Haydée Santamaría Wikipedia Article

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The article I have chosen to evaluate is the article on Haydée Santamaría. Santamaría’s article is rated Start Class. There are currently no conversations occurring on the article’s talk page, but the article is part of the WikiProjects for Biography, Articles for creation, Cuba, and Women’s History.

Moreover, when assessing the article’s impartiality, I found that the article is entirely neutral. There are no claims or phrases that appear biased towards any perspectives or opinions. Also, none of the information is outdated and everything in the article is relevant to Santamaría. The beginning of the article provides an appropriate, brief description of Santamaría’s historic importance. Afterward, the article continues by more specifically detailing her early life, revolutionary and post-revolutionary roles, and her death.  However, I feel as if the article could provide even more information on her roles during and after the revolution, considering she was a prominent figure who participated in the revolution through its entirety. In addition, the article is also missing information on Santamaría’s role in the Latin American Solidarity Organization. As a whole, however, the Wikipedia article differs from how we’ve discussed Santamaría in class because it provides more detail about her family, her early life, her role in creating the Casa de las Americas, and her death.

Furthermore, after checking for how reliable the article’s links are, I found that all the links used to source information are functional. Regardless, there is some information in the article that does not corroborate with its sources. For example, while the Wikipedia article makes a claim that Santamaría was a founding member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, the source credited for this information simply states that Santamaría was a member of the party. Additionally, the Wikipedia article introduces another claim that Santamaría repeated the sixth grade 3-4 times due to her appreciation for learning, but the source attributed to this claim only mentions that Santamaría never received an education beyond the sixth grade. Also, the Wikipedia article states that after she tried to become a nurse and work as a teacher, Santamaría traveled to her brother, Abel, in Havana in 1950. However, the source cited for this statement makes no reference to this claim. In addition, the Wikipedia article also mentions that Santamaría died sixth months after Cuban revolutionary Celia Sanchez, but the source referenced for this claim does not explicitly state how long after Sanchez’s death had Santamaría’s death occurred.

Moreover, I found that not every fact in the Wikipedia article includes a reference. However, some information is attributed to an article by Tania Diaz who is a neutral and reliable source because of her extensive work on Cuban affairs. Additionally, some other information is provided from a book by Margaret Randall, a reputable American author. However, Randall notes that she used to maintain a strong personal relationship with Santamaría before her death, meaning there may be some bias in the information Randall presents.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayd%C3%A9e_Santamar%C3%ADa

Alpha 66

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Not everything in this article is relevant. There is a section titled: Alpha 66 and Lee Harvey Oswald. It is more akin to a conspiracy theory than anything else. It has only one source despite making sweeping claims and feels completely out of place on Wikipedia.

Although the article does not appear to come down on one side through its wording or message, I am certain that there is more information about the subject that is not included in the article. I also strongly oppose the section involving Lee Harvey Oswald, in its current state, as it has little basis in reality and could be easily contested.

The article should attempt to cover Alpha 66 from multiple perspectives. The most relevant of which would be the group’s perception of itself, Cuba’s perception of the group, the United States perception of the group, and the group’s reputation amongst non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations. In reality, it barely covers even one of these viewpoints. It briefly describes Alpha 66 based upon the group’s website, but the information appears dated and shaky. There are superficial references to how people within the United States and Cuba, but never any firm viewpoint.

Although the few links that I checked are in working order and do appear to support claims made within the article, the majority come from online news websites and, in even worse situations, online databases that use a .com in their url. In no way would I claim that these sources satisfy Wikipedia’s reliable information standards. Newspapers and basic websites cannot be trusted to act as neutral sources in most cases. In spite of this, the presence of bias, inherent or otherwise, is never mentioned within the Alpha 66 article.

Many of the article’s links lead to old documents or dated news posts and there are massive gaps in terms of what is and what isn’t cited. Whole paragraphs are given a single citation at the very end, leaving the reader wanting. This is not surprising when one realizes that many of the claims being made in those same sections are seemingly baseless and often devolve into strange conspiracy theories.

The Talk page is filled with incredulous users that are unsure how to fix the page with its many “sourceless” claims, “conspiracy theories”, and “biased intentions”. Whole paragraphs have been removed for lack of sources and there were apparently claims in the article at one point that Alpha 66 was an “alt-right” movement because it was against communism.

This page is part of the following WikiProjects: Caribbean, Cuba (Inactive), and Terrorism. It is poorly rated and has a “needs additional citations for verification” banner at the top of its page.

