SPAN-427
Spain and Latin America: Anthropological, Social and Cultural Studies
DESCRIPTION
An in depth look at Spanish colonization in America and how religion and culture combined among the Spaniards, natives and Africans. Attention is also given to current immigration from Latin America to Spain. Writing intensive.
REFLECTION
Professor– It was interesting to learn about this topic, the colonization of South America, from a Cuban woman. She was able to incorporate personal stories and first hand knowledge into our classes. When we talked about the complex situations in South America where natives, Africans and Spaniards came together, she was able to speak of the lasting mixes today in Cuba. She was also able to share first hand experiences about racism in Spain.
Class– Having learned every year on Thanksgiving about Native Americans and pilgrims, it was interesting and refreshing to study colonization of the Americans in terms of Spain and Latin America. With the knowledge the class and Aida had, we were able to compare what we learned with the colonization of North America which we already knew about.
Aida encouraged all of the students in our small class of ten to participate in class discussions. I sincerely wanted to contribute ideas to our discussions about immigration, racism and religion which motivated me to speak up in class and put my thoughts into Spanish.
Aida used a variety of methods to teach us the material. Besides listening to lectures, reading articles and watching videos, we listened to Cuban music while following along with the lyrics, recited poems aloud and read short stories.
SEMESTER: Spring 2008
GRADE: A-
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
Las Chiapas
Décadas después de la colonización de las Mayas, un pueblo de indígenas sobrevive en el sur de México. Desde 1994 las indígenas, las Chiapas, han unido en un organización se llama Ejército Zapatista Liberación Nacional (EZLN). La organización actúa en nombre de las Chiapas que hasta cierto punto han perdido dignidad, respeto, tierra, derechos, y cultura a causa de la opresión de los conquistadores y ahora el país.
La religión
Como José Carlos Mariátegui ha señalado en el capítulo sobre El factor religioso, creo que además de la existencia de las formas eclesiásticas y las doctrinas religiosas como algo que conlleva “el régimen económico-social” como creador y sustentador, es verdad que esas formas y doctrinas se pueden cambiar por los aspectos sociales, políticos y económicos que existen en la sociedad. Podemos ver en la historia tanto como hoy en día momentos en que las fuerzas sociales, políticas, o económicas han afectado las actividades, dioses, e ideas fundamentales de algunas religiones.