Fall Term 1998, History 482/582 Professor Robert Haskett
Latin America's Indigenous Peoples Download Word97

Tuesday/Thursday, 11:00-12:20,

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102 Gilbert Hall Office Hours

OVERVIEW

Thus they ruined and depopulated all this island which we beheld not long ago; and it excites pity, and great anguish to see it deserted, and reduced to a solitude. [Bartolomé de las Casas.]

It is an old saying that the Spanish conquest destroyed the Aztecs, Mayas, Incas, and other indigenous societies of what we now call Latin American. Yet how can that be? Today when one travels to Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia there seems to be a lot of "indigenous" culture and a lot of "native" people around. The truth is that "Latin America" is the sum total of the historical experiences of its diverse peoples. While it is sometimes hard to separate the "native" from the "European" or "African," the evolution of "Latin American" culture began far in the past, long before any European happened on the scene. Indigenous ways were not destroyed, even if political empires and states disappeared in the face of the sixteenth-century Spanish onslaught. Despite sometimes incredible odds against their survival, indigenous peoples and cultures endured, adapting to new realities as time passed.

History 482/582 investigates this process of cultural evolution. We will focus mainly upon the sedentary societies of Mesoamerica (comprised today of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and part of Honduras) and the Andes (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile). We will study the dynamic cultures of these regions prior to the arrival of Europeans, as well as the impact of the Spanish invasion and the emerging colonial system. We will examine the Spanish invaders' aims and methods, native resistance and accommodation to intrusive ways, and the resulting changes and continuities in social, economic, political, and cultural institutions during the long colonial era. We will also take a very brief look at the state of these regions' indigenous societies in the present day. Whenever possible, we will seek to uncover the indigenous perspective; for example, in developing lectures I have tried to use as many records as possible that were written by members of the indigenous societies we will be studying. You will be able to read translations of some of these documents yourselves.

TEXTS

The following books, all of which can be found at the University of Oregon Bookstore, are required for this course (one copy of each is also on reserve in the Knight Library).

1) Alfredo López Austín, The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon, translated by Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano and Thelma Ortiz de Montellano (1996).

2) David Frye, Indians into Mexicans: History and Identity in a Mexican Town (1996).

3) Miguel León-Portilla, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (1992, 2nd ed.).

4) Gregorio López y Fuentes, El Indio (1961).

5) Steve J. Stern, Peru's Indian People and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest (1993, 2nd ed.).

There is also a course reader. It has been posted to electronic reserve, and there are several hard copies are on reserve in the Knight Library, as well:

"Latin America's Indigenous Peoples: Mesoamerica and the Andes in the Formative Centuries, a Documentary Reader."

The reader contains translations of documents written, for the most part, by members of indigenous society itself. The majority of them have been translated from Nahuatl, the "Aztec" language, though several examples from the Maya region and the Andes are included. During the quarter some of these documents will be assigned to the whole class to be read prior to related class presentations. Others will be assigned to small groups. Each group will report on the documents during relevant class meetings. The idea is to introduce you to various forms of record keeping, indigenous attitudes towards their own lives and the colonial systems, and to the processes of cultural evolution set in motion by the Spanish invasion.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The Reader is 41 pages long.  Loading the on-line version, as well as the downloadables, may take a while, depending on your modem speed.  University and other high speed connections should still be quite fast.

On Line Reader 161 KB (160 sec. 28.8Kb modem)
Reader, Word 97 format 220 KB
Reader, Text-Only format 144 KB

Finally, I have put the following recommended books on reserve in the Knight Library. All of them contain useful insights or information about the state and evolution of indigenous societies.

1) Juan Betanzos, Narrative of the Incas (1996).

F 3429.B5413 1996

2) Fray Diego Durán, The Aztecs: The History of the Indies of New Spain (1964). F 1219.D9443

3) Fray Diego Durán, Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar (1971). F 1219.D513

4) Ross Hassig, Aztec Warfare (1988). F 1219.76.P75H37 1988

5) Fray Diego de Landa, Yucatan before and after the Conquest (1937). F 1376.L36 1937

6) Kenneth Mills, Idolatry and its Enemies (1997).

F 2230.2.K4M56 1997

7) Dennis Tedlock, Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life (1986). F 1465.P813 1986

8) The Huarochirí Manuscript: A Testament of Ancient and Colonial Andean Religion, translated by Frank Salomon and George L. Urioste (1991). F 3429.3.R3M3513 1991

COURSE POLICIES

PARTICIPATION

Active student participation is a key note in this class and represents 10% of your overall course grade. You are expected to complete all reading assignments in a timely manner. You will not on the course calendar that several formal discussion days are scheduled. But I encourage discussion during every class meeting. In addition, student reading groups should be prepared to make short presentations during appropriate class meetings. For example, students who read an account of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico should be ready to share their insights on this subject during a lecture about the "Spiritual Conquest." Because attending class is part of being prepared and participating, I will be taking attendance in HIST 482/582 and noting active participation.

