Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Ethnicity in latin america
Marx views on exploitation
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Ethnicity in latin america
We may sometimes wonder why those who are oppressed, don’t rebel against their subordinate position in society. Perhaps the concept of false consciousness could help answer this question. According to the Marxism theory, false consciousness is “a way of thinking that prevents a person from perceiving the true nature of their current social or economic situation.” Because of this, it prevents individuals from taking action towards change for a better life than what they currently have, which may very well be unjust. In this essay, I will discuss the three main theories of false consciousness and further attempt to answer the question above, using a specific ethnographic example from Latin America. There are three main theories of false consciousness, …show more content…
Mayans had their own systems of living, their own language, economic means, and knowledge and understandings of the world long before the Europeans came. They took away their authority, as well as attempted to control their knowledge of what is right/wrong, good/bad, desirable/not desirable etc. Unfortunately, all this continues to happen to this day, not by Europeans but by their own nation state of …show more content…
Authoritative individuals with power, enforce the idea that capitalism and the integration of their indigenous people and white Europeans or those with European ancestry, will celebrate racial and cultural mixture (Helen I. Safa). This concept is also known as mestisaje, which was “embodied in the paradigm of indigenismo” (June Nash, author of Mayan Vision) which from the time of the 1910 revolution, dominated Mexico’s state policy. I believe mestisaje was also a way of falsifying an idea of a unified nation, as it favored blanqueamiento or the whitening of people. In other words, mestisaje made it seem like in order to be successful and progress as a nation, they needed the integration of the whites. Mayans were forced to accept the dominant order, perhaps believing the false idea of what is better for them, which made it hard for them to fight against the oppression. Although their behaviors changed to fit those enforced by the Europeans, and now the state itself, I’m sure their values still conflict, and there is certainly a degree of reluctance. According to Nash, “Mayans retain a sense of their communal identity and the values that sustain an alternative vision to that offered by capitalist
It is very likely that most people have heard about the Mayan Civilization in one way or another. Whether fictitious or factual, this ancient culture iw idelt recognized. The Mayan people lived from about 250 to 900 CE in Mesoamerica. Which includes modern day Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and parts of southern Mexico.These people had many remarkable achievements, all of which can fit under the categories of scale, genius effort, and significance. These achievements include an advanced trade system, an amazing understanding of numbers, and the ability to design and build cities that are still mostly standing today. However, their most impressive achievement is their complex calendars.
Throughout history many people write what actually happened but from their point of view. One of them that really common is Eurocentric perspective since they have travelled to new places and wrote down what they saw when they were there. A lot of that has happened with Mesoamerica because they have been taken over by the Spaniards and they wrote what they thought has happened. They thought they were god like compared to them. The Americas wouldn’t be what it is because of them. Also they thought that the Aztecs were more savage like people who like to sacrifice people. All of this was from their point of view and not the Aztecs who are the ones who know better than them.
Double Consciousness is the sense of having to look at oneself through the eyes of others, making it difficult to develop a sense of self. W. E. B. Dubois used the term mostly to recognize the black community in the early 1900’s, but now it affects many Americans, no matter what their ethnicity is. Therefore, double consciousness is still a significant factor in today’s society.
When the Spanish began to arrive in Mexico and in Central America in the early 15th century, one of the many civilizations they found was the Maya. The Maya, building upon the Olmec culture, were located in present-day Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, southern Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Even though they had many similarities, the Maya were separated by language differences. Because of that they were organized into city-states. Since there wasn’t a single city-state powerful enough to impose a political structure, the period from 200 A.D. to the arrival of the Spanish was characterized by the struggle of rival kingdoms for dominance.
The author argues that in order for oppression to be vitally explored, the factors that create oppression must be realized. Oppression gives material advantage to the oppressor. "All social relations have material consequences". The author argues that all identities must be considered interconnected.
Carrasco shows that sacrificing was key to the Mesoamericans. Their entire belief is through world renewing, world making, and world centering. Both Aztecs and Mayans revolved their society around structures that they thought was centered around the universe. Each one believed that their society revolved around the universe. Sacrifices such as autosacrifice, removing the heart while the person was still alive was a daily ritual with the Aztecs, and Mayans. The purpose for public sacrificing was to feed the gods and make the them happy with their people. The type of people sacrificed was the beautiful and the captured warriors after a war. The beautiful was sacrificed because the gods didn't give any distinct quality to be remembered for such as a disfigured face.
