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Reflections Week 5: Latin America-US Relations
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For this week’s reflections, I will be commenting on my professor’s lecture for Week 5 of class, entitled “Caudillos versus the Nation State”. What I found most interesting about this week’s material was its focus on the West and Western ideology and how they influenced (and still influence) Latin America, which is a topic that […] read full post >>
WEEK 5: “The Latin American Terror”
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Hello everyone and welcome to another post! Trying to mentally prepare for the Day of the Long Boat which is coming this weekend (and for my midterms…), I have still found a little bit of time to reflect on this week’s lecture and article. What really interested me was the question around the concept ofContinue reading "WEEK 5: “The Latin American Terror”" read full post >>
week four – thoughts on Bolívar
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Reaction to the lecture:
One point that I found very interesting was the notion that political representation is only brought forth because the spokesman of the movement are the ones who feel it’s lack. In Bolivars letters from Jamaica it is clear that he feels a lack of representation in the political decision making process. This is clear when he states his feelings describing it as “ a position lower than slavery”. I find this point quite ironic, as Bolivar is very concerned about himself obtaining political rights he feels he deserves without being able to fathom how those rights may infringe on the rights of the already existing indigenous population.
Another point in the lecture that I found quite interesting was the idea that for the elite, being marginalized from political power threatened their economic freedom. At first I was confused by this statement wondering how someone who already had rights could be marginalized until i realised that for the elite, if everyone were to be given equal voting rights, than their own individual votes would not hold as much significance or power, marginalizing their votes.
I think that one of the reasons that both of these ideas or notions stood out to me is because I am able to easily draw parallels between them and modern american politics. With regards to the first notion, we can see parallels to modern Canada and the rights of the indigenous population. If the Indigenous population did not continually remind the canadian government of their lack of representation than there would be no solution to the problem. Because the indigenous communities have made it known, the canadian government was able to implement the 94 calls to action and the truth and reconciliation act.
I think that by looking at the past and drawing parallels between the political state of the eighteen-hundreds and current politics, we are able to use our knowledge of the past to critically assess policies and the way that they are created. By using our knowledge of past we are able to learn from our mistakes and prevent further harm. By reading Bolivars letters from jamaica we are able to read his letters with a critical point of view and learn from his key points. This allows us to agree that everyone deserves the right to be involved in politics solely based on humanity while simultaneously criticizing his lack of regard for those he deems lesser than himself.
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week four – thoughts on Bolívar
Posted by: feedwordpress
Reaction to the lecture:
One point that I found very interesting was the notion that political representation is only brought forth because the spokesman of the movement are the ones who feel it’s lack. In Bolivars letters from Jamaica it is clear that he feels a lack of representation in the political decision making process. This is clear when he states his feelings describing it as “ a position lower than slavery”. I find this point quite ironic, as Bolivar is very concerned about himself obtaining political rights he feels he deserves without being able to fathom how those rights may infringe on the rights of the already existing indigenous population.
Another point in the lecture that I found quite interesting was the idea that for the elite, being marginalized from political power threatened their economic freedom. At first I was confused by this statement wondering how someone who already had rights could be marginalized until i realised that for the elite, if everyone were to be given equal voting rights, than their own individual votes would not hold as much significance or power, marginalizing their votes.
I think that one of the reasons that both of these ideas or notions stood out to me is because I am able to easily draw parallels between them and modern american politics. With regards to the first notion, we can see parallels to modern Canada and the rights of the indigenous population. If the Indigenous population did not continually remind the canadian government of their lack of representation than there would be no solution to the problem. Because the indigenous communities have made it known, the canadian government was able to implement the 94 calls to action and the truth and reconciliation act.
I think that by looking at the past and drawing parallels between the political state of the eighteen-hundreds and current politics, we are able to use our knowledge of the past to critically assess policies and the way that they are created. By using our knowledge of past we are able to learn from our mistakes and prevent further harm. By reading Bolivars letters from jamaica we are able to read his letters with a critical point of view and learn from his key points. This allows us to agree that everyone deserves the right to be involved in politics solely based on humanity while simultaneously criticizing his lack of regard for those he deems lesser than himself.
read full post >>
Bolivar and Colonial Irony
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Sometimes I’m taken aback by the lack of self awareness shown by those at the top of social and political hierarchy. If any group is going to be a group of oppressors it is this demographic. However oppressors practically never … Continue reading read full post >>
Bolivar and Colonial Irony
Posted by: feedwordpress
Sometimes I’m taken aback by the lack of self awareness shown by those at the top of social and political hierarchy. If any group is going to be a group of oppressors it is this demographic. However oppressors practically never … Continue reading read full post >>
Week 4: Independence Narratives, Past and Present – Stories of Freedom
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Welcome back everyone! I found this week’s LAST topic especially interesting and don’t even know where to start. It is extremely hard to just choose one aspect when talking about the Latin American journey towards independence. However I decided that I want to discuss the main differences between the narratives around the ‘American Revolution’ andContinue reading "Week 4: Independence Narratives, Past and Present – Stories of Freedom" read full post >>
Week Four: Independence Narratives, Past and Present
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Another course I am currently undertaking relates to the concept of nationalism (in the context of modern Asia), and suggests that nationalism is only a recent trend born from decolonisation movements. Previously, I had only really associated decolonisation with that … Continue reading → read full post >>
Week Four: “Our America” by Jose Marti
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After reading Our America, I can understand how it has been interpreted so many ways, and how both supporters of Castro and opponents of his might believe that the piece reflects their views. I think the confusion comes from how Marti talked more about what not to do than what to do. He was very […] read full post >>
Reflections Week 4: Do our principles withstand harsh realities?
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This week, we are examining the video lectured provided by Professor Beasley-Murray for Week 4, entitled “Independence Narratives, Past and Present”. To begin, one thing that I found of particular interest to me was the fact that, as mentioned early on, modern times were considered to have begun, or at least in European terms, with […] read full post >>
