GENED 1148: Moctezuma’s Mexico Then and Now: Ancient Empires, Race Mixture, and Finding LatinX

Moctezuma’s Mexico Then and Now: Ancient Empires, Race Mixture, Finding LatinX

Course Description:

This course provides students with the opportunity to explore how the study of pre-Hispanic, Indigenous and Colonial Mexican and LatinX cultures provide vital context for understanding today's changing world. The early emphasis is on the mythical and social origins, glory days and political collapse of the Aztec Empire and Maya civilizations as a pivot to the study of the sexual, religious and racial interactions of the Great Encounter between Mesoamerica, Africa, Europe, and the independent nations of Mexico and the United States. We also study  how archaeology, artistic media, cosmovision, capital cities, human sacrifice and the religious devotions of ancient Mesoamerica illuminate the Day of the Dead,  Virgin of Guadalupe and the search for LatinX phenomena today. We will do so through the lenses of five major concepts: 1. Cosmovision and Sacrifice; 2. Cities and Monuments as Surplus and Social Stratification; 3. Gender and Duality (race mixture/mestizaje); 4. Exchange, Pandemics and Protests (access to the gods and the goods); 5. Longue Durée (events, ideas, and symbols adapted into the biology and culture of people).

Hands-on work with objects at the Peabody Museum aids in examining new concepts of race, nation and the persistence of Moctezuma's Mexico in Latino identities in the Mexico-US Borderlands. This course empowers our students to gain access to cultural and political dimensions of finding and becoming LatinX even as the U.S. is changing and struggling to define itself in relation to Latin America and especially the migration of peoples, ideas, arts, music, food from and through Mexico.

How does Mexico's rich cultural past shape contemporary Mexico and the US in the face of today's culture wars, politics, pandemics, protests and other challenges of the borderlands?

This course affirms William Faulkner’s famous claim “The past is never dead. It’s not even past” by exploring how the Indigenous and colonial past is so integral to the present in Mexico and the Mexico/US Borderlands. We study how cultural differences and a shared, but contested, history play key roles in the complicated, yet vital, relationships between Mexico and the United States, now. We will explore in memoirs, archaeology, and pictorials how the origins of Mesoamerican civilization played a pivotal role in the birth, glory days, and fall of Moctezuma’s great Aztec Empire. We will do so through the lenses of five major concepts: 1. Cosmovision and Sacrifice; 2. Cities and Monuments as Surplus and Social Stratification; 3. Gender and Duality (race mixture/mestizaje); 4. Exchange, Pandemics and Protests (access to the gods and the goods); 5. Longue Durée (events, ideas, and symbols adapted into the biology and culture of people).

Our class takes a hard look at the Great Encounter between the Iberian empire and Mesoamerican cities by identifying the positive as well as the tragic results of the European invasion of Mexico. We learn how warfare, religion and even pandemics, past, help us to understand pandemics, present, both in Mexico and the U.S. We begin by seeing through the eyes of the conquistadors (in Bernal Diaz del Castillo's True History of the Conquest of New Spain) as well as the voices of the indigenous scribes, warriors, and rulers (male, female, and non-binary) whose works and words survived the ordeal and transform our understanding of their world. Through monuments, art, and literature we study the astonishing formation of Colonial Mexico City and its prominent though little heralded role as an economic and cultural crossroads between Europe and Asia. Mexico's 1810-1821 Independence Movement led by Catholic warrior-priests, and the struggles of post-independence Mexico are contextualized within the framework of the globalization wrought by the industrial revolution. We survey the 1910-1919 Mexican Revolution, inspired in part by Indigenous and mestizo rebels, and the ways in which post-revolutionary Mexico--through the artistic genius of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and others--has led the way in embracing racial and cultural hybridity for other cultures and countries in the Americas.

