Reflection

July 9, 2018

The Voices of Latin America: The Modern Period class in the MAAS program has given me the opportunity to experience the voices of some of my fellow Latin compadres and their historic memories throughout the cold war era . At the same time, this class has motivated me to carry out extensive research on socio-political and historical topics related to my home country, Argentina. This educational and cathartic journey fulfilled what I initially envisioned with this class: to get in touch with my own roots I was able to learn and rediscover topics, such as national heroes and leaders, revolution and independence (winds of change), as well as women national movements and socio-political changes.

Exploring my country as well as the countries of Chile, Guatemala, and Uruguay took me back to certain times and places that I personally experienced and preferred not to revisit. This class was the vehicle to explore, react, and reflect upon the contemporary historic issues that either my family or I personally experienced in Argentina. Creating my e-portfolio about the socio-political aspect and historical background of Argentina between 1946 and 1991, provided me with an opportunity to make peace with the past. Through this, I gained a better knowledge of the Argentinian cold war while doing my research. The different material I read and watched provided new insights, which helped me understand certain events of my own history that had been repressed for years.

I anticipated that creating a final e-portfolio on Argentina was not going to be a safe choice for me since I had never done any formal research about Argentina’s Cold War. Being removed from my home country for 16 years provided a different perspective and frame of mind toward problems related to Latin America’s nineteenth-century history. It was not until this class that I had the chance to steer away from British and American culture. However, I was excited to delve into a variety of bibliographic and filmic material in order to create an honest and detailed narrative of Argentina. The report of the political and judicial processes related to the recovery and recognition of collective memories took more than the required assignment. A single page turned into many lines of material pertaining to the recovery and recognition of collective memories during the Dirty War and Malvinas War.

Analyzing Latin American history since the declaration of independence in the early 1800s up up to the present was an eye-opening experience. The diverse reading material as well as the documentaries covered in class were a testimony of how “Latin America was born in blood and fire, in conquest and slavery” (1) and how its political, social, and economical struggles still continue. The material in the class syllabus was also a very creative vehicle to explore and compare a variety of contemporary topics in different Latin American cultures, especially those included in my classmates’ e-portfolios.

The different reading assignments and film viewings provided an opportunity to participate in serious group discussions. Also, conducting independent research was an excellent way to exercise some self-exploration, which brought up philosophical questions, such as what contributed to the development of Argentina’s national identity, as well as the contemporary events that were instrumental to create “the Ser Argentino” (Argentinian cultural nationalism). Last but not least, I came away with the unshakable feeling that Latin America is a civilization defined by severity and harshness.

I wonder how many genocides, terrorist attacks, wars, tortures, and hatred we will be able to tolerate. I also ponder if the new generation will be able to remember these lessons and act upon them accordingly. I appreciate that this course gave me a deeper appreciation for the country that shaped me, as well as other nations that experienced similar historical events.

Julia Herbón

Work Cited:

Chasteen, J. (2011). Born in Blood and Fire : A Concise History of Latin America (3rd ed. ed.). New York: W.W. Norton.