Class Notes

Virtual class notes 3/30 + 4/1

This week focused on the global Cold War context. On Moodle, Professor Holt posted two video lectures. Assignments this week included readings on Perusall, a BBF Reading Quiz, and Draft Research presentation.

On Monday, we learned about Latin American social revolutions, starting off with Professor Holt’s short video lecture. See time mark 4:28 for a complete set of Holt’s discussion questions that look beyond armed revolutions and towards social revolutions while keeping in mind the Cold War context, especially the reaction by U.S. leaders and L.A. elites. Other highlights include:

• Reform vs Revolution by James DeFronzo
• The Cuban Revolution and Che Guevara’s Guerrilla Warfare (1960)
• 3 different ways to understand social revolutions: culture, faith (religious practices and beliefs), and education.
  • Chile: Nueva Canción and Violeta Parra
  • Liberation Theology and Ernesto Cardenal
  • Literacy Campaign in the aftermath of many armed revolutions such as in Cuba and Nicaragua.

The two readings on Perusuall were “International Style architecture in Mexico and Brazil” and chapter IX “Social Revolutions” from Problems in MLA. For “International Style architecture in Mexico and Brazil,” many classmates commented on how the architecture was uniquely Latin American with a progressive and modern style. The article features Frida Kahlo’s La Casa Azul (The Blue House) and Professor Holt included her own photo from 2010 of the cathedral in Brasilia. Chapter IX “Social Revolutions” from Problems in MLA included readings about social revolutions in settings like Nicaragua, Colombia Cuba, and Chile. Many classmates commented on the readings on Cuba and Chile, comparing and contrasting the two revolutions. The readings by Che Guevara and Salvador Allende note distinct methods for a revolution that classmates analyzed and questioned.  Additionally, there was a song by Violeta Para titled “The Center of Injustice” which is an example of protest music to further understand social revolutions.

Wednesday’s work focused on the Dirty Wars with case studies on Brazil, Argentina, and Chile in Professor Holt’s lecture video. Please see Tong Tong’s class notes blog post for more details!

On Friday, there was an optional check-in Teams meeting which was mostly social, discussing Bad Bunny. See the link and question below to share your thoughts. Professor Holt sent out a brief summary of the meetings which included reminders about using Perusall and FlipGrid, offering help to find sources, and online office hours. https://tiny.cc/HoltOfficeHours/

• Reminders: Turn in your draft research presentation if you have not already and complete the peer review for the draft research presentation.
• Looking ahead: Timeline Primary Set III due next Friday, April 10.  

Sources for further readings on this week’s materials:

• More information on Chile’s “Nueva Canción” http://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-702.html
• NY Times article on Ernesto Cardenal’s death https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/world/americas/ernesto-cardenal-dead.html
• Bad Bunny’s “Yo Perreo Sola” music video https://youtu.be/GtSRKwDCaZM

Some questions to consider:

• What are some factors that make social revolutions in some Latin American countries more “successful” than in others?
• Using DeFronzo’s definitions of reform and revolution, apply these terms to describe what was happening in some Latin American countries during this time.
• How do you interpret Bad Bunny’s new music video, “Yo Perreo Sola”? Controversy surrounds the video. The video has faced both praise, as an empowering girl power song about respecting girls who want to dance alone, and criticism, especially from the LGBTQIA+ community as Bad Bunny, a straight male, goes full drag in the video.

Class Notes 3/2/2020

Announcements: Great Decisions Lecture on Border Security on Tuesday Night and Unit Quiz #2 on Friday!

First of all, Marco started us off with Latin America in the news. He decided to look into the most recent election in Uruguay. The conservative group is now in power after 15 years of left-winged rule. This arose after many years of violence within the country, so people believe that this group will bring about change. However, the race was very close. The main reason for this topic was to enforce that there is no reason for outside intervention when it comes to other countries’ elections. 

Second, we had a set up discussion about how historians should approach memoirs as primary sources for events. Historians should interrogate any source they are reading, but especially personal accounts of an event. Questions that could be asked should include:

• What kind of biases does the author have?
• Do other sources back up the events told in this memoir?
• What are the motives of the author’s work?
• How does the author depict themselves in the memoir?
• Was the memoir written during or after an event/ are the observations directly from the event or memories of the author?

Of course, after a bit of brainstorming, we dove into The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Ernesto Guevara. Our main conversation ended up being about how Guevara became the man that he became. We started discussing whether historians can read his memoir without the interference of knowing who he becomes later in his life: a marxist revolutionary. Many decided that it was incredibly difficult to not let prior knowledge influence the way they read this, which is something to note, as we previously discussed, when reading a memoir as a primary source. One of the complexities of Che is that he was from an elite position, specifically classist, but was willing to work with lower class people in order to feel immersed into the different cultures he was experiencing. It was mentioned that Che was in a very privileged position, but tried to help out as much as he could — until he realized that the system was broken. Throughout the memoir, Che is finding his political identity through lived experiences. One of these experiences, for example, was when he attempted to help an old woman with asthma.