The disciplines of archaeology and religious studies take us into contemporary Mesoamerican and Latinx cultures. Students have often praised the way our course includes work with Aztec and Maya “objects” at the Peabody Museum which aid in examining the material expressions of daily life and cosmovision in Moctezuma's Mexico. The course has the added feature of online meetings that focus on ways Latino art, music, and dance utilize Aztec and Mesoamerican themes. Visiting lecturers include Professor Jenny Carballo on Mexican food and translator Vintle Stanzione on his new translation of the sacred Maya book, Popul Vuj. We include encounters with the music of Dr. Loco, the writings of Chicanx award winning writers Gloria Anzaldúa, John Phillip Santos, and Cherrie Moraga. The Peabody Museum's yearly celebration of Day of the Dead has always been a vital component of the course and one of many ways in which students will take their experiential learning in this course with them, for the rest of their days.

We have constructed a number of ‘modalities’ within the individual class and section meetings that vary from class to class and over the course of the semester also. Professors Carrasco and Fash will be providing insight and analytical tools in their series of presentations each class and throughout the semester. Those will include PowerPoints and parts of documentaries they have been featured in as ways to explore the theme of each class session and provide the main narrative that ties each day’s lively and diverse components together. You will be asked to participate in discussions and analysis and occasional role-playing exercises in sections and in class, which are then shared with the class. We will also examine at least one important monument (or complex of monuments) each time as well. The contributions of female archaeologists, art historians, and of course Indigenous and mestiza women will also be touched upon in each class session.

Instructors and Teaching Staff:

Photo	Name	Department Affiliation	Email/Phone	Office Hours & Location
	Instructor: Davíd L. Carrasco	Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of the Study of Latin America, Harvard Divinity School and Department of Anthropology Mesoamerican Archive	dcarrasco@hds.harvard.edu	Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 5th Floor, Mesoamerican Archive Office Hours:  Tuesday 1:00-2:30pm
	Instructor: William Fash	Bowditch Professor of Central American and Mexican Archaeology and Ethnology, Department of Anthropology, Archaeology Program, Harvard	wfash@fas.harvard.edu 617-775-2934	Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 3rd floor, Room 36 Mondays 12:30 - 1:30 Tuesdays 1:00 - 2:30pm
	Head TF: Leonardo Valdez Ordoñez	PhD Candidate, Archaeology Program, Anthropology Department, GSAS	lvaldezordonez@g.harvard.edu	Monday 1-3 pm or by appointment
	TF, Harvard Extension School: Pedro Morales	Harvard Divinity School	pmorales@fas.harvard.edu	TR 12:30pm - 1:30pm & by appointment
	TF Jack Bishop	PhD candidate, Archaeology program, Anthropology Department, GSAS	jackbishop@fas.harvard.edu	Thursday 12-2 in Peabody 571 or by appointment

Required Readings:

• Bonfil Batalla, Guillermo. México Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996.
• Carrasco, Davíd, ed. The History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2008. (abbreviated as HCNS on syllabus)
• Carrasco, Davíd and Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, Moctezuma’s Mexico: Vision of the Aztec World (Revised Edition). University Press of Colorado, 2003.Links to an external site.
• León Portilla, Miguel.  Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, Beacon Press, 2007
• Clendinnen, Inga. Aztecs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2014. 

(All are available as e-books through the Files link on Canvas, or as physical copies through the Harvard Coop Bookstore at this link: Harvard Coop TextbooksLinks to an external site.)

Other required readings will be posted on the Course Website (abbreviated CW on the syllabus).

Course Requirements:

Students are required to attend class regularly, participate vocally and in writing in their sections. There will be several short writing assignments (1-2 paragraphs) graded as part of section participation to aid students' engagement with basic terms and meanings and encourage effective communication between students and teaching staff, a take-home mid-term essay exam (6 pages), a take-home final exam (6-7 pages), and a final creative project to be presented in section based on course themes. Grades for this course are not curved.