This page discusses anti-revolutionary activities taken by Cubans after Fidel Castro came to power. This was briefly mentioned in class and during readings on several occasions, but never looked into with this amount of depth and specificity. Unlike those discussed in class and our readings, this article’s depth is questionable. The Alpha 66 page will need a major overhaul before it could ever be recommended as a good example of what Wikipedia has to offer.

Cuban Literacy Campaign Wikipedia Page

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The Wikipedia page for the Cuban Literacy Campaign is poorly organized, biased, and in need of more concrete sources of information. The article provides some useful information about the movement’s overall organization and effect, but said information is not presented in a straightforward manner. The section titled “Challenges” contains information that is either irrelevant to the title of the section or irrelevant to the article as a whole. Some of the information is useful to understanding the topic being presented, but it makes up only a couple sentences of the section and is presented in a sensationalized way with poor sources.

The article appears to be biased in favor of the Cuban government, containing many claims that the movement described is the greatest in history. It makes a controversial (if believable) claim regarding U.S. interference in Cuba, but fails to reinforce that claim with concrete evidence. In addition, the article uses several inspirational yet vague quotes from Fidel Castro and other notable leaders in lieu of unbiased description of the topic. This article is representative of only Cuban viewpoints on the movement and its related movements; given that one of the related topics mentioned is expansion of the literacy campaign to other underdeveloped countries, it would be interesting to see the viewpoints of those countries on the subject.

Several of the links do not work; those that do work lead to sources that seem biased or not useful as a scholarly source for an article written in English for English speakers; examples include a couple of poorly translated articles from Cuban news sites and articles published by the Cuban government. The biases of these sources are not noted in the article. The vast majority of claims are cited, but it is hard to analyze the quality of their sources as they are generally books or articles that cannot be accessed online. None of the sources used were published after 2010. This means that any recent developments on the topic of literacy in Cuba have not been added as they occur.

There are only a few conversations on the talk page; two are civil discussions about ensuring the article is linked to versions of it in other languages and making sure statistics are correct, while another is a poorly phrased critique about the article’s bias. The article is rated C-class and low importance, and is included in WikiProject Cuba (inactive) and WikiProject Linguistics.

This Wikipedia article makes little to no effort to present information in an unbiased way, only represents one viewpoint, and does not acknowledge its biases. We have not discussed this topic in depth in class, but if we had one would assume that we would do so in as unbiased and factual a manner as possible.

War of Canudos Wikipedia Article

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The writing style is ambiguous at times too many pronouns are used and it is difficult to keep track of what the Wikipedia editors are referring to. The article also overuses passive voice, which makes the content even harder to grasp. Additionally, the article provides many detailed statistics to describe the size of the armies that fought in the War of Canudos, which makes it quite difficult to keep track of the rest of the information that is being presented.

While the article is neutral in tone, it seems to make claims that are not supported by any evidence. For instance, it claims that Canudos’ “spiritual leader and towering figurehead, Antonio Conselheiro, had died on September 22, probably of dysentery and malnutrition provoked by fasting for penance” without referring to any credible source that would support this piece of information.

The article over-represents the misery and poverty in which the people of Canudos lived, but fails to address the characteristics that would have pushed the villagers to fight with Antonio Conselheiro. That is, the article fails to provide any background information on the ideological reasons and beliefs that may have allowed Counselheiro to find supporters in the settlement of Canudos.

All of the links in the bibliography and the references sections of the article work, but only two of them provide access to the content the source in question. The rest of the links only link to Wikipedia pages that provide general descriptions of the sources that are cited within the article. Therefore, it is impossible to check the accuracy of claims that are made in the article unless a physical or an e-copy of the source is obtained.

Most of the sources that are cited in the article are in Spanish, which, added to their inaccessibility, made it impossible for me to check whether the article conforms to the claims that are made in the sources that are cited. However, the talk section suggests that the article seems to rely heavily, and almost exclusively, on a single work of fiction that was written about the War of Canudos. This undermines the credibility of the claims that are made in the article not only because works of fiction do not, by definition, conform to reality, but also because diversifying sources is necessary to avoid biases and the reproduction of misleading information. Furthermore, the body of the article exhibits the label “[citation needed]” twice, which casts even more doubt on the credibility of the piece as a whole. And while some peer-reviewed sources are included in the biography, they are not referred to anywhere in the article itself, which means that the article never references a “credible” source directly and explicitly.

Most of the sources date back to the 20thcentury, which leads me to believe that it may be interesting to incorporate information from more recent sources. Additionally, it would be interesting to add information on the villagers’ ideology and beliefs that led to rally under Counselheiro, race, gender, class differences and involvement, and the role that the catholic church played in the debacle.

