During the course of 16 September, we discussed the evolution of Latin America: from the time of the indigenous empires to the beginning of the 20th century. Today, the Latin America comprises a wide area, with over 600 million people in more than twenty countries, speaking different languages and giving the culture a special touch, from Spanish and Portuguese to the various dialects of the different indigenous languages, such as Quechua. The very term “Latin America” introduced by the french Michel Chevalier, reflects a concept impregnated with power relations throughout history. Other denominations include Hispanic-America, Ibero-America which alone carry different perspectives-and categorizations include Indigenous America, Afro-Latin America, and Euro-Latin America in their manifold efforts to approach its identity.

Economically, the region represents a multi-faceted picture of high legitimate inequality coupled with a growing middle class, falling poverty rates, and stark economic disparity across and within countries-as in most parts, an outcome of the lingering shadows of colonialism. Three basic things one needs to understand about Latin America include: the manner in which legacies of colonialism continue to shape structural inequalities; the centrality of transculturation in formulating a Latin American identity; and Latin American culture as an increasingly diasporic phenomenon. The understanding is further deepened in light of the relevance of pre-Columbian civilization that was proven through sophisticated civilizations in Latin America prior to contact, such as the Aztec and Inca empires, while the Columbian Exchange-particularly the introduction of Old World diseases across the Bering Strait-carried an extremely powerful impact on native populations and thus set the stage for massive demographic and cultural shifts. Contemplating this rich tapestry of history and culture pushes one strongly toward the complexity and depth in which Latin Americans had to live.

This overview challenges one-dimensional narratives and invites us to consider multiple perspectives and long-term impacts of historical processes while studying contemporary issues in the region. The stress transculturation receives, along with the diasporic nature of Latin American culture, is particularly provocative in the requirement of any true understanding of Latin America looking beyond borders to dynamic, ongoing exchanges of ideas, people, and cultures that continue to shape the region. The approach/standpoint that it is one which nurtured a more complex and holistic conception of Latin American studies, taking into consideration both common histories and experiences existing within this wide geography and emphasizing contextual understanding in the approach to Latin American Studies and contemporary issues.

Today in History 109, we learned about the history of Latin America. Possessing a rich history, we also learned about the name itself, and what all the different names can tell us about the people that shaped the entire region. In about 45 minutes, we covered roughly 500 years’ worth of history dating back to the colonial period.

In terms of Colonization, we covered 2 main types: planter and extractive. Planter colonization consisted of heavy production of export crops and importing enslaved Africans, while extractive moved resources out of the colonized areas with the use of indigenous populations. One particular location we looked at was the Potosi silver mine, where extractive colonization funneled silver directly into Europe and Asia. We also looked at the extensive sugar operations in Brazil, where at least 4 million slaves were imported to work on sugar plantations. A brutal slavery system resulted from this.

We also covered the impact of this extensively, focusing on 3 main points: a heterogenous population, religion, and land. In terms of the heterogenous population, colonists conducted aggressive sexual behavior on the indigenous people, causing a heavily mixed population of people. Racial diversity is still very prominent today, but it is not simple. With religion, Spanish and Portuguese introduced Catholicism to the native population. Some embraced it, others did not. Some had their own ways to worship, one of these discussed was N.S. de Guadalupe. On the last point, land, colonialism caused a very unequal society that was based on land ownership. Simon Boliuan later commented on this inequality before the revolution form European control, however, he notes 20 years later that the problem is still present.

In the period of Neo-colonialism, this region of the world focused heavily on exports – both to US and European markets – and on extensive urbanization. As we wrapped up for the day, we briefly covered some 20th C. points, including extensive economic change, new political structures like populism and dictatorships within the region, and revolutionary movements. When looking at this period, it is important to note it as a time of great political turmoil and change, whether that be for better or for worse.

Overall today was very informative, interesting, and brought up some points about Latin America (or however you name it) that I hadn’t thought extensively about for a long time. We tend to focus much more on the American aspect in middle and high school, so it’s really quite fascinating to learn more about this area of the world whenever possible.

The lesson on Monday (09/09) took us through a discussion on Europe and the World in the 20th century. We began with noting the power of Britain pertaining to its colonial capabilities. It was interesting to note that as an imperial nation, it had about 25% of the world’s population and Earth’s land area under its rule. Some South Asian and African states however fought for their independence in the mid 1900s. With this decolonization over the years, Britain has become a melting point for culture featuring nationalities from all over the world.

We then went on to discuss the general region of Europe. Again, it comes up that Europe is place of heightened cultural diversity; being made up of diverse societies and geographies. The most interesting fact was the 30 year with itself over nationalist politics with a turning point in 1945.

A general summary looked at its development to multicultural states in 1989 that is ultimately shaped by immigration and contributed to its wealth and resources today.

On Monday, September 9th we discussed Europe and the world in the 20th century and their vital historical events. We first dove into Britain’s 20th century’s great imperial power to a island nation. About 25% of the worlds population and land was under the British Empire. Now, Britain today is a multicultural society.

Afterwards, we focused on Europe and it’s turning point in 1945. After World War II, Europe began it’s journey of reconstruction for it’s nation. The Welfare State was created to provide basic economic security for citizens. Another turning point for Europe was in 1989, when the Berlin Wall was destroyed. It was a symbol of the division of Europe into Communist East and
Democratic/Capitalist West. Europe was described as a rural yet also urban environment. Western and Eastern Europe have vast differences including geography, culture, and politics. For example, many nations have contrasting generosity scores.

The overall theme of today’s class was Europe’s evolution to becoming a multicultural nation.

