based on Gutierrez, who over 10 years produced 35 folletines, and nine novels. He highlighted the transculturation in the 19th century through tradition and modernity. What part of your identity did you want to maintain? And what part did you need to incorporate into the new culture?
Panel 6
Rethinking networks, Interculturality, and Justice
The first presenter, Ann Peters, discussed Aymara lands divided between Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. She brought up very interesting issues concerning the connection between the Aymara history and contemporary leadership. An issue that I also brought up in my presentation about the encomienda system she touched up on, which was personally interesting to me because I learned a little more about something I was also presenting on. She made the note that the Aymara community suffered a great deal from the encomienda system, the feudal form of it. She mentioned Potosi, where the silver mines are located and how there was a long distance llama caravan there. She connected the three countries, saying they were all put under labor obligations by the Spanish and during war, the Aymara would be put on the frontline to fight against each other and create conflict among the Aymara community.
The second presenter, Raquel Nava Ceball, presented an especially interesting topic covering altnerative medicine used by Aymaras in Bolivia. She even got to experience and observe a ritual which was the most captivating part of the presentation, seeing her pictures of the process. The main points that Ceball made during her presentation was the importance of both Biomedic and traditional Aymara practices. The Aymara believe in spiritual illness which means that the social order of the person, their relationship with the community, must be balanced in order to have a healthy life. The Yatiri (El que sabe) is a special ethnic group, who are taught and raised to be the "specialists" in the Aymara culture. Bio medicine focuses on the treatment of the person and the physiological illness they may have; whereas, the Yatiri acts as the mediator between deities and the sick person.
It was interesting to learn about Ch'iyara Misa (Misa Negra) on which she focused her case study. Misa negra, is basically something bad you wish on someone else, or someone else has wished upon you. In this case, Dona Estefa, the Yatiri ,was contacted by a young couple who had a spiritual illness that was affecting their lives. Since someone had put a Misa Negra on their lives(souls, aura,etc) their lives were unbalanced. The way in which Dona Estefa determined whether or not they had been cursed, is by breathing in coca leaves, where she knew and felt they were having problems with their neighbors in their community. Ceball mentioned how it was very risky for her to attend the ritual because strangers were not normally allowed. The ritual is not just the Yatiri performing, it's a very participatory process, which is why even Ceball had to particpate. In doing so, she had to become part of the ritual and get personal with the deities by chewing coca leaves and smoking cigarettes. Coming away from this presentation, I learned the importance in the Aymara culture of having a balanced organic and spiritual body.
The final presenter was William Fisher who went over the Regional Integration without power centers: trade in pre-Columbian and Contemporary Amazonia. This presentation focused on the social complexity through pottery which was found in some "black earth." This is rich soil which is great for planting that was filled with tiny remains, sediments in a way, of possibly a past civilization. He established an association of social inequality and specialization in the exchange in Amazonia. This association compliments the resources available in the different economic zones where relationships were developed and maintained. The observations that he made on trade theory were that there were unstable rates of exchange with very few exceptions; by maintaining equality accumulation is not a problem. An interesting point he made was that people trade to maintain relationships/ partnerships to receive news or in a way, establish themselves with a broader network. They may not need the goods, but in times of troubles, these relationships are the kind you want to have at your disposal.
The first presenter, Ann Peters, discussed Aymara lands divided between Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. She brought up very interesting issues concerning the connection between the Aymara history and contemporary leadership. An issue that I also brought up in my presentation about the encomienda system she touched up on, which was personally interesting to me because I learned a little more about something I was also presenting on. She made the note that the Aymara community suffered a great deal from the encomienda system, the feudal form of it. She mentioned Potosi, where the silver mines are located and how there was a long distance llama caravan there. She connected the three countries, saying they were all put under labor obligations by the Spanish and during war, the Aymara would be put on the frontline to fight against each other and create conflict among the Aymara community.
The second presenter, Raquel Nava Ceball, presented an especially interesting topic covering altnerative medicine used by Aymaras in Bolivia. She even got to experience and observe a ritual which was the most captivating part of the presentation, seeing her pictures of the process. The main points that Ceball made during her presentation was the importance of both Biomedic and traditional Aymara practices. The Aymara believe in spiritual illness which means that the social order of the person, their relationship with the community, must be balanced in order to have a healthy life. The Yatiri (El que sabe) is a special ethnic group, who are taught and raised to be the "specialists" in the Aymara culture. Bio medicine focuses on the treatment of the person and the physiological illness they may have; whereas, the Yatiri acts as the mediator between deities and the sick person.
