4/16/2010

Today I spent 3-4 hours working on my paper. Previous to this I had been struggling to make additions/revisions to my paper. Today I my mental-block broke and I was able to revise my paper while clarifying much of the introduction. I have now surpassed the minimum required page length. I'm feeling a lot better about the paper overall. I hope that it flows better, and makes more sense. I'm excited to be finished!

4/1/2010

On Tuesday I visited the writing center to get some help on the middle section of my paper. Thanks to all you who provided constructive criticism. My section of Paulo Freire needed a lot of rewriting.

On Thursday I went back to the writing center to work on the Jose Marti section. It wasn't quite as bad, but it did need some rewriting. So, I'm coming along slowly, but surely. Hopefully I'll be ready to turn in my paper on time.

Excerpt from my paper.

II. Paulo Freire

“…I have only one desire: that our thinking may coincide historically with the unrest of all those who, whether they live in those cultures that are wholly silenced or in the silent sectors of cultures that prescribe their voice, are struggling to have a voice of their own.” (Cultural Action for Freedom, 11)

Paulo Freire was born and raised in Pernambuco, a state in the poorest area of Brazil, the north east. The north-east of Brazil at the time was home to many poor, displaced peasants. Later in his life Freire would lead an education movement within Pernambuco called “Movimiento de Cultura Popular” (Movement for Mass Education). At the time of the Movimiento de Cultura Popular there was wider peasant movement burgeoning in Brazil. In north east Brazil, poverty landlessness and joblessness plagued the people. The unequal distribution of land by the government and bourgeoisie resulted in massive displacement. Landlords, held an inordinate amount of power over the peasant classes. The scene was devastating. Maria Mies writes,

“In the state of Pernambuco, 500 of 1,000 babies died. Illiteracy was as high as 70% per cent…Landlords had practically unlimited rights over the peasants; they could chase them like game and kill them for fun. The police and the law were on the side of the landlords, and the illiterate peasants were in absolute dependency.” (Mies 1765)

Paulo Freire became leader of one of many peasant leagues that grew in opposition to the injustice of the 1950’s and 60’s. Peasants rallied around agrarian form and education movements. Freire lead the Moviemiento de Cultura Popular which aimed to establish democracy through education and literacy. Of Freire’s theory of conscientisacion Mies writes, “Soon it became evident that in a situation of general mass mobilization a campaign against literacy on a mass scale combined with conscientisacion such as Freire understood it, was a threat to the established social structure.” (Mies 1766)

In the introduction to Cultural Action for Freedom, Paulo Freire questions what is traditionally known as education. He makes a clear distinction between knowledge, and memorization. Education that does not cultivate knowledge he claims is merely, “a set of techniques, naively considered to be neutral, by means of which the education process is standardized in a sterile and bureaucratic operation.” He expands by writing about the influence of the dominant society on the individual. The individual who depends on the ‘director’ society is subjected, and alienated. (explain) Critical thinking and questioning, therefore, does not serve the purpose of the ‘director’ society which tends to impose silence and ignorance. Freire describes the process of critical consciousness as an epiphany that, “…men are not only in the world, but with the world… (Cultural Action for Freedom, 39) Concientizacion is the awakening from the myth of a dominant society whose myth is culturally, socially, and politically soporific.

In the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire’s most well known work, he writes about humans coming together and creating a better world through dialogue, a process he christened as ‘naming the world’. Freier’s ideas focused on dialogue and equality in order to achieve political and cultural change. He writes, “A revolutionary leadership must accordingly practice co-intentional education. Teachers and students (leadership and people), co-intent on reality, are both Subjects, not only in the task of unveiling that reality, and thereby coming to know it critically, but in the task of re-creating that knowledge.” (Freire 69)

Paulo Freire’s theories are dialectical. To Freire, political change must work together with cultural change and awareness in order for revolution to occur.[1] Freire also writes at length about the dialectical relationship between theory and practice. He writes,

