HIST/LAS 3401W (FALL 2009): TOPICS FOR PAPER #2
The second paper (5 pages, typed in 12-pt font, double-spaced) will be due in class Thurs. Nov. 19. Please see original paper guidelines for the general format and expectations.
Remember, you must analyze in a substantial way at least one primary document: Guaman Poma, Arriaga, the confessions of Poma and Fernandes Nobre, the Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, casta paintings, the freed-slave will in Mattoso (appendix I), the treaty from the slave rebellion (handout in study guide packet on slavery), The Caracas City Council Protest, and/or the 1766 mineworker grievances.
Your analysis of the primary source(s) must be contextualized by secondary works (for example Mattoso for a paper on slavery or Andrien for a paper on Peru). The study guides also contain important information on documents. Remember to come up with a specific thesis for whatever topic you choose ; you do not need to address all the questions in a given prompt. Be sure to define your analytical concepts (e.g. hegemony). Sections are an opportunity to practice these skills; remember to bring your readings! (A chemistry lab does not work without beakers and chemicals and a history section does not work without secondary works and primary documents.)
1. Analyze the range of indigenous and/or African responses to Christianity in colonial Latin America. How is the concept of syncretism useful (or not) to our understanding of this process?
2. Using Arriaga’s manual and the confession of Francisco Poma, analyze the campaigns to “extirpate idolatry” in Peru. Why does Arriaga propose these methods? How well does he understand indigenous culture and religion? What were the successes and/or failures of these campaigns? How did native Andeans respond to them?
3. One of the themes of the course is to analyze the actions of people subordinated by the social hierarchy (in terms of ethnicity, gender and/or socioeconomic status) along a spectrum of resistance to accommodation . Steve Stern uses the concept of hegemony to assert that going to court, running away and sabotage “offered ‘realistic’ means of resistance” but as a dominant strategy “may undermine the possibility of organizing a more ambitious assault aimed at toppling the exploitative structure itself” (p. 137). Discuss the complexities of resistance and/or hegemony through an analysis of at least two examples from the readings.
4. Analyze resistance and/or survival strategies among African slaves in Brazil. You might compare and contrast individual vs. collective resistance or everyday resistance vs. rebellion. Or you could do an in depth analysis of the Ilheus revolt.
5. Analyze the meaning of “freedom” in the context of Brazilian slavery. For example, to what degree does the practice of manumission challenge the foundations of slavery? How free is the freed slave in colonial Brazil?
6. Analyze the degree to which racial mixing in colonial Latin America reinforced and/or destabilized social hierarchies. (If you read Spanish and would like to incorporate a 3-page document exempting Josef Ponciano Ayarza from the restrictions placed on pardos—the decree of gracias al sacar—you may request a copy from Prof. Chambers.)
7. Your own topic in consultation with the professor or T.A..
Research Paper Option:
If you are writing a research paper, you need to turn in a provisional thesis statement (a hypothesis that may change as you complete the paper), an abstract (of at least 500 words) that explains the significance of the topic and the argument you intend to develop in order to support your thesis, an outline of the paper (in a standard format such as lecture outlines), and an updated bibliography.
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