Recorded March 15, 2004
Below is the original description of the event.
This talk will focus on the differences between the indigenous movements in “peaceful” Ecuador and “violent” Guatemala. Smith, who has studied both areas, will also comment on input she solicited from other specialists comparing the situation in Ecuador with that of other parts of Latin America where indigenous social movements are taking place. Key to Smith’s comparison is her challenge of the belief that the history of the Maya movement in Guatemala developed out of Guatemala’s period of violence in the 1980s.
Carol A. Smith is Professor and Chair of Anthropology at UC Davis. She has worked with the Maya of Guatemala in many different parts of the country for 30 years, concentrating on ethnic/class relations. Recently, her work has considered the nature of Guatemala’s Maya movement as it has shifted over time and space, race and racism in Guatemala and the intersection of race, class, and gender in Guatemala and other parts of Central America.