UG Students from IAH 203 present their work in UG Conference of Latin American Studies

Four students that took IAH 203/section 1 in fall semester 08, presented their final papers in the 2009 UG Conference of Latin American Studies organized by CLACS at MSU on April 22-24, 2009 (for more information on the conference click here)

Caitlin Dube (Enviromental Economics & Policy/ Spanish), Ivette Galarza (Global Studies in Social Science), Amanda Kocefas (Advertising), and Angela Wharton (International Relations) presented a variety of papers that reflected on the topic Native Latin America in Its Own Words. In this course, taught by Professor Rocio Quispe-Agnoli, indigenous cultures of Latin America are examined vis-a-vis the development of native societies prior to 1492 and what happened with these societies in the next 500 years. Discussions in this course focused mainly on indigenous narratives and the western stereotypes around them such as lacks of alphabetic script, their "easy fall" to European powers and the romantic exoticism of Incas, Mayas and Aztecs.

Within this frame of reflection on an indigenous view at Latin American history, Amanda Kocefas talked on the assumption that before written history, no civilization existed. In her paper "Representing Indigenous Views of the Conquest of the Americas" Amanda discussed that, in historical records, the indigenous point of view is often overlooked or misconceived.

In her paper "The First Indigenous Representations of the European Other in the Americas," Ivette Galarza commented on indigenous reactions and writings of the Europeans in documents produced by early Aztec and Andean authors. Next Angela Wharton questioned what history has largely ignored in her paper "The Aztec lords versus Columbus: Description as means of manipulation." Angela commented the early Aztec lords who spoke to the Franciscan friars sent by the Spanish monarchy to evangelize them, and demonstrated that each side used different tactics to further their own cause by directly addressing the system of power. Last but not least, Caitlin Dube examined the representation of Inca Atahualpa and Conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the 1969 film "The Royal Hunt of the Sun." Both men, Caitlin explained, were glorified to fit the standards of the film industry and to appeal to a contemporary audience. Their actions, physical appearance, and their personal challenges were fictitious and were used to emphasize the conflict in the movie.