The Following are abstracts of Research Presentations by
Assumption College Latin American Studies Students and Faculty:

Erik LaFortune, Assumption College- "Reexamining the Conquest of Mexico: An
Analysis of the Personalities and Psychological Impact of the Clash of Cultures"

ABSTRACT: This paper will reexamine the Spanish conquest of Mexico by analyzing the personalities, cultures, and mindsets behind the two great leaders: Hernan Cortes and the Aztec Emperor Motecuzoma II. The paper will focus on the analysis of the nature of the technological and ideological differences between the two cultures. By examining the cultural and psychological impact of contact, this paper will analyze how the seemingly impossible feat (the Conquest of the Aztecs) was made possible despite discouraging odds against the Spanish.

Tim Kewriga, Assumption College-"The Life of the First Archbishop and Inquisitor of
Mexico: Fr. Juan de Zumárraga and the Conversion of the Indians of New Spain"

ABSTRACT: This paper uses primary documents and other historical works to examine the figure and character of the First Archbishop of Mexico, and the first Inquisitor of New Spain, Fr. Juan de Zumárraga. By analyzing both his character and early formation and the intellectual trends and themes behind his project for Christianizing the Indians of Mexico, this paper will attempt to describe the often enigmatic figure of this founder of the Catholic Church in Mexico.

John M. Kelleher, Assumption College-"Conservative Reactionary or Prophetic
Visionary: Agustín de Iturbide and the First Mexican Congress"
ABSTRACT: This paper examines the pivotal figure of Don Agustin de Iturbide, the liberator and First Emperor of Mexico. After presenting a brief synopsis of the character, life and reign of Iturbide, the paper addresses the political factors that emerged during his rule, such as the development of the centralist-federalist conflict and the emergence of the army as the arbiter of Mexican politics. Finally this paper examines the treatment of Iturbide in the traditional Mexican historiography and it will offer a reevaluation of Iturbide's role in Mexican Independence.

Marion Valléau, Assumption College,"La Inquisición en Latinoamérica ó cuando la Cruz
se confunde con la Espada"

ABSTRACT: Después de la conquista militar de las nuevas tierras, la monarquía española y el poder religioso decidieron asegurarse de que los indígenas tuvieran ejemplos de "buenos cristianos" y de que las nuevas tierras no fueron poblados por herejes. El progreso de la conquista, el aumento de población y el crecimiento del numero de sospechosos en la fe provocó el translado de la Inquisición a América que fue ordenado el 25 de Ewnero de 1569 por el Rey Felipe II (Lewin, 143). El transplante era motivado por razones religiosas pero también, una mezcla de motivos económicos y políticos se combinaron hasta transformar la Inquisición en un instrumento del régimen político absolutista.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: After the military conquest of the New World, the Spanish Monarchy and the Religious hierarchy decided to exclude supposed heretics from settling in the New World in order to ensure that the Indians had examples of "Good Christians." The continued progress of the conquest and the increase in the population also witnessed an increase in the number of suspected heretics. All of this lead to the transplantation of the Holy Office of the Inquisition to America by a royal decree signed by King Philip II and dated January 25, 1569 (Lewin, 143). The transplantation of the Inquisition occurred for religious motives, but it also occurred because of a mixture of economic and political motives that combined in the end to transform the Inquisition into a political instrument of the Absolutist regime.

Ana Lilia Castro Bernal, Assumption College, "La Creación de un mito nacional en la
obra de Rodolfo Usigli: El Gesticulador y el mito de César Rubio”

ABSTRACT: En la obra, El Gesticulador, de Rodolfo Usigli, podemos observar como el medio del teatro fue utilizado para la creación de un mito nacional para la nación Mexicana. Usigli nos muestra la dualidad del nacionalismo mexicano con una obra que combina la politica, la demogogia y la mentira. Atraves de un analysis de esta obra, este trabajo propone el examinación del surgimiento de esta mismo mito nacional que Usigli nos muestra con sus caracteres y esenarios.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: In Rodolfo Usigli's play El Gesticulador, we can observe how the media of Theatre is used to create a national myth for the Mexican people. Usigli in this work shows us the duality inherent in Mexican nationalism by combining in his characters aspects of politics, demogogery, and outright lies. Through an analysis of this work, this paper proposes to examine the origins of this same national myth that Usigli exemplifies with his characters and his scenery.

Jaclyn Scott, Assumption College, "Coherencia Incoherente: La Progresión de la Voz
Femenina en El Suplicio del Placer por Sabina Berman"

ABSTRACT: La voz de la mujer se amortigua en el mundo masculino. Pero esto no prohibe que algunas mujeres se expresaran por obras literarias, especialmente en el teatro dónde la palabra combine con la acción. Sabina Berman es una dramaturga mexicana quien revela sus políticos e ideologías por su carrera. Su obra El Suplicio del Placer expresa sus ideas, opiniones y critisísmos sobre la construcción de papeles de género en el mundo masculino. En este ensayo, se descubre por qué Berman explora y critica los roles de los hombres y de las mujeres. Y con su último acto, que fue escrito veinte años después de los otros, se ve la culminación de sus opiniones que los roles de género realmente no existen y por eso los hombres y las mujeres deben ser iguales.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: The Female voice is muffled in the masculine world. However, there are women who express themselves and their opinions through literary works, especially in theatre where word and action meet. Sabina Berman is a Mexican, female dramatist who reveals her politics and ideologies through her career. Her play, El Suplicio del Placer, expresses her ideas, opinions and criticisms abnout the construction of gender roles in a masculine world. In this paper, it is discovered why Berman explores and criticizes the roles of men and women. With her last act, that was written twenty years after the others, one finds the culmination of her opinions that gender roles do not really exist, and therefore men and women should be equal.

