Latin American Languages and Societies Commons^™

Los Defectos De La Perfección: Un Análisis De Los Temas Recurrentes De Secretos, Traumas Intergeneracionales E Identidades Biculturales En Yo No Soy Tu Perfecta Hija Mexicana, Tiffany Vembenil

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the social critiques by author Erika L. Sánchez in her debut novel Yo no soy tu perfecta hija mexicana (2017). This is a fictional coming-of-age story of teen Julia Reyes, who is grieving the death of her “perfect” older sister. Sánchez explores intersectional feminism, describing Julia’s struggles with gender roles, power dynamics, race, and socioeconomic status.

Sánchez employs imagery and irony to critique how the judging, silence, and secrecy that younger generations learn from their community permit predatory behavior, sexual assault, and victim-blaming. However, she also shows how keeping secrets can be a necessary evil to protect …

The Normalization Of Detention Centers In The United States, Laura Beth Mulligan

Honors Theses

Since the beginning of 2022, 19,948 immigrants have been detained in the United States. Mistreatment of Latin American immigrants occurring across the 215 detention centers located in the United States has grown completely out of control in the more recent years. The U.S. detention system is one that is motivated by racism and superiority complexes of one race over another, leading to Latin American immigrants being treated as less than human. This Senior Thesis explores what a detention center is, the presence of detention centers in the United States, the power structure of ICE and other employees, with personal stories …

El Neocolonialismo: La Influencia Imperialista Del Turismo En Honduras, Kelsey Brodie

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the role of neocolonialism and imperialist forces in the development of Honduras throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The United States was responsible for a series of coup d’états throughout the 20th century, paving the way for conformation to western and American ideals. These included several in Honduras, opening the doors to the banana farming industry which took control of the nation for decades. Later, the Honduran economy saw a shift from agriculture to tourism to comply with the new ideals of imperialist nations. While tourism continues to be a growing part of the economy, it has …

Cómo La Sostenibilidad Y El Ecoturismo Pueden Ayudar A Salvar Destinos Turísticos Populares En Puerto Rico, Joshua Paneto

Honors Theses

Puerto Rico is a popular tourist destination with a multitude of valuable ecosystems that both directly and indirectly contribute to the economic output of the island. Two of these ecosystems are the bioluminescent bays of Laguna Grande and Mosquito Bay, located on the island in Fajardo and Vieques respectively. More generally speaking, Vieques is also a popular tourist destination, due to the existence of the bay, in addition to various beaches and wildlife reserves. In the past decade however, the bioluminescent bays have blacked out on multiple occasions, creating a great deal of concern amongst policymakers, as well as the …

La Reina De Los Carteles: Los Beneficios Y Los Peligros, Emily Monac

Honors Theses

This paper examines the experiences of women in real life and television programs involved with drug cartels in Mexico. For women, life centered on narcotic trade in Mexico may be framed by both terror and abuse. However, there also exists a certain power dynamic achieved by women in positions of power in cartels. These real life women are known as “Las Flacas,” a self-given label that affirms both their reclamation of sexuality and also their acquiescing to a patriarchal society. Narcofiction exists as a new art form of processing and reacting to a life heavily influenced by drug trade in …

La Economía De La Violencia: La Ciudad Juárez Y El Mercado Libre De La Muerte, Kritika Amanjee

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the utilization of human life to further the parallel economies of manufacture and narco-trafficking in Mexico. It begins by recalling the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Mexico’s local economies. Shifts in economic dynamics that resulted from NAFTA internally displaced thousands of impoverished Mexicans, ultimately pushing them into the growing economies of manufacture and narco-trafficking. The manufacture industry and its effects on the common people are examined with a specific focus on Ciudad Juárez, a border city in the state of Chihuahua. The growth of maquiladoras attracted thousands of young women to work, …

La Paisana Jacinta: El Programa Que Causa La Risa Para Algunas Y El Sufrimiento Para Otros, Rachel Wyman

Honors Theses

Examino el papel de la comedia en La Paisana Jacinta en la naturalización de la discriminación racial. La identidad denigrada que se asigna a La Paisana Jacinta origina en los estereotipos populares de la población indígena en Perú, no es solamente una interpretación de la cultura andina migrante. Entonces, analizo los comentarios de los usuarios fans en las redes sociales para entender como el programa ha ganado popularidad, incluyendo la reacción a la censura del programa. También, examino la reacción de las organizaciones humanas y indígenas que desean imponer la censura y el fin inmediatamente del programa. La Paisana Jacinta …

De La Inseguridad A La Estabilidad: Como Pablo Neruda Utiliza El Amor Y La Poesia Para Superar El Exilio, Marissa Peck

Honors Theses

This thesis explores exile and its effects on the lives of those who experience it. Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet of the 20th century, lived in exile for three years, during which he continued to write and publish his poetry. The negative and positive consequences of exile, such as the loss of identity and the experience of traveling and knowing others, respectively, can be seen clearly in the poetry of Neruda during and after his exile. Exile has a great effect on the personal life of the exiled and this logically is expressed in the exile’s work, especially for …

Motivations And Consequences Of Jewish Participation In Social Movements In Argentina, Jaclyn B. Aruch

Honors Theses

The Jews of Buenos Aires form the second largest community of Jews outside of the US and Israel. Because the Argentine Jewish community has become increasingly secular over the past century, their activism pertains to economic, political, and social issues, rather than to religion. Importantly, conflicts of interest between Jews and the traditions of the Argentine society and government have helped the country demarcate its own values and the values of the Jewish community. This thesis considers the Jewish community of Argentina, specifically within Buenos Aires from 1890 to the Present. It examines Jewish involvement in social movements and the …

Women Against Dictatorship And Repression: A Comparative Study Of The Women’S Organizations Formed In Chile And Argentina Respectively Between 1973-1990 And 1976-1983, Ariana L. Awad

Honors Theses

This project is a comparative case study between the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina who formed during the dictatorship of the military junta from 1976 to 1983 and the groups of women that formed organizations in Chile under Pinochet beginning in 1973. The thesis looks at the roles of specific institutions, such as their respective governments, the United States and the Catholic Church and how they differed in each country. The thesis not only examines the institutional influences on the movements but also how both of their coalitions’ outcomes were influenced by historical factors. At first glance, …

Derramamiento De Sangre En El Caribe : Una Guerra Racial En La Isla De Española, Jennifer F. Dalenta

Honors Theses

The tensions between the Dominican Republic and Haiti have been longstanding. Not only are the nations divided by a physical border, but there are much larger cultural, racial, and political schisms that separate them. In 1930, when Rafael Trujillo assumed the presidency in the Dominican Republic, he did not hesitate to publicize his anti-Haitian sentiments. His effort to promote “Dominicanness” created a strong distinction between the Hispanic, Catholic Dominicans and the African, Voodoo worshipping Haitians. These growing tensions exploded into violence in 1937 when Trujillo organized the Massacre of Parsley, also known as the Cutting. During this period, nearly 20,000 …