Abstracts from the 2009 Workshop

Ashley Akins - Latin American Studies

Title: "Woven in Time: Andean Textiles Revitalization for a Promising Future"

The presentation will discuss the importance of traditional ecological knowledge as seen in the context of the Quechua weaving tradition, my personal discoveries while living in the Sacred Valley, and the origins of Mosqoy, the non-profit organization that I established in 2006 (see www.mosqoy.org)

Dr. Michelle Bonner – Department of Political Sciences

Title: "Protest and Police 'Excesses' in Chile: The Limits of Social Accountability"

Police repression of social protest is generally thought of as a feature of authoritarian governments, yet it occurs even in established democracies. What distinguishes excessive police violence in a democracy is, ideally, the immediate and effective activation of democratic mechanisms of accountability. This presentation assesses the role of the media as a mechanism of social accountability on police violence against social protest. Analyzing newspaper coverage of the police excesses during the 2006 student protest in Chile, the presentation asks: do the media act as a mechanism of social accountability? Drawing on the work of Enrique Peruzzotti and Catalina Smulovitz, it argues that in this instance the role the media in Chile play as a mechanism of social accountability is limited by legal constraints, access to information, and issues of inclusion.

Dr. Denise Brown - Latin American Studies, University of Calgary

Title: "Space, gender and power in a Maya community"

Socio-spatial analysis focuses on disentangling spatial and social organization, the principles of which exist in a relationship of mutual feedback that creates the conditions for on-going renegotiation. Due to the strength of the relationship between the spatial and the social, power is usually expressed spatially—and thus spatial analysis provides important insight into power enactment and power struggles. Gender is a key parameter in the definition of social and spatial relations, and is embedded in relationships of power. This paper discusses recent changes in the use and organization of space in a Maya town of the central Yucatan peninsula, with particular attention to gender, and explores in what ways this is reflecting and reinforcing fundamental shifts in power relations within the town. Based on longitudinal data, this case study provides insight into spatial aspects of gender and power.

Manuel Campirano - Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies

Title: "Eliseo Subiela: The Subtle Craft of Filmmaking"

The condition of the artist is perhaps the most salient theme in the film El lado oscuro del corazón (The dark side of the heart; Argentina-Canada, 1992), written and directed by the Argentinean Eliseo Subiela. One of the most effective tools the director employs to reinforce the portrayal of the protagonist’s daily battle for survival is the inclusion of death as one the characters in the story. The character of Death represents the antithesis of Oliverio and his values. It is not difficult to find evidence of Death’s versions in Subiela’s film: there are plenty of dialogues and actions in which the character rejects beauty, poetry and love. It is, however, more challenging and laborious to discover the cinematographic tools that the director uses to infuse his character with more subtle but also more universal qualities: the mystery that surrounds her, her omnipresence and her connection to the underworld. The purpose of this presentation is to analyze the subtle way in which Subiela utilizes the camera and the mise-èn-scene —specifically the spaces and lighting— to both inject and reinforce those qualities in the character of Death.

Bernard Henin - Department of Geography

Title: "Leftist Politics and Development in Venezuela: An Analysis of Agrarian Reform"

This presentation examines the nature and the consequences of recent agrarian reform in Venezuela imposed by the Hugo Chávez government. It discusses the effectiveness of the reforms in redressing the historically high imbalance in land assets in the country and improving rural livelihoods. It points to the obstacles faced by the Chávez government in its goal to implement a socialist development agenda in Venezuela’s rural areas.

Anne-Mette Hermansen – Department of Anthropology

Title: "'They dance alone?' Fantasy and Intimacy in Cuba’s Tourism Industry"

In the context of Cuba's recent introduction of aspects of a free market economy, especially a double currency, and the country's booming tourism industry, many Cubans have become dependent on the acquisition of dollars to make ends meet. Cubans have their own fantasies of a "good life" as consumers of capitalist desires, while at the same time participating actively in the production of fantasies and images that attract foreigners to the island, among other places in Havana’s many salsa clubs.

Cuban women, who have been successfully inserted in the labor market as a result of the Cuban revolution, are key actors in the Cuban tourism industry as well as in the position of consumers in Cuba's new economy. They are resourceful in their ability to influence Cuban tourism and tourists in Cuba while simultaneously being acted upon and constrained by this same industry and their personal dependence on foreigners.

