Working at the intersections of Latin American film studies, Afro-Latin American studies, digital humanities (DH), and decolonial pedagogical praxes, this article aims to engage with educators interested in teaching about Afro-descendant representation, antiracist audiovisual productions, the legacy of the African diaspora in Latin America, and…

In Spanish language curricula, it is essential that we teach about "afrodescendientes" in Latin America and the Caribbean to present an inclusive representation of the diverse people, practices, and cultural products. Their perspectives and cultural products must be integrated in the curricula of Spanish undergraduate programs beyond the…

We argue for an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach that we call the Integration of Research and Education in the Classroom, which highlights and crosses disciplinary boundaries to challenge each field's assumptions, limitations, conceptual and interpretive purview. We use a set of examples that center on problematizing various aspects of the…

Much has been written about "indianismo" and "indigenismo" and their literary and social meaning, but rarely have these two "criollo" movements been positioned face to face with actual Indigenous expression. This article attempts a preliminary pass at just such an approach by comparing four indigenous themes…

Discusses history of various Central American musical instruments, how the instruments were used then, and how they are used now. Much Indian music today serves to bolster Indian rights, express community pride, and serves as a badge of otherness. (AN)

Traces the different social, ethnic, and racial connotations of the word "mulatto" since the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Stresses the fact that in Spanish America, the word more often referred to individuals of Black and American Indian admixture than to those of Black and White (Spanish) admixture. (GC)

Describes the American Indian "Holocaust," decimation of Indian populations following European discovery of the Americas. European and African diseases, warfare with Europeans, and genocide reduced native populations from 75 million to only a few million. Discusses population statistics and demographic effects of epidemics, continuing infection,…

Reviews the life of Columbus and European conditions that led to the age of exploration. Discusses how the ethnocentric legend of the "discovery" of America grew as part of the glorious history of Western civilization. Examines the doctrine of discovery as a European agreement legitimizing exploitation of indigenous peoples. (SV)

Reviews the historical and contemporary social situation of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala and Nicaragua, including the current conflict between the Sandinista government and the Miskitu Indians. (GC)

Examines the place of Indian people in Mexican society and politics, from the conquest to the 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas (fueled by the threat to rural indigenous communal lands posed by economic reforms). Although Indianness is celebrated as contributing to the idealized mestizo "race," self-identification as Indian threatens…

Argues that, in the current portrayal of Columbus' arrival in America, American Indians have become the new heroes and models to be imitated. Discusses the native peoples and their societies at the time of Columbus including diversity among peoples, development of civilizations, view of the cosmos, and political development. (JB)

Argues for comparative studies focusing on similarities between the Nazi Holocaust of Europe's Jews and the American Indian experience of five centuries of extermination policies. Suggests themes for such studies: causes, events, and consequences of holocausts; perceptions of survivors and outsiders; what holocausts destroy; and impact on…

This mini-unit focuses on the lives and accomplishments of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood and their contacts with the Maya. This project deals specifically with how Stephens' published accounts and Catherwood's drawings became the basis from which all further Mayan research developed. These two explorers were the first to describe…

Bernstein argues that current criticisms of Columbus are an ideologically motivated rewriting of the past and that the point of studying history is to understand development not validate particular ideologies. Zappia criticizes the artistic community for its attempts to discredit Columbus and to eulogize the civilizations he allegedly destroyed.…

Trade and communication networks established by Indian groups in the 15th century A.D. linked the Southwest to Mesoamerica, the Plains and the Pacific littoral; these routes were later used by the Spanish and Americans, and today major highways follow ancient Indian routes. The main east-west route had major termini at Cibola (near Zuni) in the…