Latin American Studies Commons^™

Cultural Model Of Indigenous Custom Marriage, Maria G. Stapleton

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines and documents the tradition of Indigenous Custom Marriage (ICM) practiced in a semi-rural community in central Mexico. The arrival of Spaniards to Mesoamerica during the sixteenth century brought new forms of marriage to the region, those of the Christian religion and of the Spanish crown’s laws. While these new forms slowly gained acceptance, the traditional pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican form of getting married has endured over the intervening centuries up through the present. This traditional form of marriage is not monolithic, but shows variation across the diverse ethnic groups, communities, and geographic regions of Mesoamerica. The community studied, Tlanalapa, …

It's Not The Fault Of The Parrot, But Of The One Who Teaches Him To Talk: Understanding Identities And Relationships Of An Educational Ngo In Guatemala, Brittany Rebecca Blomquist

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Guatemala is an economically poor country, with a rich culture that makes it a destination for foreign assistance through non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and tourism. The history of conflict and foreign economic development within the country has created a dichotomy of identities, divided across economic wealth, ethnicity, and urban/rural landscapes. NGOs, their presence as transnational actors, and their organizational identities augment the identities present within the spaces in which NGOs work. Additionally, these identities are fluid and relational. I argue that the identities and relationships that form within the NGO space are reflective of NGO work and development structures. The identities …

Moral Bonds, Modern Subjects: Pecúlio, Property Rights, And The Abolition Of Slavery In Rio De Janeiro, 1822-1888, Alexander Joseph Lundberg

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of enslaved persons’ savings for self-purchase manumission (pecúlio) within the process of gradual abolition in the province of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Article IV of the 1871 Rio Branco Law granted enslaved persons in Brazil the legal ownership of their savings and, with those savings, the right to purchase freedom. Article IV supplemented the “free womb” provision of the Rio Branco Law, which declared that all children henceforth born to enslaved mothers were free. In the Brazilian Parliament, the law’s proponents argued that the savings provision would help reduce the enslaved population by codifying long-standing …

Armed By Design: Posters And Publications Of Cuba's Organization Of Solidarity Of The Peoples Of Asia, Africa, And Latin America (Ospaaal), Jen Hoyer, Lani Hanna, Josh Macphee, Vero Ordaz, Sarah Seidman

Publications and Research

This book reflects on the intersection of graphic design and political solidarity work of OSPAAAL, the Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Based in Havana, Cuba, OSPAAAL produced nearly 500 posters, magazines, and books beginning in the late sixties. Their output provides one of the most robust examples of political design ever seen; it offers a wealth of opportunities for thinking about how design is—and could be—deployed today in the search for more egalitarian social transformation.

Armed By Design brings together artists and thinkers from around the world whose work has been impacted by …

The Fight For Education: The Rise Of Indigenous Oaxacan Teachers And Their Role In The 1980s Mexican Teacher’S Movement, Chiara Gutierrez

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the pivotal role of Indigenous Oaxacan teachers in the 1980s Mexican Teacher’s Movement, addressing a significant gap in scholarship that has often overlooked Indigenous political activism in Mexico prior to the 1990s. It argues that these teachers were critical actors whose prior organizing experience, cultivated throughout the 1970s in response to state assimilationist policies (via INI, IIISEO) and discriminatory practices (from SEP, SNTE), enabled them to significantly shape the 1980s movement. Drawing on theories of political identity (Yashar 2006), repertoires of strategies (Rossi 2023), and identity salience (Hunt & Benford), this study traces the development of their …

Rights As Remedies: Using Latin American Legal Channels To Halt U.S. Border Externalization, Natalie Lerner

Lewis & Clark Law Review

The first Trump Administration saw intense border crackdowns and a ramping up of restrictions on asylum. While some of these policies shifted under President Biden, many were recreated under new names. The second Trump Administration has functionally closed the border and deported asylum seekers to third countries such as Costa Rica and Panama, leaning heavily on Latin American countries to accept expelled migrants. As U.S. courts fail to preserve asylum law domestically, international law, as integrated into the constitutions of Latin American countries, can provide a valuable litigation tool to block those countries from participating in the U.S. border externalization …

[Review Of The Book The Two Faces Of Fear: Violence And Fear In The Mexican Metropolis, By A. Villarreal], Francis Adams