“It is only when the oppressed find the oppressor out and become involved in the organized struggle for their liberation that they begin to believe in themselves. This discovery cannot be purely intellectual but must involve action; nor can it be limited to mere activism, but must include serious reflection: only then will it be praxis.” (Freire 65)

Subjectivity and objectivity also participate in dialectical relationships, to Friere, they are insperable. Paulo Freire’s revolution consists of awareness of oppression, and then action and reflection in order to transform the world. (Freire 125)

Freire’s ideas relate directly to the MCAC. Analyzed from a Freirean point of view the Campesino a Campesino movement has developed through the process of concientizacion. Development, as discussed above, can be seen as the means of control by ‘director societies’. The implementation of ‘development’ in Latin America by more powerful entities has resulted in control and oppression of the peoples. Development, Neo-liberalism, and free-trade are paradigms of mythification. The myth of development has left destruction in its wake throughout the world.

MCACs methods of teaching and promoting agriculture are based strongly on Freire’s ideas. Eric Holt-Gimenez writes, “Further, because the methods for sharing knowledge are dialogical and based on campesino led inquiry and action, the Campesino a Campesino methodology is probably best described as a praxis-based, campesino pedagogy.” (Holt-Gimenez 79) The Campesino a Campesino is a multi-faceted movement, therefore it is hard to define a given ‘methodology’ or practice. However, many of the values and methods practiced by campesinos in this movement line up with Freire’s theories.

The MCAC can be seen as a movement of concientizacion. The Campesino a Campesino has coalesced as an alternative to the mythification of traditional development. Central to their philosophy is the idea that campesinos participate in the world and with the world. Campesinos come into contact with each other through: workshops, fairs, and campesino exchanges. These campesino exchanges give campesinos the opportunity to work with their counterparts in other countries and cultures. Solidarity within the movement becomes a method of co-creation, co-optation, and sharing. Concientizacion is at the core of the Campesino a Campesino movement, which began as a movement of opposition, and an alternative to development. Furthermore, the Campesino a Campesino movement attempts to humanize and dignify the human being. The campesino lifestyle, the agrarian lifestyle has come into conflict with development. Within the MCAC is the assertion that campesino’s work is ‘good work’. (reference Wendell Berry)

The Campesino a Campesino movement embodies many of the ideas of Paulo Freire. For instance, the campesino works together with nature and his fellow campesinos in relationships based on dialogue. The use of practice and theory are essential as the campesino attempts to preserve his community through maintaining agrarian traditions, and cultivating his/her land. Reflection and action are integral into the Campesino a Campesino pedagogy. Most of all, the campesino a campesino movement embodies Freire’s concept of transforming the world through awareness, dialogue, and conscious change. “The primary motivation to share what one has learned is a combination of age-old campesino reciprocity and cultural solidarity. The campesinos who receive knowledge from others in the Movement talk of a compromise moral (moral obligation) to give back to the Movement by teaching others.” (Holt-Gimenez 95) The campesino a campesino movement, like Freire, has attempted to achieve political change through cultural change.

III. José Martí

“La agricultura es la única fuente constante, cierta y enteramente pura de riqueza.[2]”

(La América grande)

José Martí is known as the voice of the Cuban Independence, though he died before seeing Cuba’s independence from Spain. Martí was an important Cuban essayist and poet in the nineteenth century. His vision was that one day Cuba and Latin America would be free from foreign dependence. He theorized of a society based on the dignity and respect of every human. Martí wanted to create a society free from foreign political and economic development that was instead dependent on workers and small farmers. José Martí wrote about a politically and economically organic Cuba. “Nuestra America” (Our America) is perhaps José Martí’s most well known work. In it he writes about the unity of the Latin American people to struggle for a society in which: economic and political autonomy, solidarity, and the dignity of man, were central.

There are many comparisons to be drawn between José Martí’s ideas and the Campesino a Campesino movement. Similar to Paulo Freire, José Martí was concerned with the oppression of the Latin American people. He also saw the education of the people as necessary for revolution. José Martí’s writings are very political in their tone. Martí saw political obedience as the road to social justice. (Gray 252) Martí’s political tone may even, at times disagree with the direction of the Campesino a Campesino movement. This may be due to the fact that the Campesino a Campesino movement is so diverse, and so multifaceted that it would be hard to ascribe a given political agenda to the movement. Despite these differences, there are many comparisons to be drawn between Martí and the campesino movement.

