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  http://dcc.newberry.org/collections/caste-and-politics-in-mexican-independence   This section of Ward’s text explicitly discusses, with an inherently British bias, the particularly Mexican casta system and general race relations and social motives. The perspective he contributes to this phenomenon is particularly interesting because he is not himself apart of the system by any account and therefore able to offer a […] read full post >>

It’s tempting to draw a generalization from this chapter about recent Latin American societies: the states are authoritarian, corrupted, irresponsible, and incapable of fulfilling their duties; the criminals are unscrupulous, ruthless, and powerful; the masses, consequently, suffer from great human rights violations and are struggling persistently. Indignation and sympathy are easily aroused. However, one has to keep […] read full post >>

One of the most interesting parts of this weeks chapter for me was about the "Madres de la Plaza de Mayo", who were women whose children had gone missing  because they were the enemies of authoritarian states, causing them to "disappear". Although I had heard of this before, I have never studied Latin American history and my knowledge of it is admittedly quite limited. Because of this,  I was quite surprised that this was happening in the late 70's, and normally when I hear about this type of occurrence  I automatically think of quite a long time ago, and not as recent as the 70's, which is a bit disturbing. This reminded me of a film I watched in my Spanish class called "La Lengua de las Mariposas" which is set in Spain,  and at the end of the film many men were kidnapped at night because they were Republicans, but this movie was set in 1936, and I didn't think people would still be "disappearing" as late as the 70's. It was really interesting to read about how the media brought light onto this topic and this shows the power that media has. Once a topic as big as this is discovered, the awareness of it grows extremely quickly, and soldiers could not continue with how they were treating the women out of fear of the world finding out, and extremely quickly as well.I thought reading 10.2 was quite interesting, as it was "arguably the first rebellion of the digital age" and that the Mexican army could not do what they had done in the past, which was to get rid of them, which gave the Zapatistas more power and time than they would have in previous years.
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It’s tempting to draw a generalization from this chapter about recent Latin American societies: the states are authoritarian, corrupted, irresponsible, and incapable of fulfilling their duties; the criminals are unscrupulous, ruthless, and powerful; the masses, consequently, suffer from great human rights violations and are struggling persistently. Indignation and sympathy are easily aroused. However, one has to keep […] read full post >>

Latin American book of Genesis- Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude It is not sure what caused the signs of crisis to emerge in a period of growth, as Dawson starts the chapter, he enlists possible reasons, like 1907 global … Continue reading → read full post >>

The documents in this chapter were shocking, disturbing and inspiring. I think the title "speaking truth to power" is quite fitting in someways. technology has become the tool in more recent times to uncover truths, and witness blatant injustice. However, in this chapter, we also see how it can be used to cover up truth. Either way, technology plays an important role. as social beings, viewers experience various emotions when we watch a video, it is like experiencing a real moment, we are interacting with the speaker, or performer, or subjects of the film as we watch. In some cases we can be inspired, or even manipulated, by videos.  Photographs can be staged, or capture a brief moment in time which portrays human emotion in its rawest form. The internet and social media today are the fastest ways of spreading information. It allows us read, listen, and watch what is happening live, across the globe and it is easy to feel inspired by social movement activists. Videos go viral, and the more 'likes' or 'shares' we see can influence our perspective if we are not cautious of their effects. Before the internet, television acted in this way. Document 10.1 shows how Madres called out on a global level. viewers relate to the emotions, shown by their expressions, if not by their words. La Alegria ya viene and the flash mobs in Chile show groups of people coming together to share a common vision or purpose. The sight of large masses of people can be emotionally inspiring, and compelling. The most shocking of videos can bring rushes of sadness, fear, and anger. the fact that I am focusing on videos for this post is proof of their impact, as these are the documents which brought the most emotion for me (compared to the written ones). Having said that these documents only brought a sliver of awareness compared to emotions that would come from being directly involved in or affected by these movements. Reading this chapter I wonder to myself where the separation from humanity happens when one comes into power. In general, why do some leaders lose touch of basic human rights and values, while some leaders thrive because of their dedication to it? Is it the overwhelming effect of emotions, like the ones we get from these documents, that play a role in this inhumane separation? or are these acts of violence part of human nature? These are philosophical questions which are perhaps a bit off topic. A more tangible question might be, do these documents help in creating peace or do they promote a more 'us' vs. 'them' mentality? 

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Chapter 10 Speaking Truth to PowerIn a time of so much corruption for the sake of power, it was really incredible to read the true strength and real power through the words of those who fought against unjust treatment as citizens of Mexico. Video 10.1 ... read full post >>

Chapter 10 Speaking Truth to PowerIn a time of so much corruption for the sake of power, it was really incredible to read the true strength and real power through the words of those who fought against unjust treatment as citizens of Mexico. Video 10.1 ... read full post >>

One of the most interesting parts of this weeks chapter for me was about the "Madres de la Plaza de Mayo", who were women whose children had gone missing  because they were the enemies of authoritarian states, causing them to "disappear". Although... read full post >>

Chapter 5 “Signs of Crisis in a Gilded Age”. I decided to analyse and give a response to a source listed in the coursebook’s website, namely, postcards of the Mexican revolution. (http://www.netdotcom.com/revmexpc/) First of all, postcards are strange mediums. In … Continue reading → read full post >>