It was interesting to learn about Ch'iyara Misa (Misa Negra) on which she focused her case study. Misa negra, is basically something bad you wish on someone else, or someone else has wished upon you. In this case, Dona Estefa, the Yatiri ,was contacted by a young couple who had a spiritual illness that was affecting their lives. Since someone had put a Misa Negra on their lives(souls, aura,etc) their lives were unbalanced. The way in which Dona Estefa determined whether or not they had been cursed, is by breathing in coca leaves, where she knew and felt they were having problems with their neighbors in their community. Ceball mentioned how it was very risky for her to attend the ritual because strangers were not normally allowed. The ritual is not just the Yatiri performing, it's a very participatory process, which is why even Ceball had to particpate. In doing so, she had to become part of the ritual and get personal with the deities by chewing coca leaves and smoking cigarettes. Coming away from this presentation, I learned the importance in the Aymara culture of having a balanced organic and spiritual body.
The final presenter was William Fisher who went over the Regional Integration without power centers: trade in pre-Columbian and Contemporary Amazonia. This presentation focused on the social complexity through pottery which was found in some "black earth." This is rich soil which is great for planting that was filled with tiny remains, sediments in a way, of possibly a past civilization. He established an association of social inequality and specialization in the exchange in Amazonia. This association compliments the resources available in the different economic zones where relationships were developed and maintained. The observations that he made on trade theory were that there were unstable rates of exchange with very few exceptions; by maintaining equality accumulation is not a problem. An interesting point he made was that people trade to maintain relationships/ partnerships to receive news or in a way, establish themselves with a broader network. They may not need the goods, but in times of troubles, these relationships are the kind you want to have at your disposal.
Panel 16- New Formations and the Politcs of Engagement
This panel displayed a series of papers analyzing social and political representation in literary works. Topics explored included exile, state violence, and political and social repression. Pablo Neruda's Residencia en la Tierra was used to explore issues of otherness and isolation. The subject of geographical exile, internal exile, feelings of displacement and fragmentation, and the violence of the Argentine dictatorship were explored through the novel 259 Saltos, Uno inmortal. This novel follows a young women in exile after being tortured as a political prisoner in Argentina in the 70's and 80's and displays what academic Diana Taylor terms as "Percepticide," or the coping mechanism of denying what one sees.
Representation of state oppression was discussed in the work of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas expression of Cuba's "hidden history" in themes such as patriarchy, gender issues, marginalization, and memory and annihilation. Representation of another dictatorship, that of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, as well as the United States involvement there, was discussed in an analysis of Dominican literary works. This discussion brought up the second parallel I have heard this weekend between Latin America and the Middle East, as US relations with Santo Domingo were compared to those in modern-day Iraq. This paper also addressed the idea of memory, in questioning the absence of cultural and historical memory in the US of American involvement in the Dominican Republic. The novel represents the history of the Dominican Republic through the tragic history of a single family whose loyalties are divided between a mother's Haitian heritage and a father's support for the US, and eventually ends in an Oedipal event, with the son killing the father for his political position.
Representation of state oppression was discussed in the work of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas expression of Cuba's "hidden history" in themes such as patriarchy, gender issues, marginalization, and memory and annihilation. Representation of another dictatorship, that of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, as well as the United States involvement there, was discussed in an analysis of Dominican literary works. This discussion brought up the second parallel I have heard this weekend between Latin America and the Middle East, as US relations with Santo Domingo were compared to those in modern-day Iraq. This paper also addressed the idea of memory, in questioning the absence of cultural and historical memory in the US of American involvement in the Dominican Republic. The novel represents the history of the Dominican Republic through the tragic history of a single family whose loyalties are divided between a mother's Haitian heritage and a father's support for the US, and eventually ends in an Oedipal event, with the son killing the father for his political position.
Panel 12- Latin American Politics, Past, Present, and Future
In between my blogging and film duty I got the chance to catch the last of one of the undergrad panels this morning. I was thoroughly impressed by the engagement between the students and the MACLAS members as lively discussions took place on NGO and government interaction, and environmental concerns in the Amazon.
PANEL 12
This panel explored the mechanisms that drive politics in Latin America, starting with a historical view on the Sandinista movement and the role of borderlands in national conflicts, moving to a discussion of Brazilian foreign policy as driven by the external image the nation, and lastly media lobbying and enacting of interests in Uruguay.
