Latin American Studies (by Philip

¶ … Latin American Studies" (by Philip Swanson) by answering questions 1-12.

Travel writing in Latin America was imagined in such a way to create certain stereotypes of both the inhabitants and physical geography when it was reported back to readers in Europe. Latin America was imagined to be more dangerous and less productive and civilized than Europe. These travel writings helped Europeans distance themselves from Latin America, and make it an even more "foreign" and "exotic" location, without even a true understanding of the realities of each country. As for consumption from Latin America, there is no doubt that Latin America has impacted the way people in North America consume and think about products. The book gives the example of just looking at one's local supermarket to see the large amount of food products that are derived from Latin America (assortments of fruits, vegetables, grain products, and even coffee from Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, and Colombia, to name a few). One argument for this occurrence of an "international food space economy" is that our domestic economy has become accustomed and even dependent upon the production of products in Latin America for our consumption. Another argument is that the particular goods from Latin America is what fuels our consumption of them. In other words, we crave what is "exotic" and "new." It is through these consumer goods that yet another "imaginative geography" is created. We can guess about where our food comes from, but the reality is that we don't have a clear idea of its starting point and how it came to be on our shelves. Overall, imagined geographies prevalent in both travel writing and in our consumption help fuel the Western world's mistaken belief that we are superior to Latin America. This leads to many false stereotypes and assumptions about cultures which most of us have never experienced.

2) When the structure of colonialism set in on Latin America, the Catholic Church established Counter-Reformation initiatives ordered by Spain's Holy Inquisition. The Counter-Reformation discouraged cultural endeavors in Latin America if they were not directly affiliated to specific Church celebrations. This resulted in much illiteracy and general ignorance of advances being made in the world during the 17th and 18th centuries, specifically the Enlightenment. Additionally, the Catholic Church, in this role, was less involved in being true missionaries, but rather functioned as a cultural censor that enforced regulatory social practices. Peninsular bureaucrats seemed to have no interest or care for the vast lands of Latin America, and developed an increasing disdain for the growing mixed Spanish and indigenous population (Mestizo). They were suspicious of indigenous and mestizo people, and also of Spanish people born in Latin America during the colonialism. These bureaucrats only remained in Latin America so that they could return to Spain with more respect and with a higher rank. The next category of people were the criollos, or the direct descendants of the original conquistadors who settled Latin America. This group was named criollos to imply that they were more "local" and not "real Spaniards" born on the Iberian peninsula. The criollos often felt misunderstood by the peninsular bureaucrats who were attempting to apply Spanish law to the different Latin American environment. The criollos also helped create a mestzo middle class. These foundations would eventually lead to future political upheavals, such as the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) and the emergence of guerrilla warfare in El Salvador in the 1930s.