Blogs

“I have written these modest lines free from intellectual arrogance, armed solely with a most human warmth and sincerity, thinking about these wonderful creatures of God, my fellow beings: mankind!” (Lima reader, P. 159) I’ve always struggled with the objective label of “good taste”. It’s something that you might know when you see it, but […] read full post >>

“Her case is fascinating on two counts: we find out that over the course of those twenty years, she, like other “witches,” was incorporating more and more indigenous lore into her repertoire; also, we get to meet her renowned clients, the tapadas, Lima’s infamous veiled ladies, whose reputation must have contributed to the tribunal’s distrust of witches.” (pg 168) read full post >>

“Her case is fascinating on two counts: we find out that over the course of those twenty years, she, like other “witches,” was incorporating more and more indigenous lore into her repertoire; also, we get to meet her renowned clients, the tapadas, Lima’s infamous veiled ladies, whose reputation must have contributed to the tribunal’s distrust of witches.” (pg 168) read full post >>

“Cobo argues that the Spanish had created the city with great prudence and precision but had not foreseen the growth of the African and Indigenous population. The Spanish would have to share the City of Kings with the people who did the work.” (Aguirre & Walker, 16)  This quote from a chapter introduction in the […] read full post >>

Experience Blog 4 read full post >>

While I mostly resonated with Mariategui’s analysis of the “Indian’s problem” (could it be both an economic and racialized issue?), I did raise my eyebrow at this claim he made toward the end of the chapter: “Socialism appears in our history not because of chance, imitation, or fashion, as some superficial minds would believe, but […] read full post >>

Week 4: In Sickness, Health, and New Friends! The plague hit our class (more than usual), and I was ill for two days so I am having trouble recollecting specifics from this week’s events. Some notable moments, however, were visiting the Kusi Kaway school that I mentioned in a previous blog. After our class discussion today, I’ve thought a lot about how enriching their education system is. I was most intrigued by the diversity of plants they had in their garden and how each plant had a specific purpose such as for spices, digestive teas, chewing gum and many others. Some of my fondest memories as a student in elementary school were tending to our community garden and learning how to cultivate crops so I was amazed at how well-developed their garden was, and a tinge jealous that the students had access to such a lush green space. In class, we discussed how the type of education provided by the Kusi Kaway school may not be sufficient for being admitted to a university such as UBC. This may be true but there are undoubtedly numerous other benefits such as developing connections to one’s community, learning how to coexist with nature, respecting one’s environment, knowing the purposes of different plants, and developing virtues such as patience (with learning how to weave), which are things that I find were absent from my education as a child. read full post >>

In one part of the Lima Reader it talks about food and restaurants in Lima. One line that I really liked was, “The tables we eat around aren’t just social spaces. In Lima, food has long been its own landscape, a haven of beauty and comfort.” Food and the spaces where it is prepared and […] read full post >>

But the very first Inca, Tocay Capac, had no idol and no ceremonies; the Incas were free of such things until the reign of the mother and wife of Manco Capac Inca, followed by his lineage, who were descended from amaros (serpents). (Guaman Poma 32) Felipe Guaman Poma de Alaya’s “The First New Chronicle and […] read full post >>

Reading Blog Something that has stood out to me in our readings has been Deep Rivers by José María Arguedas – and within this book, a sentence that has stood out to me is: “In the dark street, in the silence, the wall appeared to be alive; the lines I had touched between the stones […] read full post >>