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] Mexico has long been a transhipment point for illegal narcotics between South America and the United States. Clashes among drug cartels over territory and trafficking routes have caused insecurity and violence in parts of Mexico for decades, especially along the U.S. border. When Filipe Calderón became president in 2006, he declared a "war on drug traffickers" and deployed thousands of federal troops to combat the cartels. Over the next decade, violence in Mexico dramatically escalated, with tens of thousands of people killed or disappeared. Violence also became more generalised throughout the country, impacting areas that had previously been …

Venezuela's And Mexico's Oil Industries: Policy Making Sets The Course, Camila Gimenez Valero

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The puzzle of Venezuela's crisis is one that researchers often try to understand. How did one of the richest nations in the world become one of the poorest? Venezuela is nowadays seen as a country with political unrest, where people struggle to get by and with a corrupt government. However, this was not always the case. Throughout the 20th century Venezuela had remarkable economic stability. Having discovered the world's largest known oil reserves, the nation's economy quickly developed, and the country also became known for its long-standing democracy. After the election of Hugo Chavez in 1998, Venezuela began to decline …

The Third Revolution: How The Haitian Revolution Redefined The Age Of Revolution, Cedric Rule-Becker

History - Master of Arts in Teaching

I. Synthesis Essay.................................2

II. Primary Source Documents............15

III. Textbook Critique...........................25

IV. New Textbook Entry.......................28

Truth, Reconciliation, And Neoliberalism: Remembering And Forgetting Pinochet’S Chile, Aimee Leigh Gallagher

History - Master of Arts in Teaching

I. Synthesis Essay………………..................4

III. Primary Documents and Headnotes.....26

IV. Textbook Critique……………….............36

V. Textbook Entry…………………………....42

Jóvenes Y Memoria: Conflict And Vitality In Education For Human Rights, Bryan Harriss Jones

Graduate Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations

In 2002, the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria (the Provincial Commission for Memory - CPM) of Argentina’s province of Buenos Aires (PBA) established Jóvenes y Memoria: Recordamos para el Futuro (Youth and Memory: We Remember for the Future – JyM), an elective program for secondary school students. JyM empowers students to create and communicate narratives about the history and current state of human rights based on investigations using primary sources. The goals of CPM include fostering historical memory and preventing the return of authoritarianism. JyM furthers these goals by building exemplary memory to inspire positive change in the present and …

U.S-Venezuelan Relations: Personality And Foreign Policy Decision Making, Isabella D. Alvarez Chacon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, the authoritarian socialist regime leaders in Venezuela, are known for their social programs and their stance against the U.S., but only Maduro cut off diplomatic relations with the U.S., one of the most significant FP decisions of his administration. This research examines the role that the personalities of these leaders may have played in explaining their distinct FP towards the U.S. Personality helps find traits that shift a leader’s behavior that then influence how they make decisions. Previous research has shown that personality is a helpful tool for understanding leaders' strategies, but it has not …

¿Qué Dijo El Médico?: Creating A Procedural Preparation Booklet For Spanish-Speaking Patients And Families In The Pediatric Hospital Setting, Caitlyn Bockbrader

Honors Projects

The purpose of my Honors Project is to demonstrate the need for and creation of a resource that supports Spanish-speaking children’s ability to cope through commonly stressful medical procedures. In developing this project, I conducted a literature review on the efficacy of preparation booklets in lessening pre-procedural anxiety, cultural considerations for the Hispanic community, and current barriers to equitable language access in healthcare settings. My final product was designed to answer the following question: How can the psychosocial outcomes of Spanish-speaking children in U.S. hospitals be improved through the use of Child Life procedural preparation materials? In answering this question, …

Perspectivas De Liderazgo En La Frontera: Un Anã¡Lisis De Las Experiencias De Los Presidentes Y Cónsules De El Paso Y Ciudad Juã¡Rez, Horacio Estavillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ciudad Juárez y El Paso son el reflejo de México y Estados Unidos a nivel municipal, sin embargo, esta unión de ciudades a nivel fronterizo abre las puertas a oportunidades únicas al igual que desafíos significativos, los cuales pueden ser el resultado de las relaciones macro de ambos países, pero también de ambas ciudades. Por lo tanto, las ciudades fronterizas son el ejemplo de una amalgama de representación local y binacional, ya que los líderes que se encuentran en estas ciudades; como cónsules generales, y presidentes municipales, reflejan no solo la personificación de la ciudad, sino también el símbolo e …

“Before, We Didn’T Eat Manioc Flour”: Historical And Social Transformations In Food Techniques Among Indigenous Peoples Of The Rio Negro Basin In The Brazilian Amazon, Lorena França