José Martí wrote at length about the rural agricultural worker and the peasant laborer. He saw a strong connection between the future of Cuba the agrarian and working classes. In “Our America” he passionately condemns the man who would reject his father based on his trade, or his mother based on her race.[3] From a pragmatic, agrarian perspective Martí wrote many essays on the idea of taking care of the land, and fertilizing it with compost. He spoke against monoculture[4], and promoted diversifying agricultural practices. (Gray) The use of compost as a fertilizer and diversifying crops are central to MCAC’s organic agricultural methods. Martí’s vision of a pragmatic learning institution that would teach agriculture finds resonance in Campesino a Campesino’s farmer to farmer pedagogy. In an essay entitled “Abonos”[5] he writes,

“Naturaleza y composición de la tierra, y sus cultivos; Aplicaciones industriales de los productos de la tierra; Elementos naturales y ciencias que obran sobre ellos o pueden contribuir a desarrollarlos: he ahí lo que en forma elemental, en llano lenguaje, y con demostraciones prácticas debiera enseñarse…”[6]

In the same essay he writes a truth central to the campesino lifestyle, “Quien abona bien su tierra, trabaja menos, tiene tierra para más tiempo, y gana más.”[7] Thus in his writings and his revolutionary ideas José Martí gives great importance to an organic, diverse agriculture and of course to its cultivator, the campesino.

Solidarity is a central theme in Martí’s writings. In “Our America” Martí implores the Latin American people to set aside their difference in order to build an original society, free from the tyranny of foreign influence. His call for solidarity is also a charge for reconciliation, and the return of expropriated lands. Martí had a tremendous ability to capture the plight of the Latin America people wrought at the hands of foreign influence. Martí, like his campesino counterparts saw the destruction of foreign development and industry. Marti’s words echo in the Campesino a Campesino movement, which has developed a transnational, transcultural network of people committed to alternative development. One of the dangers of foreign influence and development for Martí as well as today’s campesinos was the loss of culture. A Nelda Martínez, a female campesina writes “…neoliberalism and the politics of globalization are so violent, not just economically but culturally…There is a strong danger of the loss of cultural identity.” (Holt-Gimenez 111)

Above all, José Martí’s work shows concern for the lower class and a feeling of solidarity with the oppressed. His charge, similar to Freire’s, is one that dignifies the individual and condemns the dehumanization of exploitation. The dignified laborer, carpenter, and farmer are at the center of Martí’s vision for a new society. Martí’s struggle was to preserve the dignity, culture and identity of the human, the Cuban, the Latin American.

The ideas of José Martí find a profound resonance in the Campesino a Campesino movement which works through solidarity as a movement of cultural resistance. In the final line of Our America Martí captures the spirit of Campesino a Campesino movement. He writes, “From the Rio bravo to the Straits of Magellan, the Great Cemi, seated on a condor's back, has scattered the seeds of the new America across the romantic nations of the continent and the sorrowful islands of the sea!” (Marti 151)

---

[1] “Freire further holds that a mere change of the power structure without a cultural revolution, i.e, without a heightened awareness of the masses, will again repeat the old hierarchical system of domination…” (Mies 1767)

[2] “Agriculture is the only constant, sure, and entirely pure source of wealth.” *personal translation

[3] “Those carpenter's sons who are ashamed that their fathers are carpenters! Those born in America who are ashamed of the mother that reared them, because she wears an Indian apron…” ( Marti 139)

[4] “A people that entrusts its subsistence to one product alone commits suicide…” (Galeano 69)

[5] Abono means fertilizer or compost.

