Professor Olivia Harris, A608

MSc Social Anthropology, MSc Anthropology and Development, MSc Law, Anthropology and Society, MSc Comparative Politics (Latin America stream), MSc Gender, Development and Globalisation, MSc Development Studies and MSc Development Management.

The course focuses on indigenous populations of Latin America, using the examples of Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, where the indigenous voice is becoming a major political force. It considers who is identified as indigenous and for what reasons, key aspects of indigenous cultural practice relating to the land, religion and gender, and ways in which migration is redefining indigenous identity. It considers concepts of citizenship, democracy and legal pluralism in relation to indigenous identities and politics, and looks at the particular ways development impacts on indigenous populations.

The politics of history with particular reference to the Spanish Conquest and to the great pre-Columbian civilizations (Inca, Maya, Aztec); the impact of 1992 Columbus quincentenary; the ambiguities of ‘ethnicity’, ‘race’ and ‘mestizaje’; the globalization of indigenous politics in the context of the particular histories of Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Guatemala; ethnocide, activism and the nation; neoliberalism, democracy and citizenship; customary law; education policies; the dynamics of religious change; gender and violence.

Ten one-hour lectures MT and 10 one-hour seminars, MT.

Students normally write at least one coursework essay.

Marisol de la Cadena Indigenous Mestizos: the Politics of Race and Culture in Cuzco Duke 2000; Carol Smith (ed) Guatemalan Indians and the State Texas 1990; D Maybury-Lewis (ed) The Politics of Ethnicity, Harvard, 2002; Rachel Seider (ed) Multiculturalism in Latin America: Indigenous Rights, Diversity and Democracy Macmillan 2002; Kay Warren and Jean Jackson (eds) Indigenous Movements: Self-Representation and the State in Latin America 2003; Sharon Mattiace To See with Two Eyes: Peasant Activism and Indian Autonomy in Chiapas New Mexico 2003; Deborah Yashar Contesting Citizenship: the Rise of Indigenous Movements and the Postliberal Challenge Cambridge 2005.

A take home examination in the ST (100%).