“I went to see an old woman with asthma, a customer at La Gioconda. The poor thing was in a pitiful state, breathing the acrid smell of concentrated sweat and dirty feet that filled her room, mixed with the dust from a couple of armchairs, the only luxury items in her house. On top of her asthma, she had a heart condition. It is at times like this, when a doctor is conscious of his complete  powerlessness, that he longs for change: a change to prevent the injustice of a system in which only a month ago this poor woman was still earning her living as a waitress, wheezing and panting but facing life with dignity. In circumstances like this, individuals in poor families who can’t pay their way become surrounded by an atmosphere of barely disguised acrimony; they stop being father, mother, sister or brother and become a purely negative factor in the struggle for life and, consequently, a source of bitterness for the healthy members of the community who resent their illness as if it were a personal insult to those who have to support them. It is there, in the final moments, for people whose farthest horizon has always been tomorrow, that one comprehends the profound tragedy circumscribing the life of the proletariat the world over. In those dying eyes there is a submissive appeal for forgiveness and also, often, a desperate plea for consolation which is lost to the void, just as their body will soon be lost in the magnitude of the mystery surrounding us. How long this present order, based on an absurd idea of caste, will last is not within my means to answer, but it’s time that those who govern spent less time publicizing their own virtues and more money, much more money, funding socially useful works.

There isn’t much I can do for the sick woman” (Guevara, p. 73). 

Che’s journey was one that affected him deeply, and eventually led him to becoming a revolutionary — further affecting the lives of many others. 

For further reading on Che and his journey, check out these sources:

Larson, J. A., & Lizardo, O. (2007). Generations, Identities, and the Collective Memory of Che Guevara1. Sociological Forum, 22(4), 425–451. doi: 10.1111/j.1573-7861.2007.00045.x  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1573-7861.2007.00045.x

United Nations. Statement by Mr. Che Guevara (Cuba) before the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 1964. Accessed March 4, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bufHojkoGtw.

Reichard, Stephen. “Ideology Drives Health Care Reforms in Chile.” Journal of Public Health Policy 17, no. 1 (1996): 80-98. Accessed March 5, 2020. doi:10.2307/3342660.

With this, I close with some concluding questions:

• How does Che Ernesto Guevara’s experience represent the lives of other marxist revolutionaries?
• Was Che aware of the privilege he held while he was traveling?
• Was Che’s race an important influence in the journey that he took/ how would this experience have been different if he were not white? 

Citations:

Guevara, C. (2017). The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American journey. Melbourne: Ocean.

Class Notes-02/26/2020

Populism

We started with announcements of events happening on campus. Information regarding events are on the blog. Professor Holt went through a couple of slides that helped further explain Populism and what that entailed, including how people were affected by it. We broke into small groups to discuss one person from the reading. Afterwards, reported back how we analyzed the reading. 

 Historical questions: What is populism? What appeals did Latin American populists make to appeal to newly enfranchised citizens?

Key terms: Populism, ISI, and Conventillos 

Populism: “is an appeal to the excluded” Populists claim to represent a neglected majority by defying an undeserving but powerful minority. Populism-reaction to structural inequality. Erosion of the rule of law. Manipulation of office-holding. Who is really benefiting from this? The people? Or people who can or do hold power? 

Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI:1930-1960): Replacement of foreign imports with domestically produced industrial produces. 

Conventillos: Urban tenement in Argentina during the 19th century. People were emigrating from Europe, specifically Spain and Italy. These homes were on the rise for the working class. Those homes were very simple in appearance and very limited in function.

Isolation of Latin American countries regarding trading; exports and imports. There was more shock with the Depression of 1929. This includes export crisis-unemployment, bankruptcy,  liquidity crisis, higher interest rates, and etc. Foreign debt was prevalent within this time period. It was easier to ramp up production to meet demands. Work entailed relatively unskilled labor. For example, textile, pharmaceuticals, etc. Government does this through high tariffs (Like the U.S). Focus is really on cheap labor. Focus is on things where you can start manufacturing through cheap labor, like textile work. They pay workers so little, the workers cannot become a middle class, meaning they cannot take part in being consumers. Consolidation of the state, where the state is becoming much more involved in workers’ lives. Worker-Domestic consumption. There is continuation of a Paternalistic role regarding Perón. Eva Perón in France truly showcased her glamorous lifestyle. There seems to be a historical weird role that first ladies play. Eva’s claim: I have no choice; it was thrusted upon me. She originally didn’t intend to pursue a place in the women’s political movement. But she eventually just had to help be an activist in the movement. She wanted to make a home for women in the movement, like temperance, or women organizing around abolition. These are all parallels. Women’s roles in these movements are like “I want to speak out, but I know my place.” Eva Perón’s actions didn’t feel realistic. It was all very performance-like. 

