Autumn Quarter 2006-07 News
"Adorno and Paz: Towards a Comparative Critique of Modernity"
On November 28, Professor Oliver Kozlarek gave a talk comparing Theodore W. Adorno and Octavio Paz and their critique of modernity. Kozlarek argued that Paz, moreso than Adorno, believed that a critique of modernity needs to take into account the multiplicity of modern cultures.
Please click here to read Professor Kozlarek's paper.
Oliver Kozlarek is Professor of Philosophy at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo in Morelia, Mexico. He was born in 1965 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. He received a doctorate in social sciences from Freie Universität Berlin (1997) and a doctorate in humanities from the Metropolitan Autonomous University Iztapalapa (2001). In Mexico, he has worked in the Department of Sociology of the UAM-Azcapotzalco, and the Department of Philosophy of the UAM-Iztapalapa. His research areas include: social philosophy and politics as well as of social theory. Specialization topics are: internationalization of the political and social thought, theories of the globalization, critical theory, theories of the modernity and sociological theory.
"Inequality, Human Development, and Migration in Mexico"
On November 14, Professor Luis F. Lopez-Calva gave a presentation on the Human Development Index and looking at poverty and inequality in the states and regions of Mexico. Dr. Lopez-Calva was particularly interested in how HDI can distort the perceptions of poverty and inequality in the country and how it affects migration both within Mexico and to the United States.
During his lecture, Lopez-Calva argued that migration occurs not because of unemployment, but because of differences in income. There are large differences between regions in terms of HDI: some municipalities have infant mortality rates similar to sub-Saharan Africa, and others have rates similar to Germany. Lopez-Calva also provided other statistics relevant to his research: Between 1950 and 2004, Mexico’s HDI grew 74%, but among Latin American countries, Mexico ranks as the 2nd lowest in terms of educational performance; only Brazil does worse.
"Does Money Whiten? Intergenerational Changes in Racial Classification in Brazil"
On November 8, Luisa Schwartzman, a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, presented a talk on the relationship between racial categories and social boundaries in Brazil. This is also the topic of her dissertation, currently in progress.
One thing Schwartzman pointed out was that Brazil’s situation is highly similar to the United States in there is a long history of slavery, there still exists a stigma on African ancestry, and race and class are highly correlated. But in Brazil, race is considered more of an individual attribute, unlike in the United States, where it is more group-centric.
"The Will to Heal in the Novels of Latin American and Latina Women Authors"
On November 7, Professor Felicia Fahey gave a presentation in relation to her book The Will to Heal, in which she explores new feminist identities in extra- and trans- national narrations by women writers in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and the United States.
Professor Fahey talked about the process of turning autobiography into fiction in order to confront past events. Characters in these novels are fictional, but they are closely drawn from real life. Among the questions Fahey posed were: How do you deal with trauma when you are still experiencing it? How do you deal with trauma when those around you cannot take care of their own trauma? Does self-expression hinge on state or cultural repression?
"Attention Deficits: Why Politicians Ignore Defense Policy in Latin America"
On October 31, Professor Harold Trinkunas talked about the social and geopolitical factors behind the lack of defense policy among countries in Latin America. He argued that there are three main reasons why defense policy should be more widely considered: terrorism, drug trafficking/human smuggling, and natural disasters. Currently, the most developed defense policies exist in Chile, Argentina, and El Salvador—which are all countries that have experienced civil-military conflicts and where politicians see the military as important to foreign relations.
There are three main reasons why defense policy isn’t seriously considered in many Latin American countries: 1) Historically, armies are small and ineffective and usually pose a bigger threat internally; 2) Structurally, the region has never been close by any major conflicts (e.g. the two world wars); and 3) in terms of rational choice, citizens are not worried about foreign invasion, thus they don’t vote based on the issue.
"Teotihuacan: Venerable Beginnings and Fiery Ends"
On October 24, Professor Ian Robertson gave a talk at the center on the ancient Aztec city of Teotihuacan. In the Aztec language, “Teotihuacan” means “a place where divinity came into being.” According to Professor Robertson, the city of Teotihuacan was significant to the Aztecs in many ways, from being religious center to a cultural center. He mentioned that by 150 AD, the city was a large, bustling area, with many unusual structures. It was the largest city in the Americas.
As the civilization grew and the city expanded, the gap between the rich and poor began to widen, culminating in civil unrest and to the burning of the city in 600 AD. The burning was mostly limited to the elite and civic areas.
"Science Policy in Brazil"
On October 10, Professor Ruy de Quieroz gave an overview of the history of science policy in Brazil and the status of the Brazilian information technology bill. He analyzed the federal (CAPES and CnPq) and state agencies which fund scientific research and graduate education in Brazil and the size of funding currently available to Brazilian scientists. He also stressed that not all of the state research organizations, which are funded with local taxes are as professional as FAPESP, the São Paulo state research organization.
While praising the overall state involvement in subsidizing scientific research he also indicates areas where problems had occurred and needed to be addressed. He also talked about the problem on digital inclusion. In Brazil there are 180 million inhabitants, and 150 million of them do not have access to information and communication technologies, and the recent still incomplete information technology bill hopes to address this problem.
"Campesino a Campesino, Voices from Latin America's Farmer to Farmer Movement for Sustainable Agriculture"
On October 3, Dr. Eric Holt-Gimenez gave a stirring and enlightening talk on the campesino movement in Latin America. He talked about his experiences working with campesinos in Mexico. The campesino movement began in the highlands of Guatemala, among a small contingent of farmers, but now there are about 300,000 campesinos all over Latin America. Campesinos face many struggles, from soil depletion to lack of water. Furthermore, the transfer of technology process becomes difficult when up against cultural and linguistic barriers.
Dr. Holt-Gimenez argues that the two keys to the success of movement are: innovation and solidarity. Many farmers specifically set aside small plots of land in order to experiment with new methods. Thus, if experiments failed, it would not affect the rest of the crop. Soil conservation is hard work, but local campesinos find that working together helps everyone. They implement a system of mutual aid, such as helping out on each other’s farms, sharing machinery, and forming cooperatives.