My research focuses on sexual-economic relationships between Cuban women and foreign men that have different motifs and expressions. Based on a six months fieldwork in Havana, in this paper I examine the desire and intimacy that arise between Cuban women and foreign men in popular dance clubs and within social networks. I illustrate how dancing is an important site and medium for generating desire in the "other" in a Cuban context as well as a prism for exploring the (re)production of sexualized, racialized and gendered relationships of power between Cuban women and foreign men. I discuss the significance and characteristics of bodily presentation and performance in these encounters and I analyze the discourses of authenticity and intimacy and seek to determine what makes dance different from other bodily performances or services in Cuba's tourism industry.

Gabriela Pereira - Department of Anthropology

Title: "Archaeology in Latin America: Development, Perspectives and Contemporary Debates"

In this paper, I discuss the Archaeology produced in Latin America. I will emphasize the main characteristics and theoretical approaches which can be observed in the region and relate these to the Archaeology developed elsewhere. Firstly, I will briefly present the development of the discipline in the different countries, suggesting the main tendencies and perspectives developed in the region. Secondly, I will discuss how the relationship between archaeologists in the North and South portion of the American continent is based on an unequal relation of power, where the knowledge produced in the South is subjugated. To illustrate my argument, I will discuss theories of the peopling of the American continent, a controversial topic in Archaeology. Specifically, I will discuss two Brazilian case studies, Toca da Pedra Furada and Lagoa Santa, which are central to this topic. Thirdly, I will advocate for a more collaborative and decolonized approach, and outline the contributions which Latin American Archaeology has to offer the "developed" world.

Although I use the term "Latin American Archaeology", it is not my intention to portray the diversity of traditions as a homogeneous entity. Instead, there are a diversity of traditions and practices which this paper will address. Furthermore, this multiplicity of traditions cannot be disconnected from the historical, social and economic contexts of the region. However, it is possible to speak of a variety of traditions if we recognize some characteristics which are shared by all Latin American countries, such as the colonial past, economic underdevelopment and political instability.

Dr. Dan Russek - Hispanic and Italian Studies

Title: "Strategies of Illusion in Two Works by Mario Bellatín"

In this presentation I examine some of the productive tensions that arise when text and image coincide in the space of a literary work. I raise a number of questions and problems around the ways in which we read illustrated texts, especially when photographs are involved. My case studies are a couple of books by Mexican writer Mario Bellatin: Shiki Nagaoka: Una nariz de ficción (2001) and Jacobo el mutante (2002). I examine the conditions of the collaboration established by writer and photographer, and even publisher, specifically the way the graphic material contributes to the construction of literary meaning. My analysis is based on the work of Gerard Genette on the paratext, as well as developments on visual culture and the theory of photography

Julian Yates - Department of Geography

Title: "The Collection and Re-use of Organic Waste for Urban Agriculture in Diadema, Brazil"

The re-use of organic household waste for food production in urban environments is often presented as disorganized and fragmentary; few researchers have developed an understanding of how a system of organic waste collection and subsequent re-use for urban agriculture (UA) can come to define a more sustainable space of community-based development. A pilot project was carried out in Diadema (São Paulo, Brazil), in which organic waste was collected on a door-to-door basis by the recycler’s association Vida Limpa, and transported to a local community garden for processing and use as compost by the gardeners. To date, such an integrated waste management model has not been successfully implemented; academic literature reveals that waste collection models have focused on solid recyclable material and UA models in developing countries have utilized household organic material on an ad hoc basis. This paper analyzes the processes of building the capacity of Vida Limpa, urban farmers, and the local community to support the collection and re-use of organic waste. The political and institutional arrangements required for a facilitative environment are also explored. The discussion raises practical issues concerning waste separation and transportation, as well as socio-political concerns regarding the participation and support required for a functional and sustainable integrated system. Geographical concepts addressed include environmental education, the organization of public urban space, and local political frameworks for sustainable community-based development. Lessons learned from the pilot project shape knowledge of urban systems and inform practice within sustainable and inclusive urban waste management.