Grades will be determined by:

Attendance at Class sessions                                                  10%

Section Participation                                                                15%

Mid-Term Exam (Due Oct. 25th)                                              25%

Final Exam (Due Dec. 16th)                                                     35%

Final Section Project                                                                 15%

Grading Rubric:

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences uses the following system of letter and non-letter grades to evaluate student work:

• A, A- Earned by work whose excellent quality indicates a full mastery of the subject and, in the case of the grade of A, is of extraordinary distinction.
• B+, B, B- Earned by work that indicates a good comprehension of the course material, a good command of the skills needed to work with the course material, and the student’s full engagement with the course requirements and activities.
• C+, C, C- Earned by work that indicates an adequate and satisfactory comprehension of the course material and the skills needed to work with the course material and that indicates the student has met the basic requirements for completing assigned work and participating in class activities.
• D+, D, D- Earned by work that is unsatisfactory but that indicates some minimal command of the course materials and some minimal participation in class activities that is worthy of course credit toward the degree.
• E Earned by work which is unsatisfactory and unworthy of course credit towards the degree.

The Harvard College Honor Code:

Members of the Harvard College community commit themselves to producing academic work of integrity – that is, work that adheres to the scholarly and intellectual standards of accurate attribution of sources, appropriate collection and use of data, and transparent acknowledgement of the contribution of others to their ideas, discoveries, interpretations, and conclusions. Cheating on exams or problem sets, plagiarizing or misrepresenting the ideas or language of someone else as one’s own, falsifying data, or any other instance of academic dishonesty violates the standards of our community, as well as the standards of the wider world of learning and affairs.

Academic Integrity Statement:

Academic dishonesty of any sort will be referred to and dealt with by the Administrative Board. Please consult the Student Handbook for information regarding academic dishonesty.  Details concerning academic dishonesty in writing can be found on the Avoiding Plagiarism page provided by the Harvard College Writing Program.

Use of AI Statement:

Certain assignments in this course will permit or even encourage the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools such as ChatGPT, for finding relevant academic sources that are appropriate for the investigation of the topic chosen or assigned for the course requirements. The default is that such use is disallowed unless otherwise stated, and that all writing must be the student's own. Any use of GAI tools in conducting the preliminary search for sources or initial research must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. It is each student’s responsibility to assess the validity and applicability of any GAI output that is submitted; you bear the final responsibility. Violations of this policy will be considered academic misconduct. We draw your attention to the fact that different classes at Harvard could implement different AI policies, and it is the student’s responsibility to conform to expectations for each course. 

Collaboration Statement:

Discussion and the exchange of ideas are essential to academic work. For assignments in this course, you are encouraged to consult with your classmates on the choice of paper topics and to share sources. You may find it useful to discuss your chosen topic with your peers, particularly if you are working on the same topic as a classmate. However, you should ensure that any written work you submit for evaluation is the result of your own research and writing and that it reflects your own approach to the topic. You must also adhere to standard citation practices in this discipline and properly cite any books, articles, websites, lectures, etc. that have helped you with your work. If you received any help with your writing (feedback on drafts, etc), you must also acknowledge this assistance.

Academic Accommodations Statement:

HDS Students requesting accommodations or with accessibility needs for this course should contact Tim Whelsky, Associate Dean for Enrollment and Student Services, as soon as possible (twhelsky@hds.harvard.edu, 617-496-8641, Swartz G28).  You will need to provide him with a request of the accommodations sought and documentation of the functional limitations due to medical circumstances or a disability that substantiates your request. Students who are registered in GSAS or FAS should contact the Disability Access Office (dao@fas.harvard.edu, 617-496-8707, Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, 4th Floor). DAO letters should be turned into the head TF with indication of the student’s section leader at the earliest possible convenience, or at least one week in advance of the first assignment requiring accommodation.

Religious Holy Days:

Please speak with the instructor within the first two weeks of the semester if you must miss a class, examination, or course requirement due to a religious observance. Please know that Massachusetts state law specifies that all students who must miss a class, exam, or course requirement because of a religious observance shall be provided with an opportunity to make up the requirement on another day, so long as this does not create an unreasonable burden for the school.

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Why is this a Gen Ed course? What Gen Ed requirements does Gen Ed 1148 fulfill?

The goals of Gen Ed courses are “to connect in an explicit way what students learn at Harvard to life beyond Harvard, and to help them understand and appreciate the complexities of the world and their role in it.”

Histories, Societies, Individuals courses engage questions of identity and social change, helping you understand the histories and traditions that you will encounter in a global context.

