Latin American History Commons^™

Cities Of God Under Occupation: Settler Colonial Practices And Pacification In The Favelas Of Rio De Janeiro And The Occupied Palestinian Territories, Amanda Pimenta Da Silva

Theses and Dissertations

The 2002 film ‘City of God’ tells an anecdotal story of violence in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and is a reminder that the societies we tend to take for granted can actually be a luxury. The film portrays the daily life of the peripheries of Rio and its relation with drug trafficking, crime, and poverty, and how it has deteriorated into a war zone so dangerous that anyone risk being shot to death. Thousands of miles away from the Brazilian slums there is another so-called city of God, or the city chosen by God to be the home’s …

Brazil And Racism: Examining The Unified Black Movement, 1970-2000, Max Laine

Student Theses, Papers and Projects (History)

In 1978, two events changed the current understanding of race in Brazil. The killing of a Black worker who died while in police custody, and the dismissal of four black volleyball players because the manager didn’t want to inspire more Black players to join the team and lose white customers who were against the inclusion of Afro-Brazilians. These two events inspired the creation of the Unified Black Movement (MNU) a month after the events occurred, leading to the challenging of social apartheid which had been implemented by Brazilian society this day leading to an increase in Black Consciousness through the …

The Green Revolution As Counterrevolution: American Philanthropy, Media, And The Destruction Of Mexico's Peasantry, Sam Speckman

Student Theses, Papers and Projects (History)

No abstract provided.

La Cultura Que No Cambia, Karina Arreola-Gutierrez

MFA in Visual Art

In the text of La Cultura Que No Cambia, I mention how my work has been influenced by becoming more aware of generations of altar making that occur in my family. By collecting stories and photographs of altars, I can observe and create work based on how the legacies can change through generations or stay the same. The memory of my ancestors and family traditions is strengthened. Growing up seeing discrimination towards others has influenced me to highlight my Mexican heritage of traditions, culture, and language through several different methods. Using these elements, I can create work informing audiences about …

Review Of Sandinista Narratives: Religion, Sandinismo, And Emotions In The Making Of The Nicaraguan Insurrection And Revolution, Lynn Horton

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Jean-Pierre Reed's Sandinista Narratives: Religion, Sandinismo, and Emotions in the Making of the Nicaraguan Insurrection and Revolution.

A Parar Para Avanzar: To Stop/To Stand/To Strike To Advance, Christina N. Barrera

Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents the first fragments of a political framework outlining how I situate my work, which lives between “craft” and “art” models of making and between colonized and colonizing traditions. My writing proposes ways of making and being informed by practices, strategies, and organizing that work towards greater autonomy and liberation under these conditions.

Maybe The Real Prize Was The Connections They Built Along The Way: A Legal Analysis Of The Role Of Privateering In The Creation Of The Trans-Imperial Greater Caribbean, Daniel Hall

Honors Theses

While study of the eighteenth-century Caribbean has traditionally focused on the stark separation between the European empires of the region, this thesis seeks to reveal privateering’s role as an important force in creating what has come to be referred to as the trans-imperial or trans-national Caribbean. This will be based in an analysis of the legal structure of British privateering as a means of both drawing attention to the practice’s intrinsically legalistic nature as well as highlighting the fact that this regional creation was a result of colonists working within imperial guidelines as much as it was an act of …

Me Tengo Que Ir, Eddy Leonel Aldana

Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity, School of Art, Art History and Design

In Spanish, me tengo que ir means “I have to go.” “I have to go” as in go home, or back to one’s home country. As in leaving home for the unforeseeable future, hang up the phone, or pass away. me tengo que ir is also the name of a song by Adolescent’s Orquesta — a song about love, loss, and heartbreak over time that was always played at family parties when I was growing up.

In me tengo que ir, I use world history and personal memory to examine my family’s place within the Guatemalan diaspora. Diaspora is …

Postcards From Paradise: How Cuba’S Tourism Industry Enabled The Hyper-Sexualization Of Black Women And Erasure Of Female Afro-Cuban Identity, Christina Darko

Of Life and History

When tourists vacation in Cuba, they might take walks on its warm beaches, take pictures of its colorful architecture, or enjoy rich Afro-Cuban culture. Parallel to these scenes is the people who work in Cuba’s tourism industry, supplying entertainment to tourists to consume during their stays in paradise. This paper discusses Cuba’s tourism industry during its “Special Period,”: a time in the 1990s when Cuba reintroduced the dollar into its economy and reopened its tourism industry. The reintroduction of the dollar created increased racial inequality, especially among Afro-Cuban women. This research examines the increase in racial inequality during the Special …

Contextualizing The 2019 “Chile Despertó” Movement: The Impact Of Historical Relational Processes On Mobilization And Repression, Tanya Leon

International Studies (MA) Theses

To expand our theoretical and empirical understanding of mobilization and repression in Latin America, this thesis asks three critical questions. Are economic indicators sufficient predictors of social movement emergence in Latin America? What other factors contribute to large-scale mobilization in Latin America? How do government’s respond to large-scale Latin American social movements? Specifically, when, and why do democratic governments choose to employ repression against social movements? Accordingly, I construct a quantitative model to test the correlation between rise in protest and worsened economic conditions. I apply it to a comprehensive dataset of political events in multiple South American countries throughout …

Reinventing Our Understanding Of The Left-Right Political Dichotomy: The Case Of Argentina, Sol Halle