[6] “Nature and the make-up of the soil, and it’s crops; industrial applications of the soil’s products; Natural elements and sciences that work on them or can contribute to develop them; this is what, in a elemental form, in the language of the plains, and with practical demonstrations, should be taught.” (Marti) *personal translation

[7] “He who fertilizes their land well, works less, has more time, and gains more.” (Marti) *personal translation

03/04/2010

I was looking over my paper today, tweaking my section on Paulo Freire. I found his book Cultural Action for Freedom, which has given me much needed insight on his ideas. However, as I was reading I realized that I have a lot of work to do on other areas of my paper.

I need to basically rewrite my lit. review section. For example, currently my paper says that Karl Marx is important to my study as he has been so influential in Latin American thought. I think I can be more specific by mentioning Marx's influence on the people I'm writing about. Mariategui was a self-proclaimed Marxist. Freire's ideas are based in large part on Marx's ideas. And though Marti was not a Marxist, he was a contemporary of Marx and upheld Marx as a figurehead in history, even to the extent of writing his obituary. I don't think I will be this thorough in my paper. But my lit. review could use some work.

Having said this I don't know where to draw the line with a lit. review. What should I include? What should I cut out?

I also need to overhaul my conclusion. It is definitely not thorough enough as is. I would like compare and contrast more between the theorists I'm analyzing for example.

Finally, I would like to include a timeline as an appendix. I think this could help to make sense of all the dates in my paper.

Working Bibliography 3/3/2010

Alvarado Arias, Miguel. "José Martí Y Paulo Freire: Aproximaciones Para Una Lectura De La Pedagogía Crítica." Revista Electrónica De Investigación Educativa. Universidad Autónoma De Baja California, 20 Feb. 2007. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. .

Angotti, Thomas. "The Contributions of Jose Carlos Mariategui to Revolutionary Theory." Latin American Perspectives 13.2 (1986): 33-57. JSTOR. Web. 30 Oct. 2009. .

Chasteen, John Charles. Born in blood and fire a concise history of Latin America. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2005. Print.

*Coronado, Jorge. "Speaking in Two Tongues: José Carlos Mariátegui and Revolutionary Discourse." Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 11.3 (2002): 237-59. EBSCO . Web. 28 Feb. 2010.

Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. "Indigenous resistance in the Americas and the legacy of Mariategui." Monthly Review Sept. 2009: 50. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.

Edelman, Marc. "Social Movements: Changing Paradigms and Forms of Politics." Annual Review of Anthropology 30 (2001): 285-317. JSTOR. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. .

*Edelman, Marc. "Transnational Peasant Politics in Central America." Latin American Research Review 33.3 (1998): 49-86. JSTOR. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. .

Edelman, Marc, and Rosamaria Nunez. "El movimiento campesino transnacional de América Central." Revista Mexicana de Sociologia 60.4 (1998): 277-319. Print.

Fornet-Betancourt, Raúl. "El pensamiento de José Martí Estudio introductorio: Vida y líneas generales de su pensamiento." Proyecto Ensayo Hispano. José Luis Gómez-Martínez, June 1998. Web. 02 Mar. 2010. http://www.ensayistas.org

Fowler, Alan, and Robert James. 1994. The Role of Southern NGOs in Development Cooperation. Occasional Papers series 2. London: International NonGovernmental Organisation Training and Research Centre (INTRAC).

Freire, Paulo. Cultural Action for Freedom. Vol. 1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Review, 2000. Print.

Freire, Paulo. Education for Critical Consciousness. 1st ed. Vol. 1. New York: Seabury, 1973. Print.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum, 2000. Print.

Gadotti, Moacir. Reading Paulo Freire: His Life and Work. Ed. Henry A. Giroux and Peter L. McLaren. Vol. 1. Albany: State University of New York, 1994. Print.

Galeano, Eduardo. Open Veins of Latin America. Anniversary ed. New York: Monthly Review, 1997. Print.

Garcia Fallas, Jacqueline. "The Pedagogic Thought of José Martí About the Teaching Training and the Educational Curriculum." Educación 29.2 (2005): 67-75. EBSCO. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.

Giroux, Henry A. "Rethinking Education as the Practice of Freedom: Paulo Freire and the Promise of Critical Pedagogy." Truthout. 3 Jan. 2010. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. .