Moctezuma’s Mexico is a Gen Ed course because we will be addressing a series of important questions and topics across time periods ranging from prehistory through the present, including:

• How Mesoamerica, as a contact zone during the point of European contact and the Colonial Era, impacted and changed community identities and expression across Mesoamerica, in the US/Mexico borderlands and on a global level
• How Mesoamerica’s ancient past shaped and continues to contribute to present communities’ identities in Mexico and the U.S.
• How the Colonial period and Spanish colonial policy shaped Mexican history and identity, through Independence and into the 21^st century
• That the formation of identity is in a constant state of arrival and reformulation

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Course Syllabus:

Part 1. Conquest or The Great Encuentro

Week 1, 9/4,   Introduction: Moctezuma’s Mexico Then and Now: Race Mixture and Finding LatinX

Lecture 1  – Introduction to Course:

9/4--  Spaniards, Maya, and Mexicas in a Strange New World: The Center and Periphery Model and its Relevance for Harvard Students

Readings: Major Concept 1- Cosmovision and Ritual Sacrifice

• León Portilla, Miguel, Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2, 11 Broken Spears
• Díaz del Castillo, History of Conquest of New Spain (HCNS),  xi-88.
• Eliade, Mircea, "Preface," plus "Archetypes and Repetition" pp. 3 - 34. CWDownload Eliade, Mircea, "Preface," plus "Archetypes and Repetition" pp. 3 - 34. CW
• Aveni, Anthony, “Moctezuma’s Sky: Aztec Astronomy and Ritual” Moctezuma’s Mexico pp 149-158.Links to an external site.
• Fash, William L., and Barbara W. Fash, “Religion, Politics, and Plenty of Betting at the Old Ball Game, in Ancient Mesoamerica.” ReVista, Latin American Review at Harvard, Vol. XI (3): 30-34. CWDownload Fash, William L., and Barbara W. Fash, “Religion, Politics, and Plenty of Betting at the Old Ball Game, in Ancient Mesoamerica.” ReVista, Latin American Review at Harvard, Vol. XI (3): 30-34. CW
• Carrasco, Davíd, “Mexican Angels in the Attic.” ReVista, Latin American Review at Harvard, Vol. XX (2): CWDownload Carrasco, Davíd, “Mexican Angels in the Attic.” ReVista, Latin American Review at Harvard, Vol. XX (2): CW

Week 2, 9/9 and 9/11: Great Encounters: Spaniards, Aztecs, Mayas, and Us

Lecture 1 – Great Encounters and Great Traditions: Spaniards and the Periphery of the Aztec Empire 

Lecture 2 - The Problem of Knowing: Strangers in a Strange Land

Readings: Major Concept 2 – Cities and Monuments as Surplus and Social Stratification

• Díaz del Castillo, HCNS, 90-155.
• Carrasco, Davíd “Toward the Splendid City: Knowing the Worlds of Moctezuma.” Moctezuma’s Mexico pp. 99-133.Links to an external site.
• Wheatley, Paul, “City as Symbol” Download “City as Symbol”,  “Factors Inducing Social Differentiation”Download “Factors Inducing Social Differentiation” CW
• Nicholson, H.B., “Sahagun, Bernardino De”, Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures, Vol 3, pp. 105-113. CWDownload Nicholson, H.B., “Sahagun, Bernardino De”, Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures, Vol 3, pp. 105-113. CW

• Clendinnen, Inga, Aztecs, pp. ii-44.

 Optional

• Harari, Yuval Noah, “Building Pyramids.” Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, 102-118. CWDownload Harari, Yuval Noah, “Building Pyramids.” Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, 102-118. CW

Week 3, 9/16 and 9/18: Journey to the Center of the Aztec World

Lecture 1 – Cities as Symbols: Tenochtitlan as the Center of Desire and Wealth

Lecture 2 – War of the Worlds: Gender, City, Exchange

Readings: Major Concept 3 - Gender and Duality

• Klein, Cecilia, “Gender Roles”, Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures, Vol.1, pp. 435-438. CWDownload Klein, Cecilia, “Gender Roles”, Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures, Vol.1, pp. 435-438. CW
• Clendinnen, Inga, Aztecs, “The Female Being Revealed” pp. 293-297.
• Diaz Del Castillo, HCNS 155-302.
• León Portilla, Broken Spears, Chapters 3-8
• Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo. “Aztec History and Cosmovision” Moctezuma’s Mexico pp. 3-39.Links to an external site.
• Clendinnen, Inga, Aztecs, pp. 111-212.