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

What happens to a country’s political culture once populism takes root? Have Global North-centered methods of evaluation miscategorized Global South political party identification both historically and contemporaneously? As the world grapples with the continued rise of populism and its divisive rhetoric, scholars must thoroughly examine the movement’s spheres of influence beyond traditionally accepted frameworks. Understanding populist parties is vital, for they oftentimes create staggering disruptions within a nation’s political culture. These disturbances become starkly apparent in times of crises as challenges plunge everyday citizens deeper into the political sphere. The case of Argentina allows for an examination of the ways …

Historical Underpinnings And Consequent Effects Of Labor Exploitation Of Mexican And Central Americans In The United States, Andrew Elkins

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses

The experience immigrants have today working and living in the southern United States is defined by systems that have developed out of lingering racist attitudes and reactions toward these individuals. The flow of people across the U.S.-Mexico border has a long history, and it is characterized by patterns that have continued from early guest worker programs to the present-day flow of migrants, both legal and undocumented. Also continually present is the racialization of these migrants, which has often forced them to work and live as marginalized members of American society. This project will explore the establishment of Mexican American citizen …

The Political Power Of Museums: A Case Study On The Museum Of Spanish Colonial Art, Emily Snyder

History Undergraduate Honors Theses

Museums hold an esteemed position that grants validity to the objects and history held within them based solely on their inherent authority as institutions. This makes the analysis of what museums portray incredibly important given the extent of people’s belief that they hold the power to determine authoritative truth concerning art, history, and society. In the late 1970s, museums underwent a period of change tied to becoming more pluralistic. Beginning in the 1990s, many museums touted their postcolonial status in the wake of their inclusion of and collaboration with traditionally outsider communities. Despite this change appearing to create more diverse …

Line As Site And Material, Analise Minjarez

Art Theses and Dissertations

This paper recounts my artistic practice over the last three years. I will describe the places, artists, artworks, and processes that have been meaningful to me in this time as I pursued my MFA and worked to understand my relationship to the living world. In the thesis Line as Site and Material, I respond to materiality and site through installation, sculpture, drawing, and video. I work with clay harvested from my hometown of El Paso, TX to connect to the personal histories of the borderlands and geological time. In the Second River Series, I walk in the empty riverbed of …

Paz Y Amor: The Making Of Mexican Hippie Culture, Allie R. Cobb

All Theses

Following the violent government massacre of students in October of 1968, Mexican youth turned away from organized protest and turned on to the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Timothy Leary to challenge established society. This project focuses on Mexican hippie culture and Mexican hippie identity. It argues that hippie culture flourished in Mexico because of the development of consumer society and offered a way for Mexican youth to rebel against traditional authority while feeling a part of an international youth culture and at the same time reshaping what nationalism meant to them. In other words, hippie culture offered youth a …

The Forgotten Wayuu People, Laura Hoya Noel

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This article focuses on the history of the Wayuu tribe and its relationship with the Spanish conquistadors and later the Colombian government. It reviews the history to understand why the tribe is ignored and disregarded by the Colombian government. The article tries to find a solution to the gap between non-Wayuu Colombians and the Wayuu community through the contact theory. It aims to connect these two groups to more interactions which would cause for tolerance to develop according to the contact theory.

Locating A Marketplace At The Ancient Maya City Of Lakamha', Mexico Using The Configurational Approach, Lydia Wolfe, Jonathan Roldan

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Research Goal: Test configurational approach (Rejected markets, Confirmed markets), Propose market location at Lakamha', Mexico

Central American Migration Patterns: How The Actions Of The United States Have Impacted Emigration From The Northern Triangle Of Central America, Sydney Newby

Honors Projects

This paper is based on the fact that there is a growing number of Americans who feel negatively about immigrants, especially from Latin America. However, these people do not consider what role their own country plays in these migration patterns. There has been an increase in migration from Central America, specifically the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras and there has been research by experts on what has caused this migration surge. Some of these reasons include political and economic instability. However, a lesser explored reason in the field and a reason that is likely not considered by the …

“Pandemias Políticas: The Effects Of Political And Social Instability On Infectious Disease Epidemiology In Latin America"”, Sarah H. Noonan

Senior Theses

This paper seeks to analyze the relationship between political and social unrest and conflict and infectious disease epidemiology in Latin America. An analysis of published literature regarding epidemiological, biomedical, political, and historical content was conducted to highlight potential connections between infectious disease epidemics and sociopolitical conflict in the region. Specific analyses of Smallpox, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, Chagas disease, Cholera, Dengue, and COVID-19 were conducted, in an effort to uncover potential causations and context of epidemics of these conditions. Results of this analysis depict a necessity for further research into public health and disease control mechanisms during times of conflict and …

Indigenous Movements In Colombia: Redefining Their Notion Of Citizenship Through Social Demonstrations, Representative Groups, And Constitutional And Legal Reforms, Catalina Betancur Velez

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Indigenous groups in Colombia have been victims of forced displacement and dispossession of territory. As they become more present in current social and political conversations, there have been partial improvements and advancements of promises made by the government. However, the Colombian government and ethnic majorities still fall short of the guarantees and the assurance of indigenous citizenship. This essay proposes that through the means of resilient social demonstrations, the establishment of representative groups, and the push for Constitutional and legal reforms, Indigenous people in Colombia have established a multi- dimensional definition of citizenship that explicitly identifies the social and political …