Websites:

https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/eva-peron/

A brief history of populism in Latin America: Its rise, its impact and its fall

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/importsubstitutionindustrialization.asp

Questions:

What is populism and how did populism affect people’s lives?

What is Import Substitution Industrialization and how is it implemented/how can one identify it?

Like Eva Perón, what were women’s roles in the political movement and what were their attitudes toward being involved in said movement?

Class Notes 2/24/20

There were two historical questions discussed in class today. The first question was: What can Mexican murals tell us about the vision of Mexican nationalism that emerges after the revolution? The second question was: What vision of Mexico, and Mexican history, do these artworks promote? The class began with a discussion from Dr. Holt on the recent Carnival celebrations in Brazil, which are a series of Christian festivities leading up to Lent. Videos of Carnival parades and festivities were shown in class to demonstrate how celebrations were held and highlight how forms of social protest were implemented into the parades.
Afterward, the class discussion transitioned toward a conversation on Mexican forms of artwork that developed after the Mexican Revolution. Dr. Holt presented several works from José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera, three of the most prominent figures in Mexican muralism. A significant theme in the art of Mexican muralists that was discussed was the importance of Mexico’s indigenous history and population. Additionally, another important theme covered in the murals was the oppression imposed by the ruling classes throughout Mexican history
One important historical piece that was discussed in class was Jose Clemente Orozco’s The Epic of American Civilization. This piece is related to the main point of that day’s discussion because it features Emiliano Zapata, a nationalist figure, in the middle of the artwork, which can symbolize the emphasis on indigenous rights and indigenous pride following the Mexican Revolution. Additionally, the artwork is related to the main point of the class discussion because it features government officials greedy for money and violent military officers, which are figures meant to depict the history of Mexico.

Key Terms
Fresco: a painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling, so that the colors penetrate the plaster and become fixed as it dries.
Historical Memory: the way by which groups of people create and then identify with specific narratives about historical periods or events.
1917 Mexican Constitution: The current constitution of Mexico, which was drafted during the Mexican Revolution. It outlines provisions on workers’ rights, land reform, etc.
PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional): The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party founded in 1929 that held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years from 1929 to 2000. The PNR was founded in 1929 by Plutarco Elías Calles, a prominent Mexican leader and significant figure of the Mexican Revolution.

Links
https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/carnaval/2020/noticia/2020/02/23/belford-roxo-imperatriz-e-unidos-de-padre-miguel-se-destacam-no-2o-dia-de-desfiles-da-serie-a-no-rio.ghtml

https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/carnaval/2020/noticia/2020/02/24/mangueira-viradouro-e-grande-rio-sao-destaques-do-1o-dia-do-grupo-especial-do-carnaval-do-rio.ghtml

https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/carnaval/2020/noticia/2020/02/24/mangueira-busca-bicampeonato-com-releitura-critica-da-vida-de-um-jesus-cristo-nascido-no-morro.ghtml

Potential Questions

1. How did Mexican muralists emphasize the importance of indigenous people and their history through art?
2. In what ways did Mexican muralists depict oppression in their art?
3. How did the art created by Mexican muralists obtain appeal beyond Mexico?

Class Notes 2/19/20

To begin class, Peyton discussed the story of two people that had been found dead at butterfly reserves in Michoacan, Mexico. The first man, Homero Gomez, was found dead in the bottom of a well with blunt force trauma. A tourist was later found with stab wounds at another nearby butterfly sanctuary. It is speculated that these murders are linked to the cartel, as there are resources on the butterfly reserves that are very valuable. To obtain those resources, the cartels are trying to scare off tourists and staff. Environmental activists have also been killed by cartels to secure the natural resources. Overall, the article shows us more on corruption and organized crime in Mexico.

We then talked about nationalism and the Spanish empire in the 19th century, which was still present in Cuba and Puerto Rico. We talked about Jose Marti, one of the greatest fighters against the Spanish colonization of Cuba, and his thoughts on nationalism. They were central to our discussion, as he believed in “Our America”, meaning you must know the land you are governing, thus Latin America’s leaders should come from within, not Europe or the US. In relation we also discussed Ada Ferrer, who wrote about how the anti-slavery movement in Cuba became a part of the anti-colonial movement.

