Assignment 4c

The word "culture" can be described by many individuals as, a way a life.  Cambridge Dictionary defines the word as follows, "the way of life of a particular people, esp. as shown in their ordinary behavior and habits, their attitudes toward each other, and their moral and religious beliefs."  This project fits into that deinition because we are constantly learning about different people, their religious beliefs and their morals.  Everytime we view eachother's writing on specified topics, we learn about other's writing habibts.  We gain a new perspective on the cultures and history of Latin America and the Caribbean.  

Assign. 3a: Currently living in Lima, Peru, Carrie North presents a fascinating look into the Incan society.  From Carrie I learned about the many mysteries surrounding the Incan society.  Much of the artwork and archeological sites are explained through stories.  Legend claims that the Incas came down from a cave in the Andes already adorned with weapons and elaborate costumes.  They rapidly conquered the land of Cuzco, which is located below the famous establishment of "Machu Picchu."  While thier they developed new agricultural techniques, revolutionary medical procedures, weaponary, and advanced hydraulic systems.  This information from Carrie directly reflects our study of Latin American cultures.  It correlates with Freire's methods of learning, because he believed we should gain as much knowledge as possible from one another.  Interacting and engaging in each others writing and ideas creates new paths in learning; a philosophy Freire preached. 

Assign 4a:  Christina Guevara chose to write about Father Junipero Serra.  She presented some intersting facts, some which I was unaware of.  I learned from her that Father Junipero Serra took his name from, Saint Jupiter.  He reciveied his doctrine in Theology from Lullian University.  Serra established a mission in 1769 named Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana de Valiencia. This was the only mission in Baja California that was Franciscan.  Father Junipero Serra was soon given the title of,  "Father President"of  the Alta California missions.  We can apply Freire to this topic becuase he used a similar approach to situations as Father Junipero Serra did.  Father Junipero Serra graciously pushed his morals and religious beliefs on the inigenous tribes of California and Baja California.  Father Junipero Serra was also willing to learn from the different tribes to gain a better understanding of how to get them to accept his methods.  Freire believed learning should always be a part of teaching.  This relates to our study of important figures in Latin America and the Caribbean.

 

Assignment 4b

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, Monterey, California:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MissionCarmelSEGL2.jpg

While researching the California Missions, I came across a unique and beatiful mission located just south of Carmel, California near Monterey.  I am familiar with this mission, having been there when I was younger, but did not truly realize its intriquete design until my research.  This piece of architecture relates to my study of humanities because it is a direct reflection of California and Latin America's legnthy history and what makes Californians culturally sound.  

While viewing San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo I first notice its Roman, Spanish, and Moorish influence.  San Carlos Borromeo is named after Charles Borromeo, then Archbishop of Milan, Italy.  It served as the headquarters of Father Junipero Serra.  The mission is made of adobe.  The mission is comprised of warm bage tones with a rough texture, although the texture was probably smoother when the mission was constructed.  The shape of the entrance and the two protruding towers on each side is typical of architecture found in Italy and Spain.  The star above the entrance, which distingushes this mission from the others resembles the rose windows found in gothic architecture.  The mission is roughly stable from left to right.

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, is a representation of the Spanish Conquest and the desire of the conquistadors to convert Native Americans into Christian faith abiding citizens.  The reason these missions were created was for the reason stated above.  All of the missions resemble a similar Spanish influenced style.  It is evident that they were disigned as a type of instutuion serving for a higher purpose, educationally, culturally, and religiously.  San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo is perhaps the best example of serving as a muti-complex church and instituion.

I was led to this magnificent piece of history and art not only because I was moved by it upon first sight, but because it encompuses every intention of the Spanish Missionaries.  When I look at this work of art I think of what it might look like had it not been raided in 1818 by a French privateer.  It was restored 45 years later, but lacks its original authenticity.  When I view this mission I feel a sense of pride, being a native California.  I feel this way because I know how much dedication was injected into this mission.  It is evident the amount of dedication that was put foward, because of the many architecual designs that were incorporated.  San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo is a step in a long stairway of California history.    

Despite extensive information provided about the mission, there certain things I would still like to know.  Why was the mission named after an archbishop from Milan, Italy?  Are their any connections between Northern Italy and Spain or California that might have led to the inspiration for the name?  On November 20, 1818, French Privateer Hipolito Buchard attacked San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, what was his motive and what was the Roman Catholic Church's response?

