Blogs

This weeks theme of modernization closely relates to what I have been studying for a sociology class on development and... read full post >>

The struggle of transitioning to modernity is something that is hard to completely understand for people living in the present. Yes, of course, we still have flaws and faults but I believe we also have many solutions for problems that were unsolvable at the time. Yet we look back at history and often think “why […] read full post >>

The struggle of transitioning to modernity is something that is hard to completely understand for people living in the present. Yes, of course, we still have flaws and faults but I believe we also have many solutions for problems that were unsolvable at the time. Yet we look back at history and often think “why […] read full post >>

For this blog post I want to focus on the “Porfirio Díaz, Hero of the Americas” document. I found the structure and language of the interview to be quite interesting. To me it didn’t sound like the typical interview. There was a lot of description involved, and at times it felt like there was a […] read full post >>

One of the main takeaway for me from this week’s topic was the rather arbitrary definition of modernity. At the start of this course, we defined Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World as the beginning of modernity and yet there are so many opposing views to this. As mentioned in the video, modernity canContinue reading "Week 7: The Export Boom as Modernity" read full post >>

In this week’s lecture video “The Export Boom as Modernity”, Professor Beasley-Murray explains how the process of modernity affects different societies, and different parts of the same society, in different ways and to different extents. For this week’s blogpost, I would like to focus mostly on the questions asked halfway through the video which areContinue reading "Week 7: The Export Boom as Modernity" read full post >>

This week I would like to focus on the issue of modernity. As discussed in lecture this week, modernity is thought to bring about emancipation and enlightenment and quit injustice and discrimination. However, modernity, as defined in the West, almost always equals a transformation from the traditional into capitalism and mass consumption. Controversially, capitalism has mostly benefitted the wealthy northern nations by exploiting the Global South, which has increased injustice and underdevelopment. Through these readings, it seems evident to me that the frames Europe and the West put on Latin America never served them well. Liberalism, capitalism and democracy weren't things that Latin American societies considered natural or important at the time, but they were enforced anyway. Therefore, my question this week might seem quite absurd, but if it had been up to the Latin American societies, how would they have defined modernity? What kind of things would they have considered worthy to strive for? 

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This week I would like to focus on the issue of modernity. As discussed in lecture this week, modernity is thought to bring about emancipation and enlightenment and quit injustice and discrimination. However, modernity, as defined in the West, almost always equals a transformation from the traditional into capitalism and mass consumption. Controversially, capitalism has mostly benefitted the wealthy northern nations by exploiting the Global South, which has increased injustice and underdevelopment. Through these readings, it seems evident to me that the frames Europe and the West put on Latin America never served them well. Liberalism, capitalism and democracy weren't things that Latin American societies considered natural or important at the time, but they were enforced anyway. Therefore, my question this week might seem quite absurd, but if it had been up to the Latin American societies, how would they have defined modernity? What kind of things would they have considered worthy to strive for? 

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Western liberal democracies pride themselves as examples of modernity. Through living standards, feminism, resource use. Specifically, how they compare to “less developed” countries, such as those within Latin America. Women in western liberal democracies are perceived as more free and equal in comparison to women in Latin America. What I mean is, although the patriarchyContinue reading "Week 7: The Export Boom as Modernity" read full post >>

Just as most of my female classmates this week, reading Josefinas article was quite difficult. As her ideas are not... read full post >>