Gray, Richard B. "Jose Marti and Social Revolution in Cuba." Journal of Inter-American Studies 5.2 (1963): 249-56. JSTOR. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. .

*Grugel, Jean. "Romancing Civil Society: European NGOs in Latin America." Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 42.2 (2000): 87. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Feb. 2010.

Hocdé, Henri, Jorge Iran Vasquez, Eric Holt-Giménez, and Ann R. Braun. "Towards a social movement of farmer innovation: Campesino a Campesino." LEISA July 200: 1-2. Print.

Holt-Giménez, Eric. Campesino a campesino voices from Latin America's Farmer to Farmer Movement for Sustainable Agriculture. Oakland, Calif: Food First Books, 2006. Print.

*Kirk, John M. José Martí, Mentor of the Cuban Nation. Vol. 1. Tampa: Universityes of Florida, 1983. Print.

Kraniauskas, John. "Introduction to Mariátegui." Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 10.3 (2001): 303-04. EBSCO. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.

"latifundium." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.Merriam-Webster Online. 22 November 2009

Marti, Jose. "Abonos." Portal Jose Marti. Oficina del Programa Martiano (OPM). Web. 17 Nov. 2009. .

Marti, Jose, and Juan De Onis. The America of Jose Marti. 1st ed. Vol. 1. New York: Minerva, 1968. Print.

Mariátegui, José Carlos, and Jorge Basadre. Seven interpretive essays on Peruvian reality. Austin: University of Texas, 1971. The Marxists Internet Archive. The Marxists Internet Archive. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. .

Mariátegui, José Carlos. Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (Diferencias / Diferences). Linkgua US, 2006. Print.

Mariategui, Jose Carlos. Ideologia y Politica. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Lima: Empresa Editora Amauta, 1972. Print.

Marx, Karl. Capital: a critique of political economy. London: Penguin Books in association with New Left Review, 1981. Print.

*McMichael, Philip. "Rethinking Globalization: The Agrarian Question Revisited." Review of International Political Economy 4.4 (1997): 630-62. JSTOR. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. .

Mies, Maria. "Paulo Freire's Method of Education: Conscientisation in Latin America." Economic and Political Weekly 8.39 (1973): 1764-767. JSTOR. Web. 1 Nov. 2009. .

Ortega Paredes, Juan J. "JOSÉ MARTÍ: SU CONCEPTO DE DEMOCRACIA." Revista de Ciencias Sociales 115 (2007): 95-101. EBSCO. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.

Paddock, William C. "How Green Is the Green Revolution?" BioScience 20.16 (1970): 897-902. Jstor.org. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. .

Patel, Raj. "You Have Become Mexican." Stuffed and Starved The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. 4th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Melville House, 2008. 1-398. Print.

Pita, Alfredo. "Jose Carlos Mariategui (1894-1930)." UNESCO Courier 47.12 (1994): 48-48. EBSCO. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.

Price, Marie. "Ecopolitics and environmental nongovernmental organizations in Latin America." The Geographical Review 84.1 (1994): 42+. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Feb. 2010.

Redondo de Feldman, Susana, and Anthony Tudisco. Jose Marti: Antologia Critica. Vol. 1. New York: Las Americas Company, 1968. Print.

Roberts, B. R. "Peasants and Proletarians." Annual Review of Sociology 16 (1990): 353-77.
JSTOR. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. .

Roberts, Peter, and Henry A. Giroux. Education, Literacy, and Humanization: Exploring the Work of Paulo Freire. Westport, Conn.: Bergin & Garvey, 2000. Print.

Salazar, César E. "José Marti y los Trabajadores." Espacio Abierto. Cuaderno Venezolano de Sociología 17.3 (2008): 523-26. EBSCO. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.

San Cristobal, Antonio. Economia, Educacion y Marxismo en Mariategui. 1st ed. Lima: Ediciones Studium S.A, 1960. Print.

Steiner, Stanley F. Freirean Pedagogy, Praxis, and Possibilities: Projects for the New Millennium. 1st ed. Vol. 19. New York: Falmer, 2000. Print.