In class this Friday one of the main themes from Dr. Sene’s presentation on Dakar was the legacy of colonization on the city. French colonization of the city shaped the infrastructure and institutions. The use of Dakar as a port city by the French helped establish its global importance, but also displaced many of the local people. For example, after illness plagued the city in 1914 Europeans forced the African population out of the city.

Dr. Sene also spoke of the contradiction between the desire to push back against colonization, but also to benefit from institutions resulting from it, such as education systems. Dakar has been able to invest in new initiatives to expand the city in order to accommodate the growing number of people migrating there.

The class can observe many of the main themes of the course taking place in Dakar. Imperialism and colonialism are seen in the French colonization of Senegal, Globalization in its role as a port city and modern-day hub for international organizations, industrialism and its effects are seen through migration to the city, and a changing political structure through the anti-colonialist activity that took place over the city’s history.

On September 6th, we started class by discussing many of the key themes of the world during the 1900s. Although we discussed many, the main five were imperialism/colonialism, industrialization/urbanization, rise of global trade, changing roles for women, and changing political structures. After this we went around and shared how these themes related to the cities we picked for our mini research project. It was fascinating to me that everyone saw at least 2-3 of these major themes present in their city during the 1900s. I chose to research Helsinki Finland, and during this research I didn’t even have these themes in mind. Once completing this project, I realized changing roles for women and imperialism/colonialism were the two most prevalent themes for my city. During the 1900s Finland was attempting to fight off Russian nationalism in order to receive independence, which they eventually did in 1917. Also, during this time women began to receive jobs in the classroom for the first time, and they were given the responsibility of showing children at this time what a true humble submissive woman looked like.

For the second half of class we had a guest speaker who was informing us about Dakar in Senegal. Throughout this discussion he related many of the themes we just discussed to Dakar in the 1900s. For example, he mentioned how Dakar had many trade routes in West Africa where commodities and ideas were shared/exchanged. He took us through Dakar’s history from the late 18th century, where they were the Lebou Republic, all the way to present day, no longer French West Africa. Overall, it was very interesting to me that even though we are looking at different countries all over the world, with very different cultures, they all were experiencing very similar things during the 1900s.

On September 4th we learned about Osaka and Singapore circa 1900. My focus will be on the former. Osaka was the most important commercial center of the Tokugawa era from 1600-1868, though its population stagnated in 1700 and did not increase much for the rest of the era. Japan entered the Meiji Restoration era in 1868, where it took inspiration from Europe and began industrializing. Osaka, as a result, went through rapid industrialization and experienced rapid population growth. Businesses like Osaka Spinning were founded and many mills were opened in the city. Mill owners tried expanding their influence globally by establishing mills in other countries, especially China. Their first attempts ended in failure, but by the 1900s they were successful in opening mills in China.

Young women were a prime target in recruitment for mills. Women working in mills were often under the age of twenty and their lives were miserable. Mills were actually one of the many institutions apart of Japan’s campaign to increase the birth rate by “‘disciplining” women into becoming “good wives and mothers.” In addition, midwives were also deployed to monitor women and abortion was highly illegal.

Today’s class featured two guest speakers who each taught us about a different city during the 20^th century. I’m going to focus on the city of Singapore, which we learned about from Doctor Ng. Singapore is a tiny peninsula in Southeast Asia, but despite its size it is extremely urbanized. The British Empire recognized the economic potential of Singapore because the region was home to many spices which were both rare and expensive at the time, so in the early 1800’s they annexed Singapore as a Crown Colony. Singapore’s convenient location and access to waters for global trade made it a very successful colony economically. Due to the high traffic of trade through Singapore, it became a melting pot for several different peoples. There were the indigenous people of Singapore, who had inhabited the land since before the British had acquired it, Chinese people who came to Singapore for economic opportunity, and of course the British colonizers. Singapore is a prime example of many of the themes we have discussed from the early 1900’s. The colony was a direct result of globalization, and the British’s Eurocentric views led them to believe that Singapore was up for grabs, even though it was already inhabited by the indigenous people. After learning about Singapore at the dawn of the 20^th century, I can’t help but see some similarities shared between the United States and Singapore with concern to the “melting pot” that occurred in each place. Also, women in both places were searching for more individual opportunity and freedom. Although this search was rudely interrupted by World War One, it’s interesting that similar themes are visible in two very unrelated places.

Today’s class provided insight into the world of the 1900s, a place of empires built upon decades of colonialism that created a race for technological advancement between nation-states that would only grow in its competitiveness. The 1900s were also a time of immense technological growth and the first era of globalization provided by the advanced technology of the time and the desire of nations to expand. Even further, this advanced communication allowed for the spread of knowledge and dissemination of technology, culminating in landmark achievements such as electricity-powered factories, the internal combustion engine, the creation of steel and mass production, and the use of chemicals. Although these inventions were fresh then, the Worlds Fair introduced some of the more critical devices and overwhelming excitement to its millions of attendees. The 1900s was not the beginning of modern times but only a point in a long road of slow advancements, similar to today’s world.

In todays class we discussed the world in 1900, specifically highlighting cities, which were experiencing a population boom due to industrial developments. We discussed how social dislocation of former farmers into the German city of Essen brought on an expansion of the socialist party. Their discontent at conditions, and new educations allowed them to organize, which in turn led to an already intense upswelling of nationalistic sentiment. As a relatively new nation, Germany was looking to make up ground in terms of colonial holdings and military power. This desire at the highest levels, in addition to being influenced by a Prussian-dominant power structure, led to rampant militarism in Germany. Across the world, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, we discussed how immigration shapes national identity, as well as the identity of the individual. Argentina was a leading country in 1900, basing its structure off its European counterparts. Argentina’s immigrant culture still shapes the nation today, with many of its cultural trademarks being from different lands.