Optional:

• Adorno, Rolena, "Bernal Diaz del Castillo: Soldier, Eyewitness, Polemicist."   HCNS, 389-398.
• Carrasco, Davíd, "Tenochtitlan as a Political Capital and World Symbol." HCNS
• Boone, Elizabeth, “The House of the Eagle” CW (images)Download Boone, Elizabeth, “The House of the Eagle” CW (images)

Part 2. Religion and Archaeology of the Great Aztec Temple

Week 4, 9/23 and 9/25: The Aztec Revolution and the Rise of Tenochtitlan: Myths of Aztlan and War Gods

Lecture 1, 9/23 – Myths and Rites of Human Sacrifice

Lecture 2, 9/25 – Aztec Tenochtitlan as a Cosmic Symbol and Seat of Empire

Readings: Major Concept 4 – Gift Exchange and Tribute

• Mauss, Marcel. The Gift,  1-19. CWDownload Mauss, Marcel. The Gift,  1-19. CW
• López Austin, Alfredo, “Relationships of the Essences.” CWDownload López Austin, Alfredo, “Relationships of the Essences.” CW
• Boone, Elizabeth. “Glorious Imperium”, Moctezuma’s Mexico. Pp. 159-173.Links to an external site.
• Berdan, Francis F. "Tribute" in Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures pp. 263-264. CWDownload Berdan, Francis F. "Tribute" in Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures pp. 263-264. CW
• Clendinnen, Inga, Aztecs, pp. 213-266.
• León Portilla, Chapters 9-13
• Sahagún, Bernardino de, “Tlacaxipehualitzli.” CWDownload Sahagún, Bernardino de, “Tlacaxipehualitzli.” CW
• “Human Sacrifice/Debt Payments From the Aztec Point of View.”   HCNS

Optional:

• “The Exaggerations of Human Sacrifice" HCNS
• McCaa, Robert. “Spanish and Nahuatl Views on Smallpox and Demographic Catastrophe in Mexico”’ The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Winter, 1995), pp. 397-431. CWDownload McCaa, Robert. “Spanish and Nahuatl Views on Smallpox and Demographic Catastrophe in Mexico”’ The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Winter, 1995), pp. 397-431. CW
• Duran, Diego, “The Ball Game.” CWDownload Duran, Diego, “The Ball Game.” CW

Part 3. Origins of Civilization and Sacred Narratives Appropriated by the Moctezumas and Descendants:

Week 5, 9/30 and 10/2:  The Archaeology of Eating and Drinking in Ancient Mexico.

September 30 and October 4: Guest Lectures: Tacos, Tamales and Tequila: Foodways of ancient and modern Mexico (Dr. Jenny Carballo)

Readings:

Reading for 9/30:

• Morán, Elizabeth. 2016. "Ceremonial Consumption in Everyday Life," in Sacred Consumption: Food and Ritual in Aztec Art and Culture, pp. 15-36. University of Texas Press, Austin.Download Morán, Elizabeth. 2016. "Ceremonial Consumption in Everyday Life," in Sacred Consumption: Food and Ritual in Aztec Art and Culture, pp. 15-36. University of Texas Press, Austin.