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Manioc flour is currently considered one of the main foods consumed by Indigenous peoples in the Northwest Amazon. It is fundamental both to the traditional diet and to adding an "Indigenous flavor" to urban dishes. This article presents an analysis of historical sources that position manioc flour as an important trading commodity since the 19th century and shows how its internal consumption seems to have grown in recent decades. This significance contrasts with the role of manioc flour in mythic narratives about the origin of foods, where it is either not mentioned among the Tukano peoples or referred to as …

“We Will Fight For Them”: The Defense Of The ´Isolated´ Piriti People By The Waimiri Atroari, Amazonas And Roraima, Brazil, Silvia Melo Futada, Walter Nicanor Fontoura Blos, Antônio Carlos Andrade Do Nascimento, Marcelo De Sousa Cavalcante, Glenn H. Shepard Jr, Waimiri Atroari Community Association (Acwa)

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

The Pirititi are a little known ´isolated´ Indigenous group occupying a highly threatened territory on the border between Amazonas and Roraima states in Brazil who have rejected all previous attempts at contact and encounter. The Waimiri Atroari previously had conflicts with the Pirititi, who occupy a contiguous area, but over the past decade have taken it upon themselves to defend the Pirititi and their territory, relying mostly on their own resources. Given the slow pace of official Brazilian governmental responses to land invasions and other threats to the Pirititi, the Waimiri Atroari have become the main protagonists of protection and …

La Escucha De Los Soplos: Chamanismo Y Proposiciones Ontológicas Sobre El Lenguaje En El Alto Río Negro, Amazonas, Danilo Paiva Ramos

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

La región del Alto Río Negro-AM es considerada una de las áreas con mayor intensidad de multilingüismo en Brasil e incluso en el mundo. Hay un total de 23 pueblos indígenas que hablan lenguas de las familias lingüísticas arawak, tukano y hup, yuhup, dâw y nadëb. El presente trabajo busca analizar, desde un enfoque comparado, cómo un sistema regional multilingüe y multiétnico se compone no sólo de exogamia lingüística, sino también de la articulación ontológica entre endoexogamia lingüística y dialogismo chamánico. Comienza con el estudio del antropólogo tukano João Rivelino Barreto sobre el arte del diálogo chamánico tukano para describir …

We Will Not Be Saved: A Memoir Of Hope And Resistance In The Amazon Rainforest, Theodor Borrmann

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Review: We will not be saved: a memoir of hope and resistance in the Amazon rainforest, by Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson. London: Wildfire, 2024. 368 pp., plates.

Revitalizing While Transmitting: Conversations Around “Natural Birth”Practices With Kichwa Midwives In Ecuador’S Napo Region, Laura Rival

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Despite its relevance for analyzing many distinctive native imaginaries and societal values, childbirth remains a relatively neglected theme within Amazonianist scholarship. Yet, birthing can be shown to structure contemporary struggles around kinship, politics, economics, and the place of transformation in social life. This article proposes to examine a Kichwa organization (AMUPAKIN) through an experimental anthropological lens. By putting childbirth at the center of its political struggle, AMUPAKIN seeks to keep Kichwa knowledge/power alive. The goal of the organization is that each child born the Kichwa way will be able to live a good life in multicultural contexts. The article documents …

“Nós Vamos Lutar Por Eles”: A Defesa Do Povo “Isolado” Pirititi Pelos Waimiri Atroari, Amazonas E Roraima, Brasil, Silvia Melo Futada, Glenn H. Shepard Jr., Walter Nicanor Fontoura Blos, Antônio Carlos Andrade Do Nascimento, Marcelo De Sousa Cavalcante, Associação Comunitária Waimiri Atroari

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Os Pirititi são um grupo indígena “isolado” pouco conhecido, que ocupa um território altamente ameaçado na divisa entre os estados do Amazonas e Roraima (Brasil), e tem majoritariamente rejeitado todo tipo de contato e encontro. Os Waimiri Atroari já tiveram conflitos com os Pirititi no passado, mas nas últimas décadas assumiram a responsabilidade de defender os Pirititi e seu território, em processos de reconhecimento oficial, elaborando estratégias, organizando atividades e investindo seu tempo e recursos da associação comunitária. Diante da lentidão das respostas do Estado brasileiro às invasões e outras ameaças aos Pirititi, os Waimiri Atroari tornaram-se os principais protagonistas …