After, we looked at two political cartoons showing US imperialism in Latin America. One depicted an unshackled Cuba being invited to join the US as a state, and the other showed Uncle Sam holding reckless babies each labeled as Latin American countries. The first cartoon shows the US’s reach into Latin America during that time period, and the second shows the perception of Latin America by people from the United States and that the US should be the parent to those countries.

To end class, we talked about individual primary sources from our book, my group’s being “Education and the Mexican Revolution” by Octavio Paz. He analyzes thoughts of “The Cosmic Race” by Jose Vasconcelos, which discusses the resurgence of nationalism in Mexico through the arts and dance. He also states that Mexican nationalism, once Catholicism and liberalism were no longer serving them, became centered around race.

Class notes 2/5/2020

In class we discussed enslaved life in Cuba and Brazil. The Digital Public History: Slave Voyages site allows a deeper understanding of both larger trends in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as well as micro trends by looking at individual ships, people, and ports through which slave ships would leave from.

The map with the arrows depicting the number of people of African descent leaving Africa and entering other continents shows the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as a global network. Europeans were the economic victors in this history. Within Cuba, Brazil, and other Latin American countries, there were different forms of control than in North America, specifically the United States. In Latin America, the use of violence and manumission were used to control and create a sense of false hope for many slaves. If a slave “behaved” they might be able to be set free in Latin America, thus placing blame for their conditions and punishments on slaves rather than masters.

During the 1835 revolt, many slaves were executed, though what we can learn from this are from the trial records. These records give slaves a voice to an otherwise voiceless subaltern. In some instances, we can also see cultural aspects of slaves. One person, had an Arabic prayer book, thus showing their religion before they were brought to South America.

Overall the life of a slave in Latin America was violent and short. Though some gained their freedom, many were not able to. The systems of slavery in Latin America were fairly different from those of the United States. More slaves entered Latin America because the death rate of people of African descent was higher and therefore demand required more people to be brought over whereas the United States established a system that required fewer slaves to be brought over due to the longer life expectancies and the higher birthrate over death rate.

Class Notes: February 3, 2020

We spent Monday’s class participating in a digital public history workshop with Megan Smeznik to help us learn how to format and post our timeline entries. Before we began the workshop however, Professor Holt gave some overall feedback on our timeline draft entries. Her two main points of feedback were: 1) to use clear evidence within the entries and 2) to make sure that the entries do not have too much of a conversational tone or use first-person language. Megan then walked everyone through the basics of posting on our COW Latin America page and answered students’ questions.

Here are some basic instructions and tips on how to post an entry:

1. Log in to VOICES
2. Go to our COW Latin America site
3. Go to the dashboard and click on the section for archive items
4. Once here, you can begin to post an entry as a document
   1. This site uses a block editor, so you can add blocks of text anytime you want to add a new paragraph or heading
      1. To add a section for a works cited list, just add another paragraph
         1. Within your works cited, make sure that all links show up as actual links. In order to do this, highlight the link and hit the button that looks like a chain link
      2. You can add pictures or video to your entry by clicking wherever you would like it to appear and inserting it
         1. If the file is too large, you can always just add a link to the original source instead. Videos should not be an issue, however, as they will automatically link out to YouTube.
         2. When inserting a picture, make sure to add a caption as well as a short description for alt text so that our page can be as accessible as possible
      3. For each entry you also much fill out the following sections:
         1. “Cite as” – First Last name (optional), “Page Title,” COW Latin America, page permalink.
            1. The permalink can be found on the sidebar on the right side of the page
            2. If you do not want your name to be associated with your entry, just leave it off the citation
         2. “Creator” – this is the creator of the primary source
            1. If there isn’t a creator, just put Unknown
            2. If you are using something like a YouTube video, include the name of the person who uploaded the video and if possible and appropriate, include both their real name and YouTube name
         3. Check the appropriate boxes for Event, Country, and Date
            1. Put the best information you have about your source for the date, even if it is not exact
         4. Check keywords that apply to your source in the editor section in the righthand sidebar of the page
            1. If there is not a keyword that you think matches your entry, reach out to Professor Holt
         5. Choose a thumbnail image
            1. This can be the image of your source or a screenshot from a video you are using
      4. Once you have completed all these sections, hit the “Publish” button at the top of the page

 

Here are some links to articles that might be interesting:

1. What is DIVINER?
   1. https://ncpr.github.io/diviner-wp-archive-theme/
2. What is WordPress?
   1. https://kinsta.com/knowledgebase/what-is-wordpress/
3. Why is public history important?
   1. https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/march-2008/defining-public-history-is-it-possible-is-it-necessary

Questions to consider:

1. How will your timeline contribute to public history? What is it providing that past resources have not provided?
2. Why is it important to pick primary sources from diverse writers/creators?
3. From a student’s perspective, is there anything else that should be added or any changes that could be made to our archive that you think would be beneficial?