Readings for 10/2: 

• Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. 1991. "Weaving and Cooking: Women’s Production in Aztec Mexico," in Engendering Archaeology: Women and Prehistory, edited by Joan M. Gero and Margaret W. Conkey, pp. 224-251. Basil Blackwell, Oxford.Download Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. 1991. "Weaving and Cooking: Women’s Production in Aztec Mexico," in Engendering Archaeology: Women and Prehistory, edited by Joan M. Gero and Margaret W. Conkey, pp. 224-251. Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
• Rodríguez-Alegría, Enrique. 2012. “From grinding corn to dishing out money: A long-term history of cooking in Xaltocan, Mexico,” in The Menial Art of Cooking: Archaeological Studies of Cooking and Food Preparation, edited by Sarah Graff and Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría, pp. 99-117. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.Download Rodríguez-Alegría, Enrique. 2012. “From grinding corn to dishing out money: A long-term history of cooking in Xaltocan, Mexico,” in The Menial Art of Cooking: Archaeological Studies of Cooking and Food Preparation, edited by Sarah Graff and Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría, pp. 99-117. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.

Week 6, 10/7, 10/9: Sacred Mountains, Monuments, and Cosmovisions: Tula and Teotihuacan

October 7: Indigenous People’s Day, Federal Holiday (no class)

October 9:  Aztec Appropriations of Toltec (Tula) History, Myths, Monuments and Symbols (The Aztecs and Teotihuacan, City of the Gods: the longue durée)

Readings: Major Concept 5 - Longue Durée

• Umberger, Emily, “Antiques, Revivals, and References to the Past in Aztec Art.” CWDownload Umberger, Emily, “Antiques, Revivals, and References to the Past in Aztec Art.” CW
• Willey, Gordon R. 1976 “Mesoamerican Civilization and the Idea of Transcendence.” Antiquity, Vol. 50, pp. 205-215. CWDownload Willey, Gordon R. 1976 “Mesoamerican Civilization and the Idea of Transcendence.” Antiquity, Vol. 50, pp. 205-215. CW
• Fash, William, and Tokovinine, Alexandre, and Fash, Barbara, “The House of the New Fire at Teotihuacan and Its Legacy in Mesoamerica” in Art of Urbanism. CWDownload Fash, William, and Tokovinine, Alexandre, and Fash, Barbara, “The House of the New Fire at Teotihuacan and Its Legacy in Mesoamerica” in Art of Urbanism. CW
• Links to an external site.Fash, William. 2019 “Organization, Ideology, and the Situational Ethics of Exchange: New Models and Fresh Perspectives on Teotihuacan Abroad.” CWDownload Fash, William. 2019 “Organization, Ideology, and the Situational Ethics of Exchange: New Models and Fresh Perspectives on Teotihuacan Abroad.” CW

Week 7, 10/14 and 10/16: Sacred Spaces to Pilgrimages on Benito Juárez Day

Lecture 1 – Sacred mountains, processions, and identity: from the volcanoes to Guatemala to processions and pilgrimages of Benito Juarez

Lecture 2 – Gone but not forgotten: Aztecs and Identity in Moctezuma's Mexico, Now

Readings:

• León Portilla, Chapter 16

• Fash, William, 2013, “A Millennial Legacy: The Teotihuacan Sun Pyramid as the Central Place in the Centennial of Mexican Independence, and the Archaeology of State in Mexico.” CWDownload Fash, William, 2013, “A Millennial Legacy: The Teotihuacan Sun Pyramid as the Central Place in the Centennial of Mexican Independence, and the Archaeology of State in Mexico.” CW
• López Luján, Leonardo, Laura Filloy Nadal, Barbara W. Fash, William L. Fash, and Pilar Hernández, 2007, “The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan: Anthropomorphic Sculpture, Elite Cults, and the End of a Civilization.” CWDownload López Luján, Leonardo, Laura Filloy Nadal, Barbara W. Fash, William L. Fash, and Pilar Hernández, 2007, “The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan: Anthropomorphic Sculpture, Elite Cults, and the End of a Civilization.” CW
• Chase, Arlen F., Diane Z. Chase, and Michael E. Smith. (2009). “States and Empires in Ancient Mesoamerica”. Ancient Mesoamerica 20: 175-182. CWDownload Chase, Arlen F., Diane Z. Chase, and Michael E. Smith. (2009). “States and Empires in Ancient Mesoamerica”. Ancient Mesoamerica 20: 175-182. CW

*Take Home Midterm Exam - handed out Oct 20, DUE Oct 27*

Prepare for DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATIONS AT PEABODY MUSEUM NOVEMBER 2