Assignment 4a

A conquest is, anything acquired by conquering, as a nation, a territory, or spoils.  There have been numerous conquests throughout history, most notably the Spanish Conquest.  In February of 1519 Hernando Cortez and his Spanish Fleet invaded Meso-America and conquered the Aztecs, ultimately gaining control of Tenochtitlan and the surrounding areas.  Other conquests involved the Norman Conquest of England, led by William the Conquerer in 1066. I chose to research the California Missions.  There are twenty one California Missions, extending along the California coastline.  Between 1769 and 1823 Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan order established a series of missoions along the California coastline.  There goal was to spread their Catholic faith among the indiginous tribes (Native Americans) of the region.  They wanted to convert the Natives into Spanish colonial citizens.  They began to educate and attempted to civilize the locals, but ultimately failed.   Like many of the imperialists of the time, Spain was at the forefront of expansion.  Their northern most territory, "Alta California" would be one of their final conquests and prove to be one of the toughest.   The Jesuits under the order of King Charles III, had already established 15 missions in Baja California.  Jose de Galvez was ordered to, "Occupy and fortify San Diego and Monterey for God and the King of Spain."  This is how the current missions of California came to be.   The first mission was established in San Diego, "Mission San Diego de Alcala."  Galvez gave permission to Junipero Serra  and Gaspar de Portola to lead the expidition.  There were around 300,000 Natives who occupied California at the time.  Converting them proved to be a daunting task and it was.  Although they were successfull in many attempts there were often roadblocks they had to overcome.  One of the set-backs occured in 1806, with an epidemic of measels.  One quarter of the Native San Francisco Bay Area population died from this horrific illness.  In the end their goal was never fully met, but perhaps their reward was to come after they passed.  Today, the missions of California are revered for their design and historical relevence.  They are the most visited historic monuments. I chose to write about the California Missions because I have been fascinted by them for a long time.  I have seen many of them first hand and marvel at their intricate design and what an important piece of California history they are.  Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo is among my favorite missions, because of it's Moorish influence and beautiful location. I used the video provided on California Missions and wikipedia.com.  These are credible sources because they are very informational with facts comaparable to other sites, proving to be valid.  Wikipedia's information is current and extensive allowing for fluidity.

Assignment 3c

Matthew MacDonald:

Freire beleived that literacy was the key to a healthy and productive life.  He taught over 300 sugarcane workers to read and write.  This gave them the ability to vote and have a significant impact on their government as well as promote change.  Freire compiled a deeper understanding of literacy in other countries while in exile.  He used his knoweledge to help represent the lower class, because without a lower class vote, the needs of a country cannot be met.  Freire's insightfull views had a great effect on his comrades. 

Stephanie Gurry:

Stephanie discusses the important interactions between the student and teacher.  Freire believed that everyone should learn how to speak properly and avoid slang, but under certain circumstances.  In order to get through to a student the teacher must submit to their level of speaking and thinking patterns.  The teacher needs to learn from the student just as the student is learning from their way of communicating.

Freire's ideas apply to this class because we are constantly interacting and sharing eachother's ideas on various topics, all of which relate to Latin America or the Caribbean.  Freire constanly stressed the importance of learning from other's and understanding different cultures.  Litereacy and Latin America are the main components of this class, as they were in Paulo Freire's life.  

Assignment 3b Olmec

Olmec heads, Monument 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mexico.Tab.OlmecHead.01.jpg

1.  Overshadowed by the Aztec and Mayan civilizations, the Olmecs thrived as a productive and inquisitive society for many years.  Their amazing sculptures inspired future civilizations to strive for accurate depections, which displayed the emotions and characteristics of thier people.  The sculptures of the Olmec at the archeological site of "La Venta," caught my eye while reasearching the different pre-columbian civilizations.  One sculpture in particular gained my interest, Monument 1, a colossal Olmec head.  This piece of art connects to my study of humanities because it is a direct reflection of the artistic abiltities of the time.