Michael Schroeder discussed the use of cross-border plundering to finance Sandinista offensives versus the marines in Nicaragua, which allowed for an ideological argument to denounce Sandino as a bandit and centralize the national government under the Samoza regime. Discussions later linked this case to the current cross-border issues between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ivani Vassoler's presentation elicited a discussion on Brazil's present "pragmatic" foreign policy, focusing on Brazil's attempts to make a place for itself as both a leader in the region and a partner of the US. We discussed the necessity entailed in this goal to balance connections with both the US, and the anti-US block of Chavez, Morales, and others within South America, walking a tight-rope to form economic partnerships with the two sides. In the question and answer session, participants discussed the concept of "national development" as Brazil's foreign policy goal, concluding that this signifies facilitation of capital accumulation within Brazil, and foreign policy decisions that serve to protect oil interests and international aspirations.
Diane Johnson's presentation focused on how mass media articulates its interests to the government, defining these interests as both free expression and access to information, as well as business practicalities such as licencing laws and taxes on print material. Media lobbies, according to Johnson's research in Uruguay, is a powerful tool used by media companies to push forward their interests, but leads to business relations between the government and the media that are not necessarily transparent. So who is watching the watch dog? Public dealings of media outlets are highly visible to society, but business dealings are not. Thus perhaps it is the responsibility of media sources to watch each other. Our discussion brought up the difficulty of insulating journalists from the business concerns of a newspaper or other media outlet, and this the possible political and economic influence on reporting.
PANEL 12
This panel explored the mechanisms that drive politics in Latin America, starting with a historical view on the Sandinista movement and the role of borderlands in national conflicts, moving to a discussion of Brazilian foreign policy as driven by the external image the nation, and lastly media lobbying and enacting of interests in Uruguay.
Michael Schroeder discussed the use of cross-border plundering to finance Sandinista offensives versus the marines in Nicaragua, which allowed for an ideological argument to denounce Sandino as a bandit and centralize the national government under the Samoza regime. Discussions later linked this case to the current cross-border issues between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ivani Vassoler's presentation elicited a discussion on Brazil's present "pragmatic" foreign policy, focusing on Brazil's attempts to make a place for itself as both a leader in the region and a partner of the US. We discussed the necessity entailed in this goal to balance connections with both the US, and the anti-US block of Chavez, Morales, and others within South America, walking a tight-rope to form economic partnerships with the two sides. In the question and answer session, participants discussed the concept of "national development" as Brazil's foreign policy goal, concluding that this signifies facilitation of capital accumulation within Brazil, and foreign policy decisions that serve to protect oil interests and international aspirations.
Diane Johnson's presentation focused on how mass media articulates its interests to the government, defining these interests as both free expression and access to information, as well as business practicalities such as licencing laws and taxes on print material. Media lobbies, according to Johnson's research in Uruguay, is a powerful tool used by media companies to push forward their interests, but leads to business relations between the government and the media that are not necessarily transparent. So who is watching the watch dog? Public dealings of media outlets are highly visible to society, but business dealings are not. Thus perhaps it is the responsibility of media sources to watch each other. Our discussion brought up the difficulty of insulating journalists from the business concerns of a newspaper or other media outlet, and this the possible political and economic influence on reporting.
Panel 5- Crisis, Security, and State Stability
My second panel at my first MACLAS conference impressed upon me the diversity of interests and subject matters addressed by this group of academics and intellectuals. This panel felt familiar to me and my International Relations background with its focus on economic and political issues and security. The discussion on the impacts of the US economic crisis in Latin America fit well with the issues of drug trade, military rule, and the power of non-state groups against the state. All seem to break down, as one audience member pointed out, to issues of supply and demand.
Carolyn Bell pointed to the impending problems for oil producing countries which spent their windfalls, when prices were high, on programs and projects and will be left without savings as prices have contracted. She also adressed the delayed contraction of the commodities market in Latin America, the influence of the shrinking credit market on heavy borrowers in Latin America, and the new situations that are expected to arise from this crisis. States may turn inward as a process of de-globalization is seen- an interesting counter-balance to the issues of globalization presented in my last panel. Both traditional and non-traditional security issues were brought up by Jorge Ortiz Sotelo, who addressed martime border issues, drug trafficking, and poverty. Lezlie Shackell explored how social benefits provided by a military contrasted against an ineffective and corrupt government could lead to a popular supported military coup in the year 2000.
In this panel I had the pleasure of experiencing, for the first time in my four years here, the antics of Prof. Grayson. These included a large statue of the saint of the drug lords and stories about his tenure as a lawyer. Couched within all the name-dropping, was the idea that Mexico is not yet a failed state, but experiencing a period of dual-sovereignity between the state and the drug cartels. If the PRI comes out on top in the next election, there could be a re-alignment toward the side of the cartels, but in this case, perhaps atleast the situation of bribes and violence would be easier to navigate and would be governed by some level of rules.