Jaclyn Scott, Assumption College, "Sexual Exploitation of Women in Pre-Colombian
and Colonial Latin America: Concubinage and Prostitution in Cross Cultural Perspective"

ABSTRACT: Jaclyn’s paper is an excellent look into the concepts of sexuality and gender bias in the pre-
Columbian and Colonial world. She argued that the masculine oriented societies of Pre-Columbian
America and Colonial Latin America relegated women to a position of inferiority and as a consequence it
lead to widespread physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Examining the nature of sexuality and cultural
values in Pre-Hispanic and Colonial Latin America, Jaclyn concludes that morality and cultural concepts of
the supposed inferiority of women were remarkably similar in the two different cultures. The end result
was that both cultures exploited women sexually.

Elizabeth Kivlighan, Assumption College, "Amorous Obsessions and Control of the
Opposite Sex: Sexual Witchcraft in the New World"

ABSTRACT: The supernatural has always attracted the attention of the human race, whether out of fear or for entertainment reasons. Although the thought of witchcraft may be taken lightly these days in modern society, it was and still is a serious matter in many cultures. The Indigenous cultures of the New World viewed witchcraft and religion with both extreme respect and fear, which may be why such traditions continue to be practiced today. The colonization of New Spain brought together European and Indigenous witchcraft, which ultimately led to a mestizaje of magic. An example of this mestizaje is sexual witchcraft, which is the focus of this paper. Another aspect of this paper is how the Inquisitional courts and the Provisor of Indians attempted to extirpate sexual witchcraft in the New World.

Dr. John F. Chuchiak, "The Secrets Behind the Screen: Solicitantes in the Colonial Diocese of Yucatán and the Sexual Conquest of the Yucatec Maya, 1570-1785,"

ABSTRACT: The roots of what can be called the "Sexual Conquest" began with the initial missions of the Franciscan Friars among the Maya. The earliest friars studied the Maya language and produced Vocabularies, Grammars, Sermons and Confessionaries as tools for their missionary effort. However, the friars did not always practice what they preached. Often many missionaries and parish priests committed the very sexual "sins" that the friars preached against. The dichotomy between acceptable sexuality taught by the friars, and sexual deviance committed by the clergy at first confused, perplexed, and angered the Maya. However, by the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Maya began to use their acquired knowledge of Catholic concepts of sexual perversion as an effective weapon against the very same friars and priests who punished them for their own crimes against the faith. Apparently, even false accusations of sexual indiscretions served as valuable weapons for the Maya in their battle against colonial abuse and exploitation. This paper will show that in examining accusations against clerical sexual misconduct, we must read the documents carefully in order to discern fact from fiction.


Shamus Mruk, Assumption College-"The New Inquisition in Latin America: The
Central Intelligence Agency's Covert Role in the Crusade Against Communism in the Western Hemisphere"

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and its endless covert crusade against communism in the Western Hemisphere. The paper analyzes several of the CIA’s most flagrant and blatant attempts to overthrow the democratically elected governments in Guatemala, Chile and Nicaragua. The CIA’s role and convert techniques are examined in detail and some shocking revelations are made based on his examination of recently de-classified CIA and U.S. government documents.

David Dupont, “Cocaine, Guns & Guerrillas: Terror and Violence in Modern Colombia, 1946-1990”

ABSTRACT: This paper traces the historical origins of modern political violence in Colombia [known as La Violencia] . The paper analyzes the role of the drug trade and the guerrilla movement known as the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Colombianas) in the development of the present armed struggle. The paper also argues that even the political culture and the structure of government since the 1940s led to the current problems. In combination with U.S. influence and military aid the situation has become more explosive in recent years. All of these, the paper concludes, are root causes for the growing violence in Colombia.

Erik LaFortune, Assumption College, "La imposibilidad de una revolución duradera: La Noche de los asesinos de José Triana."

ABSTRACT: The literary genius of the Cuban writer José Triana did not once mention the Cuban Revolution, yet in an historical context his, La noche de los asesinos, was the equivilent of the Animal Farm of Cuba. This paper will examine the historical context and impact of Triana's work and analyze how the symbol of the "house" is much less a house than it is an island 90 miles off of the tip of Florida.

Dr. Linda Ammons, Assumption College, Anthropology Department, "Lacandon Maya Ecotourism: Positive development or a necessary evil?"

ABSTRACT: The Lacandon Maya in the Selva rainforest in southern Mexico in 2001
embarked on a project to bring tourists for multiday visits into their community. This paper describes the first one of these tourist expeditions, and discusses the potential positive and negative impacts.

Leslie Antonowich, Assumption College-"Latin American Machismo and its
Cultural Implications: A Study of the Impact of Machismo on Latin American Culture"

ABSTRACT: Leslie’s paper examines the Latin American cultural concept of machismo and its positive and negative impacts on Latin American Society. She traces the historical roots of machismo to the early culture of the Spanish conquistadores and shows how the concept developed and formed throughout time. She argues that machismo in general is a root cause of such detrimental actions such as the physical and sexual abuse of women and children and it has also helped to increase the incidence of AIDS and Sexually transmitted diseases in Latin cultures. However, she also points out that some positive aspects of machismo, such as its stress on a dedication to ones family, have had a positive effect on Latin American culture. Leslie nevertheless concludes against the utility of machismo and sees it as a major cause of violence and repression in Latin America.

For more information on Assumption College's latin American Studies Program, click here.