Part 4.   Finding LatinX in Many Places: Roots and Resistance

Week 8, 10/21 and 10/23  

Lecture 1 - Popul Wuj

Lecture 2 - War of the Castas 

Readings:

• Stanzione, Vincent, 2022 "Junajpu and XB'alamkiej: The Maya Hero Twins of the Popol Wuj"Download Stanzione, Vincent, 2022 "Junajpu and XB'alamkiej: The Maya Hero Twins of the Popol Wuj"
• Carrasco, Octavio, 2021 "Rituals of Resistance: Walking the Path of the Sun Across the Sky"Download Carrasco, Octavio, 2021 "Rituals of Resistance: Walking the Path of the Sun Across the Sky"

10/25 MID-TERM EXAM DUE

Week 9, 10/28 and 10/30: The Day and Places of the Dead, Then and Now:

Lecture 1 - Death and Days of the Dead, Then, in ancient Mexico

Lecture 2 – The Day of the Dead, Now, in Mexico, the Borderlands, and Harvard

Readings:

• Carmichael & Sayer, The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico. CWDownload Carmichael & Sayer, The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico. CW
• Nutini, Hugo G., “Syncretism.” CW Download Nutini, Hugo G., “Syncretism.” CW& Carlsen, Robert S., “Transculturation.” CWDownload Carlsen, Robert S., “Transculturation.” CW
• Carrasco, Davíd. “The Paradox of Carnival” CWDownload Carrasco, Davíd. “The Paradox of Carnival” CW

Part 5: Mestizaje and Finding Latinx Again

Week 10, 11/4 and 11/6 Race Mixture, Castas, Gender, and Indigenous ‘New Worlds’

     Lecture 1, 11/4 – Race Mixture,  Castas and the Mulatto Mistress and Mother

     Lecture 2, 11/6 – The Virgin of Guadalupe and Latinx Families

Readings:

• Bonfil Batalla, Guillermo (1996) Mexico Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization, chs. 1-5.
• Alberro, Solange, "Beatriz de Padilla, Mulatto Mistress and Mother.” CWDownload Alberro, Solange, "Beatriz de Padilla, Mulatto Mistress and Mother.” CW
• Cope, Douglas, “Mestizaje.” CWDownload Cope, Douglas, “Mestizaje.” CW
• Powers, Karen, “Colonial Sexuality,” HCNS, 405-419.
• Díaz del Castillo, HCNS, 303-371.
• Taylor, William B., “Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe in the Seventeenth Century: Hagiography and Beyond”, Shrines and Miraculous Images, 97-117. CWDownload Taylor, William B., “Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe in the Seventeenth Century: Hagiography and Beyond”, Shrines and Miraculous Images, 97-117. CW

Week 11, 11/11 and 11/13: Latinx Moctezuma: Pulling on Lineage and Feminist Revolts and in the Mexican Americas 

Lecture 1, 11/11 – Extraordinary Female Writers: Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz and Gloria Anzaldua

Lecture 2, 11/13 –Places Left Unfinished at the LatinX Creation-  Guest Lecture-John Phillip Santos

Readings:

• Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz, “The Answer.” CW
• Anzaldúa, Gloria E., Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, Chapters 5 & 7. CWLinks to an external site.
• https://www.advocate.com/news/2011/12/13/cherrie-moraga-aims-ignite-new-fireLinks to an external site.
• John Phillip Santos ReadingsDownload John Phillip Santos Readings
• John Phillip Santos VideoLinks to an external site. - Watch from 8:25-39:25

Weeks 12- 11/19-25: Mexico Profundo and La Malinche-Course Summary

Lecture 1, 11/20 - Mexico Profundo and the future

Lecture 2, 11/27 - La Malinche as Culture Hero

Readings:

• Bonfil Batalla, Guillermo (1996) México Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization, chs. 6-10.
• Sandra Cypess, “La Malinche as Palimpsest II.” HCNS

Week 13- 11/27, 11/29: Student presentations

11/27, 11/29 - Class Presentations

*Take Home Final Examination, Distributed by Dec. 6, DUE Dec. 18*