The current involvement of Peru's Shining Path in drug trafficking was addressed by Daniel Masterson, along with the movement's history. Included in this history was Shining Path's self-identification as a peasant movement and subsequent defeat by armed peasant brigades, and self-identification as a Maoist movement and subsequent break with Maoist tactics. Both Prof. Grayson and Prof. Bell's presentations hold foreboding connections in regards to this topic, as Prof. Masterson posited that an economic decline could lead to the re-emegence of Shining Path and strengthen its drug-connected activities.
Carolyn Bell pointed to the impending problems for oil producing countries which spent their windfalls, when prices were high, on programs and projects and will be left without savings as prices have contracted. She also adressed the delayed contraction of the commodities market in Latin America, the influence of the shrinking credit market on heavy borrowers in Latin America, and the new situations that are expected to arise from this crisis. States may turn inward as a process of de-globalization is seen- an interesting counter-balance to the issues of globalization presented in my last panel. Both traditional and non-traditional security issues were brought up by Jorge Ortiz Sotelo, who addressed martime border issues, drug trafficking, and poverty. Lezlie Shackell explored how social benefits provided by a military contrasted against an ineffective and corrupt government could lead to a popular supported military coup in the year 2000.
In this panel I had the pleasure of experiencing, for the first time in my four years here, the antics of Prof. Grayson. These included a large statue of the saint of the drug lords and stories about his tenure as a lawyer. Couched within all the name-dropping, was the idea that Mexico is not yet a failed state, but experiencing a period of dual-sovereignity between the state and the drug cartels. If the PRI comes out on top in the next election, there could be a re-alignment toward the side of the cartels, but in this case, perhaps atleast the situation of bribes and violence would be easier to navigate and would be governed by some level of rules.
The current involvement of Peru's Shining Path in drug trafficking was addressed by Daniel Masterson, along with the movement's history. Included in this history was Shining Path's self-identification as a peasant movement and subsequent defeat by armed peasant brigades, and self-identification as a Maoist movement and subsequent break with Maoist tactics. Both Prof. Grayson and Prof. Bell's presentations hold foreboding connections in regards to this topic, as Prof. Masterson posited that an economic decline could lead to the re-emegence of Shining Path and strengthen its drug-connected activities.
Panel 1- Indigenous Peoples of Latin America
I kicked off my MACLAS experience with this panel that addressed current issues for both indigenous and migrant communities in Latin America. The first presenter, Jeff Puch from Johns Hopkins, spoke about conflict between migrants and host communities and the manner in which institutions can affect this relationship. I was especially interested in the disconnect he addressed between legal structure and practice in treatment of Colombian refugees in Ecuador. Although Ecuador is party to the 1951 Geneva Conventions which outline rights of refugees, only 31% of asylum seekers in this country receive status as a refugee. Prof. Puch outlined the importance of institutions, such as the UNHCR, in encouraging inclusiveness, equal support of both citizens and refugees, reduction of the power imbalance, and promotion of interaction between and within communities.
John Stolle-McAllister spoke on the "moment of crisis" that the indigenous movement is currently experiencing within the context of a globalized world and the intertwining of class and ethnicity in Kichwa populations of Ecuador. I found his description of the dichotomy produced by the indigenous struggle for inclusion and economic opportunity intriguing; he pointed out that with greater participation in society, indigenous communities become decommunalized, stratified by class, and urbanized. Ehtnic markers come to be challenged by increased exposure to society, and indigenous communities must find new ways to maintain their identity while living in the context of a globalized world.
The next presentation by Brian Turner offered an interesting comparison by addressing a more heterogeneous indigenous community- that of Paraguay. He spoke of the challenges of collective action faced by the Paraguayan indigenous peoples as they are separated by conflicts over land and their unique identities. Guarani, he pointed out, is not an indigenous language as it is commonly viewed from the outside, but a language of assimilation. Moreover, although 40% of Paraguay is monolingual in Guarani, most Guarani speakers do not identify as indigenous at all.
The session closed with a presentation by Ben Boone and Holley Nichols on Indigenous higher education. I found this discussion especially interesting, as I have visited one of the Universities they studied, UPEA in Bolivia. These two grad students offered interesting interpretation of University websites and found that the three universities they observed were very different. They found UPEA to be a university with a political mission, the Mexican university located far from the majority of the indigenous population, and wondered if the university in Guatemala existed only to pay lip service to the indigenous movement.
In the Q&A period, interesting discussions arose as to the connection between the refugee and indigenous presentations and the growing separation between the use of language and ethnicity as identity markers for the Kichwa.