When the Europeans first arrived in Latin America, they didn’t realize the immensity of their actions. As history has proven, the Europeans have imposed many things on the Latin American territory have had a long, devastating effect on the indigenous people. In the centuries after 1492, Europeans would control much of South America and impose a foreign culture upon the already established civilizations that existed before their arrival. These imposed ideas left the continent weak and resulted in the loss of culture, the dependence on European countries, and a long standing ethnic tension between natives and settlers which is evident even to this day. The indigenous people of South America, which included the Aztec, Olmec, and the Maya cultures of Central America and the Inca of South America, had developed complex civilizations, which made use of calendars, mathematics, writing, astronomy, the arts, and architecture. Unfortunately for them, the Europeans cared little about the culture they would be obliterating, and cared more about their own ulterior motives.
The consistent interaction between Mesoamerican civilizations within the region created a cultural diffusion that allowed Mesoamericans to share a great degree of their cultural practices and knowledge with each other. Church and State are one of the same. They considered the gods to be the everyday rulers of their daily lives and depended on their priests and rulers to ensure that the gods were appeased and didn't destroy the earth or extinguish the essential life sustaining Sun. The Maya religion required a highly complicated method of worship that demanded bloodletting and sacrificial rituals that were often fulfilled by the kings and queens. These efforts were necessary because it was believed to "feed" the gods.
Mexicans have been a people long oppressed. That is evident not only by the readings edited by Zaragosa Vargas in Major Problems in Mexican American History, but also by the the documentary Chicano!. The Mexicans’ past is underscored by conquest of the present-day American Southwest first by the Spanish and then by the United States following the Mexican American War. With other countries establishing control over them, Mexicans have never really been able to establish themselves. Efforts were repeatedly made to shape them into what others perceived them to be. The language they should speak, the religion they should practice, the things they should learn, and the way they should live, were all decisions that for many years Mexicans did not have the power to control. This lack of power allowed the Spanish and the United States to take advantage of Mexican rights, labor and land. In addition, it also produced a loss of Mexican identity and culture.
Various theorists under the umbrella of critical social theory believe that all subordinate groups are oppressed on personal, cultural and institutional levels by visible and invisible structures as well as by conscious and unconscious means. (Mullaly, 2010 ).
Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2009. Print. The. Houston, Stephen. A. “Classic Maya Religion: Beliefs and practices of an Ancient American People.”
The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire. While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script, a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines that come together to make the event happen. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec is no different. Three major themes are seen in this struggle. One of them is the incredible advantage that the Spaniards technology gave them over the Aztecs. A second major theme is the greed that fueled the conquests in the New World. The last major theme was the effect of the political divisions and rivalries within Montezuma’s Central American Kingdom. As this historical event progressed each one of these themes began to intertwine until they became an almost unstoppable force.
The European and Mayan civilizations had inverse experiences during the Classical era, but they were similar in some aspects. While the Mayans were basking in their glorious success as a civilization, the Europeans stood in their shadow. However, after the Renaissance Era, it was as if the Mayans stood in the shadow of the European revival. These two societies have a definite inverse relationship, in that while one was succeeding, the other was squandering. For example, the forward thinking of the Mayans and their knowledge of arithmetic and science was overshadowed by the revolutionary ideas created by European scientists, the fact that the Mayans had created a complex, and accurate calendar wasn’t nearly as celebrated as a European man who got hit by an apple.
I think this was the film overall message because it gives us a good depiction on how mesoamerica was before the Europeans came to destroy them with war and plagues. I believe this happened for a reason, as history has shown us throughout time we have seen organization such as the Germany, The Nazi, Iraq, and before them the Mayan Empire. According to history “the horrors of unrestrained government and how tyrants always seize the reigns of control, press on the nerve of power and abuse, dominate and terrorize populations” (Jones and Watson). From the quote they are referring to the Mayan Empire who were destructive and power hungry creating lies to control the people and enslave people by telling the people that the gods will punish them if they don’t obey. This is the exact same concept used by any power seeking tyrants as we seen in the past the United States seperated from Great Britain, United States stopped Germany and Hitler, and now they are facing Syria which will probably be resolved in the coming months. In specific to the film there 's a particular scene when they are walking in pass a diseased girl and her dead mother and this scene foreshadows the events that are going to happen. From history we learned that the Spanish Conquistadors and other European settlers came and swept away the
The Maya civilization is a very important culture that has left a great impact on our world today. They are known for their written language, art, mathematical system and astronomical system. The Maya territory includes Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico. In these areas the Maya thrived in their religious practices, politics, and their use of the territory.