The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. Dir. Faith Morgan. The Community Solution, 2006. DVD.

Thompson, Gary D., and Paul N. Wilson. "Ejido Reforms in Mexico: Conceptual Issues and Potential Outcomes." Land Economics 70.4 (1994): 448-56. JSTOR. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. .

Williams, Robert G. Export Agriculture and the Crisis in Central America. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1986. Print.

Wolf, Eric R. Peasants. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1997. Print.

Wolf, Eric R. Peasant wars of the twentieth century. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1999. Print.

*Zoomers, Annelies. "Rural Development Policy in Latin America: The Future of the Countryside." Social Scientist 30.11/12: 61-84. JSTOR. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. .

03/01/2010

Last night I continued to expand my working bibliography. I have close to forty resources now, I've found some that will be very helpful in my rewriting process. I have continued to look over my paper. I think rewriting might be a little more difficult than I first expected. I'm trying to think of places where I need to expand what I've written.

Today I wrote to a professor on campus to ask whether they thought my topic was strong/had potential. I'm waiting to hear back.

2/22/2010

I found several helpful articles tonight while I was doing research. Previously, in my paper, I had had no real discussion of the proliferation of NGOs in the 1980-1990s and their influence on transnational peasant movements. Some of the articles I found provided me with ideas on how to include this in the paper. I also found an article which goes through the history of agricultural development in Latin America throughout the later half of the twentieth century.

I have also been reading my paper and making necessary revisions. I think that my introduction is adequate. Now I need to focus on my sections on theory, and expand them significantly.

Finally, I have been working on my expanded bibliography. I now have 30 or so references. My topic/s have been thoroughly researched and I'm glad for the ample resources.

Continuing research 2/18/2010

Today I spent a couple of hours researching my topic in the library. I found some really insightful articles through some of the library's databases. The first is "Jose Marti and Paulo Freire: Approaches for a reading of the Critical Pedagogy". It is an article linking both Freire and Marti (two of the theorists i'm researching) together. The article suggests that Freire and Marti were both concerned with the liberation of oppressed peoples through some form of 'critical pedagogy'. To the writer, critical pedagogy provides an alternative to Oppressive Pedagogy. It promotes a critical mind and dialogue in order to create in the student a 'humanist vision'.

The other article I found was a philosophical analysis of Jose Marti's work by Raul Fornet-Betancourt. I haven't read this article in its entirety, but I believe it will prove helpful in my analysis of Marti (and especially his influence on Latin American thought).

Research

Today I spent our class time continuing research for my project. I found an article that proved very insightful, and I think it will add a lot to my project. It is essentially a tribute to Paulo Freire's life, written by a close friend. However, it gives a thorough explanation of Freire's pedagogical theories. Though I have researched Freire at length, this article expressed what I haven't been able to. Like I said, this essay is going to help "connect the dots" in my paper.

P.S I would recommend this article to anyone who has never heard of Freire. It is a thorough introduction to his life and work.

Ethics Response

The article I found to be most relevant was the article on Ethics by the Society for Applied Anthropology. It had practical insights on research. I realize that my research does not involve direct study of people, and I am not working together with other colleagues. However, I think it stresses the importance of ethical research methods as well as reciprocity with everyone you work with.

Freire, Marti, and Mariategui: an integrative analysis of the Campesino a Campesino movement.

The history of Latin America is tumultuous, full of its revolutions and independence movements. Against the backdrop of this history, certain influential voices have stand out. This paper is an analysis of three influential Latin American intellectuals, and how their ideas are being realized currently in Latin America. The Campesino a Campesino movement, throughout Mesoamerica, Central America, and the Caribbean, offers a relevant case study for this research. Paulo Freire, Jose Marti, and Jose Carlos Mariategui are three intellectual figures in Latin America’s history. Their ideas, as well as their works, explored the oppression of Latin American peoples, as well as the possibility for change. This paper explores the burgeoning Campesino a Campesino, peasant movement and how they have built a movement based on: dignity, land and labor reform, and the preservation of local cultures. The paper suggests that the ideas of Freire, Marti, and Mariategui have been in some way realized through this peasant movement.