John Stolle-McAllister spoke on the "moment of crisis" that the indigenous movement is currently experiencing within the context of a globalized world and the intertwining of class and ethnicity in Kichwa populations of Ecuador. I found his description of the dichotomy produced by the indigenous struggle for inclusion and economic opportunity intriguing; he pointed out that with greater participation in society, indigenous communities become decommunalized, stratified by class, and urbanized. Ehtnic markers come to be challenged by increased exposure to society, and indigenous communities must find new ways to maintain their identity while living in the context of a globalized world.
The next presentation by Brian Turner offered an interesting comparison by addressing a more heterogeneous indigenous community- that of Paraguay. He spoke of the challenges of collective action faced by the Paraguayan indigenous peoples as they are separated by conflicts over land and their unique identities. Guarani, he pointed out, is not an indigenous language as it is commonly viewed from the outside, but a language of assimilation. Moreover, although 40% of Paraguay is monolingual in Guarani, most Guarani speakers do not identify as indigenous at all.
The session closed with a presentation by Ben Boone and Holley Nichols on Indigenous higher education. I found this discussion especially interesting, as I have visited one of the Universities they studied, UPEA in Bolivia. These two grad students offered interesting interpretation of University websites and found that the three universities they observed were very different. They found UPEA to be a university with a political mission, the Mexican university located far from the majority of the indigenous population, and wondered if the university in Guatemala existed only to pay lip service to the indigenous movement.
In the Q&A period, interesting discussions arose as to the connection between the refugee and indigenous presentations and the growing separation between the use of language and ethnicity as identity markers for the Kichwa.
March 6, 2009
Panel 4
Panel 4 was "The Hispanic Community of Hampton Roads." This especially interested me because I am from Newport News and there was a lot of useful data that I learned during the presentations. Two of the presenters focused on higher education and latinos in Hampton Roads and Virginia, one talked about immigration in general, and there was also a presentation leadership and cultural differences. Here are some things that I learned:
- 60% of latinos in Hampton Roads are naturalized citizens or native-born while 40% are more recent non-citizen immigrants
- There are 460,000 latinos in Virginia
- Hampton Roads has a relatively small but extremely fast-growing latino community
- Latinos in Virginia have higher incomes and levels of education that the general population on average
Obviously I really enjoyed this panel and I can't wait to see what I will learn tomorrow!
Panel 3
So the next sets of posts will be our reports from the panel presentations. The first panel I went today was "Latin American Cultural Movements." The presentations were given by four graduate students from American University. Only about five other people besides the presenters attended, which was a little disappointing, but it created a nice intimate atmosphere. All the presenters presented in Spanish. The topics of the presentations included the mixture of Catholicism and African religions in Latin America, cultural images of Spain, education initiatives for street children, and the murders of women in Ciudad Juarez. It was a very diverse panel and there was a lot of discussion, especially about the education of street children. I was surprised because the projects were somewhat different from our Hispanic studies work because they did not focus on cultural production. That is not a negative thing, but it showed another way to approach the discipline.
March 2, 2009
The Finish Line is Near
As Prof. Root commented on having some logistic problems, they weren't anything we couldn't handle. At first we had nicely organized the films to be presented thematically, but as already noted, time conflicts didn't allow us to do that in every time slot available. So what we tried to do was set up movies that correspond with the panel discussions going on in the time section before or after. For example, if the panel sessions focused on Environmental Justice during one time slot, then we tried to accommodate films following the Environmental Justice theme before or after the panel discussion, so those who were interested in this subject would have the opportunity to attend both the panel and the film. Hopefully, others will agree with our technique and take advantage of being a part of this Conference all day long. After distributing the films to their corresponding times, we chose which ones were of our personal interests in order to be able to attend all of these events to continue blogging throughout the conference. Now the only thing left to do is promote the events around campus so we can bring in a large student audience :D
Recent Meetings
We have been very busy! Maritza, Lydia, and I met on Friday to figure out the final movie schedule. The meeting took us over two hours because it was a lot more difficult logistically then we thought it would be. Originally we had arranged the films into themes that we thought we would show together, but we had to mix the films up in order to fit the times. We decided that was fine though because the themes helped us select the films in the first place. On Tuesday night we met again to make a few changes to the film schedule and to work on some last minute items. We decided who would go to which panels so that we can blog about most of them. It seems like the only things we are concerned about now is getting the fliers printed and put up and making sure that we can work the media equipment on Friday and Saturday. Lydia created the facebook group for publicity, and Maritza's uncle should be sending the flier soon, so things are coming along.
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