If enough graduate students are enrolled in the class I will want to arrange several extra sessions with them. Each graduate will be responsible for making an oral report during one of these sessions about one of the books appearing on the "recommended reading" list, above. We will also discuss issues and themes raised in the course.

WRITTEN WORK

Your first written assignment takes the form of a take-home midterm essay exam. You will be asked to discuss certain themes related to the "precontact" societies of Mesoamerica and the Andes. Instructions for this exam, which is worth 30% of your course grade, will be distributed at an appropriate date. The exam is due at the beginning of our class meeting on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22.

The second written assignment, worth 25% of your course grade, is linked to the group reading assignments. On TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, you will turn what amounts to the reading notes you made as you read assigned documents and prepared to discuss them in class. But you should "polish" your notes based on insights gained in class, especially during discussion of the documents and the historical context surrounding them. Finally, you are expected to add insights drawn from other assigned reading, where pertinent. For instance, if you read a document about labor resistance, your notes on that document should be "enhanced" with insights drawn from assigned reading in Peru's Indian Peoples as well as from relevant lectures. I will hand out more detailed instructions about this assignment later in the quarter. I hope that this assignment will be enjoyable and not too onerous, since you will be reading things written by actors in the unfolding historical drama rather than people who interpret such things (like me!). And (ideally) you will work on this assignment in stages over the course of the quarter.

The third written assignment is a paper, due on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, and worth 35% of your course grade, in which you will center a historical analysis of the indigenous experience in Mesoamerica and the Andes around an interpretation of the novel El Indio. I will be handing out complete instructions for this paper after the mid-term has been completed.

Graduate Student assignment: Graduates will produce a paper of thematically-centered documentary analysis based on the contents of the entire course reader. This replaces the undergraduate reading notes and analysis project described above. Full instructions will be provided later in the quarter.

GRADE SUMMARY

Take-home Midterm = 30%

Reading Note Project = 25%

Paper = 35%

Participation = 10%

Grading is carried out on a 100-point scale:

100-93 = A, 92-90 = A-,

89-87 = B+, 86-83 = B, 82-80 = B-,

79-77 = C+, 76-73 = C, 72-70 = C-,

69-67 = D+, 66-63 = D, 62-60 = D-,

59 and lower = F.

PENALTIES

WARNING! A grade of "incomplete" will only be given by prior arrangement and in cases of extreme need. At the end of the quarter, unexplained missing work will be assessed a mark of "0," leading to an inevitable "F" in the course. OUCH! Written proof of illness, accident, court appearances, paper-eating pets, negligent roommates, etc., will be required before any work can be made up. Unexcused late papers will be docked 3 POINTS IF RECEIVED AFTER THE END OF CLASS ON THE DUE DATE, AND 5 POINTS PER DAY, INCLUDING WEEKENDS, THEREAFTER. Remember that learning to get one's work in on time is good preparation for the "real world" waiting for you out there after you graduate from the University of Oregon.

COURSE CALENDAR

SEPT.

T 29 Introduction: The Cultural Landscape of the "Americas." Reading: Begin The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon.

OCT.

Th 1 Chariots of the Gods? Seeking the Roots of American Civilizations in Europe, Asia, and the Stars.

Reading: Continue with The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon.

T 6 The Incas: Myths and Realities.

Reading: Peru's Indian Peoples, 3-26; Course Reader, "Garcilaso on the Origins of the Incas," The Huarochirí Manuscript; continue with The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon.

TH 8 The Maya: Priestly Kingdoms or Conquest States?

Reading: Course Reader, Popol Vuh; continue with The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon.

T 13 Nahuas and Aztecs: Origins of Empire.

Reading: The Broken Spears, xi-xlix; continue with The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon.

TH 15 Nahuas and Aztecs, cont.

Reading: Complete The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon.

T 20 Discussion: Incas, Mayas, and Nahuas: "Myths" and "Histories."

Reading: Assignments from Sept. 29 through October 15 should be completed before this class meeting.

TH 22 The Spanish Invasion.

Reading: The Broken Spears, 3-149.

MIDTERM DUE AT BEGINNING OF CLASS MEETING!

T 27 The Spanish Invasion, continued.