The Campesino a Campesino movement started in the later part of the twentieth century, amid chaotic political, social, and economic change. Starting in the mid-nineteenth century Latin America was transformed by: the green revolution, neo-liberal economic policies, and free-trade agreements. Throughout Latin America, farmers and peasants suffered tremendously as they lost their land and livelihood to ‘development’. The Campesino a Campesino movement developed as a program of resistance towards conventional development. It is now a growing movement that strives to create development that works together with the environment, and preserves local cultures.

Each of the intellectuals explored in this paper have been important voices in Latin American in one way or another. Paulo Freire is world-renowned for his pedagogical theories that attempt to raise political and social awareness. His theories attempt to empower impoverished people through education. Jose Marti is known as the voice of Cuban Independence movement in the nineteenth century. Through his passionate speeches and essays he advocated a return to the land, as well as a self-sufficient Latin America. Jose Carlos Mariategui was a short-lived, yet prolific Marxist who primarily wrote about the relationship between indigenous peoples and land. Mariategui argued that as long Peruvian lands were controlled by those in power, indigenous, farming peoples would remain oppressed. Though the aim and scope of these visionaries differ, they were all concerned with social and political problems of Latin America, and they were also able to envision an alternative to these problems.

This paper, then, attempts to synthesize the ideas of three ideologues into a contemporary and growing movement in Latin America. Both the ideas of these intellectuals and the Campesino a Campesino movement provide an alternative model to development that has devastated much of the developing world.

Senior Project Topics

1. Freire, Martí, and Mariátegui: an integrative analysis of the Campesino a Campesino movement.
My research project in 'IDS Praxis' was an analysis of three major Latin American theorists (Jose Marti, Jose Mariategui & Paulo Freire) and how their theories have been realized through a contemporary peasant movement in Latin America. This was a really interesting research project. I am considering continuing this research because there's so much more to explore on the subject.

2. One Hundred Years of Solitude: Latin American literature as history.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez' masterpiece is undoubtedly One Hundred Years of Solitude. Apart from it reading as a history of the world -with its obvious biblical references- it reads more specifically as a history of Latin America. I'd be interested in researching this topic more in-depth.

3. Latin America in Transition
At the turn of the 20th century Latin America was increasingly opening itself up to world trade. It would be interesting to analyze this period from: economic, political, social, environmental etc. aspects.

Latin America: an interdisciplinary perspective.

I currently am trying to do a double major. I started out at college studying Interdisciplinary Studies: International Studies with a focus in Latin America. Fortunately, I studied Spanish and Anthropology enough to have another major and minor in them respectively. Interdisciplinary Studies has given me a unique chance to study a wide base of knowledge on Latin America.

I must say that some of the most formative and best classes I have taken that pertain to my major were taught by Dr. Renee Horst in the History department. My freshman and sophomore years I took History of Modern Latin American history and history of the Southern Cone with Dr. Horst. Dr. Horst challenged me to learn a lot about Latin American History. The Watauga program through Appalachian challenged me to question a lot about my major, and was also very formative to my learning. I must also credit Dr. Schroeder who taught me about Latin American Geography. My class on Marx's Capital in my senior year has given me an incredible insight into Karl Marx's influence in Latin America. I have taken two short term trips while at Appalachian: one to Bolivia, and the other to Ecuador. Both Dr. Smith, and Dr. Boyer in the Anthropology department have taught me a lot about Latin American culture.

I do a majority of my learning through reading. Though I am indebted to my professors that have given me such valuable tools, I do consider myself an autodidact and a bit of a bookworm. These are some books that have been important in my learning process:

Born in Blood and Fire by John Chasteen

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

Laberinto de la Soledad (Labyrinth of Solitude)by Octavio Paz

A Survey of Sustainable Development by various

Cien Años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Campesino a Campesino by Eric Holt-Gimenez

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo

First Entry

This purpose of this blog is to post about my progress on my senior seminar project for IDS.