You will be asked to write two 3-5 page (double-spaced) position papers, each covering one of the topics or concepts we will be discussing.
The first is due June 4. The second is due June 27.
Take one of the concepts listed here (or if you would like to suggest a concept that is not on this list).
The aim of the position paper is to define the concept you have chosen and expand on it, drawing on both the readings we have been doing, and also what we have been seeing and experiencing in Peru.
In other words, what you will be doing here is combining what you are learning from the texts with what you are learning by other means, and seeking to make sense of it through concepts that you develop and interrogate.
For instance, you might take the concept “order” and discuss both how it is defined and elaborated by Angel Rama and how it plays out in the Plaza Mayor of Lima, as we saw it when we visited.
Or you might take the concept “history” from Guaman Poma and discuss both his understanding of history and the traces or effects of history that we see around us in Cusco and Pisac.
Above all, what I am looking for here is that you can a) make connections between the texts and our experience and b) reflect on the concepts that are employed in the texts and that we might use to understand Indignity in the Andes.
Here is some more on what I am hoping:
- That you work with the texts, which are at the centre of this course: reading, analyzing, thinking critically as well as sympathetically
- That you work with your experiences here in Peru (and elsewhere): looking, observing, listening, thinking, and reflecting on all this self-critically
- That you put the above two elements together, synthesizing different kinds of sources (written and other): comparing, contrasting, looking for resonances and frictions
- That by drawing on this material, you work with a concept: understanding, defining, questioning, and producing concepts that enable thought
- That you outline and occupy a position, as far forward as you can push, even if you later feel you need to retreat and try again
Finally, as I said, I hope that here and elsewhere in this course you surprise both yourself and me.
