BY MOLLY H. POLK A sure way to put an end to a lively conversation in any social setting is to ask me about my work. The conversation goes something like this: “You’re a geographer. What do you do, exactly?” “I teach at UT Austin in the Department of Geography and the Environment, and … [Read more...] about La Ruta del Cambio Climático: Climate Change Tourism in the Peruvian Andes
Research
21 años de paz, 21 millones de documentos: Una reflexión sobre el portal digital del Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional de Guatemala
POR HANNAH ALPERT-ABRAMS | traducido por Susanna Sharpe ¿Cómo le hacemos para entender 80 millones de páginas de documentos históricos? Esta pregunta es de naturaleza filosófica. Se trata del poder de la mente para asimilar un número tan grande de documentos. El Archivo Histórico de la … [Read more...] about 21 años de paz, 21 millones de documentos: Una reflexión sobre el portal digital del Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional de Guatemala
México en tiempos de violencia e impunidad: La antropología jurídica y la antropología forense en apoyo a los derechos humanos
POR R. AÍDA HERNÁNDEZ CASTILLO Read in English El contexto de violencia e impunidad que se vive actualmente en México está implicando nuevos retos metodológicos y epistemológicos para la antropología social y de manera más específica la antropología jurídica. A nivel metodológico, el trabajo … [Read more...] about México en tiempos de violencia e impunidad: La antropología jurídica y la antropología forense en apoyo a los derechos humanos
Making Beauty: The Wearing of Polleras in the Andean Altiplano
BY ANGELA TAPIA ARCE Lucy does not smile too often. Like other women who wear polleras, she does not greet you with a wide grin, unless you are more than an acquaintance. Yet, when Lucy smiles the stars twinkle, whether or not the sun is overhead. She has two little silver stars inlaid into her … [Read more...] about Making Beauty: The Wearing of Polleras in the Andean Altiplano
Establishing History: The Black Diaspora Archive and the Texas Domestic Slave Trade Project
BY RACHEL E. WINSTON The vision for the Black Diaspora Archive at The University of Texas at Austin came into focus in 2013 as a collaborative project between Black Studies, LLILAS Benson, and the University of Texas Libraries. After years of continued successful collaboration, Black Studies … [Read more...] about Establishing History: The Black Diaspora Archive and the Texas Domestic Slave Trade Project
Brazilian Roças: A Legacy in Peril
BY EDWARD SHORE Vanessa de França is a farmer and activist from São Pedro, one of 88 quilombos, rural black communities descended from fugitive slaves, that call the Atlantic forest of São Paulo state and neighboring Paraná their home. Two hundred years ago, de França’s ancestors escaped the gold … [Read more...] about Brazilian Roças: A Legacy in Peril
Faculty and Staff Profiles, Fall 2017
BY SUSANNA SHARPE Pilar Zazueta In 2012, Mexico attained the dubious distinction of becoming the world’s number one consumer of soft drinks, passing previous first-place holder the United States. And although Mexico is no longer in first place (Argentina now claims that title), the increasing … [Read more...] about Faculty and Staff Profiles, Fall 2017
Poverty Tourism: From 18th-Century London to 21st-Century Rio de Janeiro
BY BIANCA FREIRE-MEDEIROS July 31, 2015. O Dia, one of Brazil’s major newspapers, announces that residents from three favelas in Rio de Janeiro are offering a package of “tourism experiences” for visitors interested in an authentic “cultural exchange”: the Favelando entre as Favelas tour. The … [Read more...] about Poverty Tourism: From 18th-Century London to 21st-Century Rio de Janeiro
Reading the First Books: Colonial Mexican Documents in the Digital Age
BY HANNAH ALPERT-ABRAMS AND MARIA VICTORIA FERNANDEZ In 1595, in Mexico City, the Jesuit priest Antonio del Rincón (1555–1601) published a grammatical description of the Nahuatl language. Though other grammars of Nahuatl existed, Rincón’s Arte mexicana was the first to describe the indigenous … [Read more...] about Reading the First Books: Colonial Mexican Documents in the Digital Age
Love, Cacao, and Chocolate’s Mesoamerican Origins
By PILAR ZAZUETA No other Western holiday is more closely identified with chocolate than Valentine’s Day. The seasonal aisles in stores and supermarkets are filled with chocolate, and food companies spend vast sums of advertising dollars trying to persuade us to celebrate by consuming it in large … [Read more...] about Love, Cacao, and Chocolate’s Mesoamerican Origins