2.  Thier are four colossal heads located at La Venta.  Seventeen heads are sprad throughout the area, but only four are of epic proportion.  The specific piece of artwork I chose is Monument 1, is located south of the Great Pyramid, while the others are located north of the pyramid.  Monument 1 is made of stone (basalt) and stands 9 feet tall, while weighing several tons.  The basalt quarry used to create the heads was discovered 80 kilometers away in the Tuxtla Mountains.  Mounument 1 uses many lines to create a distinct shape if the face.  Curved lines are used to help the eyes, lips, and nose protrude from the face.  The texture is rough, but probably was smooth at the time of its erection.  

3.  The four colossal heads were most liklely the four great rulers of the Olmec empire, Mounument 1 perhaps being the most significant ruler, because of its sheer size.

4.  I became interested in this piece of art because of its detail and size.  Their are many myths about the head and other heads that were intriging.  I believe as many others do that the head represents a great ruler of the Olmec empire.  Like many other civilzations, the larger the figure, the more important it is.  I feel that Monument 1 was loved by the people and led them to many victories, perhaps he was a great militraistic leader or a great visionary.  The care in the depction of the face and effort to move the massive head leads me to beleive this was a prominent figure among the Olmec civilization.  

5.  I wolud like to know if their was a collection of skilled artists who created these figures or if their was one man or woman who designed the majority of them.  How were the massive statues transported?   How was the basalt transprted from the Tuxtla Mountains 80 kilometers away?  I am fairly certain as others are that Monument 1 and the other coloassal heads represented Olmec rulers, but who were some of the rulers and what were their names?

Assignment 3a

The Pre-Columbian era refers to the period in which the Americas were free of European infulence.  Some of the most recognized groups included the Toltec, teotihuacano, Zapotec, Mixtec, Aztec and the Maya) and the Andes (Inca,Moche, Chibcha, Cañaris).  Most think of the pre-columbian era as the time before Christopher Columbus.  The groups listed above developed many groundbreaking ideas.  The Aztecs contributed the number "0," to the number system.  The Mayans and Aztecs both had societal heiracrchies, which resembled modern day democracies.  The Aztecs also designed thier cities masterfully.  The city of Tenochtitlan is the site of Mexico City.  

Work Cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian.

The Tolecs are a mysterius group, which is what attracted me to do more research.  Many question if the Toltecs existed or if they were an Aztec myth.  The toltecs are believed to have ruled central Mexico from 10th century AD to 12th century AD.  The capital city of the Toltec empire was Teotihuacan.  The Toltecs dominated the postclassical Mayan civilization.  The Mayans are thought to have stemmed from the Toltecs.  Their are many similarities between the city of Tula, Hidalgo and Chichen Itza.  The video discusses what an efficient city Teotihuacan was and how passionate and dedicated the people were.  I used the youtube video and wikipedia for my research.

Little is known directly about the Toltecs because the Aztecs plundered the Tula ruins for building materials for their nearby capital, destroying most of the historical evidence that remained. Much of the information about the Toltecs comes from stories of other civilizations.

The greatest ruler of the Toltecs was Ce Acatl Topiltzin who was revered for being the leader and high priest of Quetzacoatl (the Toltec religion) at the time when Tula and the Empire were erected.

The Toltecs were the first to use a milateristic style to take over nearby cities and become an overbearing force.  The Aztecs used the same tactic.

I used youtube.com, wikipedia.com, and mnsu.edu/emuseum.  These are credible souces because I have used them before and they are trusted by many users.  Mnsu.edu is Minnesota State Unitversity's official website and features extensive information on ancient civilizations.

Assignment 2b Art Answers

1.  Jessica Dazet/What is MoLAA's mission?
MOLAA's mission is to educate the public about contemporary Latin American fine art, through permanent and significant collections.

2.  Saun Tutt/ What year was the museum founded?

The MoLAA was founded in November of 1996.

3.  What are some of the upcoming exhibits? (www.molaa.com) some of the upcoming exhibits at the MOLAA are Arnaldo Roche's "Brotherhood/Hermandad" and "Photoshopping and more: MOLAA collects photo-based art."

4.   Joy Dunham/ Where is the museum?

628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802 

5.  Dana Johnson/ What are the business hours?

The MOLAA is open from 11:30-7:00 Tuesday through Friday, 11:00-7:00 on Saturday, and 11:00-6:00 on Sundays.  They are closed on Mondays, but offer free admission on Friday.