Reading: Peru's Indian Peoples, 27-50; Course Reader, "The Capture of Atahualpa, by Garcilaso de la Vega, "El Inca;" The Broken Spears, 3-149, continued.

TH 29 Discussion: Visions of Invasions and Conquests.

Reading: Assignments for the 22nd and 27th should be completed before this class meeting.

NOV.

T 3 "Secret Judgements of God:" The Demographic Disaster.

Reading: Peru's Indian Peoples, 203-204.

TH 5 Entering the Spanish World.

Reading: Peru's Indian Peoples, 80-113; The Broken Spears, 150-158.

Group Reading Selections:

1) "Portion of a Census Carried out in the Cuernavaca Region, ca. 1540;"

2) "Letter from the Cabildo of Tenochtitlan to the Crown, 1554;"

3) "Letter from the Cabildo of Huejotzingo to the King, 1560;"

4) "The Trials of Town Service" and "Electoral Fraud?"

T 10 The Spiritual "Conquest."

Reading: Begin Indians into Mexicans.

Group Reading Assignments:

1) "An Excerpt from Fran Bernardino de Sahagún's Exercicio Quotidiano;"

2) "Some Christian Lessons from the Nahuatl Language Doctrina Cristiana en Lengua Mexicana;"

3) "Tree of Death, Tree of Life;"

4) "The Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe."

TH 12 The Spiritual "Conquest," continued.

Reading: Peru's Indian Peoples, 51-79.

Group Reading Selections:

1) Treatise on the Heathen Superstitions;

2) "Catalina Xocoyotl Complains about the Conduct of a Friar, c. 1607;"

3) "The Crimes of Francisco Godino, Curate of Ohuapan, 1611-1612;"

4) "Alleged Sexual Misconduct of the Priests Gerónimo de Frias Quijada, Ixcateopan, Taxco, 1614."

T 17 Working the Land, Toiling in the Mines.

Reading: Peru's Indian Peoples, 138-157, 197-200, 205- 209; begin El Indio and Indians into Mexicans.

Group Reading Selections:

1) "Testament of Don Toribio Cortés of Cuernavaca, December 5, 1559;"

2) "Testament of Don Juan Jiménez of Cuernavaca, 1579," "Will of Ana Juana, Culhuacan, 1580," and "Will of Bárbara Agustina, Chiucnahuapan in the Coyoacan region, 1608;"

3) "Testament of Juan Bautista, Citizen of San Pedro Atliyacan, Cuernavaca, 1640," Testament of Angelina, San Simón Pochtlan (Azcapotzalco), 1695;" and "Land and other Possessions in the Testament of Marta Mis, Ixil, Yucatán, 1769."

4) "Investigation and Judgement in a Land Dispute, Cuernavaca, c. 1572," "María Magdalena of the Coyoacan area Sells some Land, 1579," "A Noble Wife and Husband Jointly Rent Out Land, Cuernavaca, 1586," "Selling Land to the Spanish: Cuernavaca, 1608," and the three land documents from Olac, Cuernavaca, 1620.

TH 19 The Murder of Don Nicolás Cortés.

Reading: Peru's Indian Peoples, 114-137; continue with El Indio and Indians into Mexicans.

Group Reading Assignments:

1) "Petition about the Possession of land from the Elders of Jojutla.., 1619;"

2) "Petition about Land Lost in the Congregación Process.., 1722;"

3) "Two Complaints about the Taxco Mine Labor Draft.., c. 1607;"

4) "An Attempt to Switch Ethnicities, Cuernavaca, c. 1607," and "Resistance to the Taxco Mine Repartimiento, Otlipan, Cuernavaca, c. 1607."

T 24 Looking Back: Indigenous Visions of the Past.

Reading: The Broken Spears, 158-164; continue with El Indio and Indians into Mexicans.

Group Reading Assignments:

1) "The Urban Indian: Some Selections from a set of Annals of Puebla, 1525-1691;"

2) "Annals from Tlaquiltenango, Cuernavaca Region, c. 1712;"

3) "Primordial Titles of Chiamilpa;"

4) "Excerpts from the Municipal Codex of Cuernavaca."

TH 26 NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING BREAK.

DEC.

T 1 "Indians" into "Mexicans."

Reading: The Broken Spears, 165-172; continue Indians into Mexicans; continue El Indio.

READING ANALYSIS REPORTS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS!

TH 3 Discussion: The Many Meanings of El Indio

Reading: Complete Indians into Mexicans; complete El Indio.

T 8 EL INDIO PAPERS DUE! PLEASE BRING THEM TO MY OFFICE, 272 PLC.