The talk section first blames the article for not addressing how the War of Canudos was a “monarchist rebellion.” The author of this comment states that “Antonio Counselheiro blamed the rich landowner who once owned slaves for overthrowing the monarch who kept the people under their grasp,” which points to a piece of information that seems essential to the understanding of the motives lying Counselheiro’s rebellion. Another Wikipedia user suggests incorporating more direct citations rather than relying on a bibliographic summary and underlines the article’s overreliance on a work of fiction. A third Wikipedia user suggests merging a Wikipedia article titled Canudos with the article on the War of Canudos given that the former mostly talks about the history of the War rather than the town itself. A fourth Wikipedia user suggests addressing the catholic church’s involvement in the War. Finally, a fifth Wikipedia user addresses a resolved issue which concerned the use of the words “fanatics” to refer to the people of Canudos. The problem with using these terms, said Wikipedia user claims, was that it constituted “an unsubstantiated value judgment that coincides with the government and media propaganda used during the period concerned to justify the government’s actions.”

The article is within the scope of WikiProject Brazil and is rated as B-class on the project’s quality scale. The article is also within the scope of the military history WikiProject and is rated as C-class on this project’s quality scale.

We have not discussed the War of Canudos in class, but I would imagine that our discussion of such a topic would include a careful examination of how race, gender, class, and ideology have shaped the conflict.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Canudos

 

Federation of Cuban Women Wikipedia Page

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     This article has good information regarding how the FMC has been involved in other movements and politics in Cuba. However, it does not go into great detail about what the FMC stands for or how it was established. It gives a general overview of the FMC, including its goals, but it does not explain how the FMC was established or its history as an organization in general. There are no distractions in the article. Each section is clear and understandable. However, the sections are also very short which may contribute to this lack of confusion. The article is also very neutral. It is not biased and presents the information about the topic without making an argument. 

     There are some under-represented viewpoints for this article. This article focuses on Vilma Espin and her involvement with the FMC. However, as we discussed in class, Asela de los Santos was also involved with the FMC and helped to found the organization. She was also very involved in education, which is mentioned in this article in the form of the Cuban Literacy Campaign. Thus, the article completely ignores de los Santos involvement and influence on the FMC. 

     This article does not include links to any sources as all of the sources are cited as being print sources. There is not a good way to check whether or not the sources support the claims made in the article. These sources appear to be reliable as they come from different journals. However, they may be biased towards the typical readers of the journals where the sources are taken from. There is no bias noted in the Wikipedia article if one exists. There are also only three sources included in the article so there is not a wide range of information for the source.

     The sources included in the article are out of date. There are only three sources included in the article, and they date to 1975, 1987, and 1995 respectively. There could be more recent sources added to give a better perspective regarding how the organization has evolved and grown since it was first established. Adding newer sources would also allow for information on de los Santos to be added as well as other contributors to FMC who may have been overlooked. 

     The Talk page mentions that the article is part of the WikiProject Cuba which is considered inactive. There are no other conversations regarding the project or how it should be presented on this page. The Talk page is noted as last being edited in 2010. This page would probably be categorized as a start page as there is not a whole lot of information, but what information is presented has reliable sources to inform it. 

     We did not really focus on the FMC in class. However, this does differ from our discussion of Asela de los Santos and the role she played regarding the FMC. We did not discuss Vilma Espin or the role she played in the FMC, rather we focused on de los Santos and her work. Thus, it is interesting that the Wikipedia article has no mention of de los Santos at all.

Link to Wikipedia Page

Class Notes 9/20/2019

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     To begin class, Professor Holt played the music video for Corrido de Nipsey Hussle by Faraon de Oro. We had originally listened to the corrido itself on Wednesday without viewing the music video. There was also a discussion regarding the ongoing relevance of specific cultural forms, and using music as a way to study cultural change. After the music video, there was a discussion regarding the documentary, Undeterred, which was screened on Wednesday evening. The documentary focused on one town which was upset with border checkpoints causing hardships on the town. Additionally, the documentary looked at checkpoints which were not just at the border, but thirty to forty miles north of the border moving people toward the dessert and making it harder to carry water. The documentary made arguments not only for a humanitarian crisis, but also that the government was encroaching on the lives of people living in the Western part of the United States. 

     After the discussion, Spencer presented his LA in the News, which dealt with Mexico’s police force. Mexico is currently dealing with a problem regarding corruption and organized crime relationships within many law enforcement agencies. Additionally, many people within the police force doubt the work they do as they do not know who they may actually be working for. Spencer noted how many people have a high level of apathy for the police force due to this corruption, and many people do not want to join any sort of law enforcement because of this. The government is also trying to move away from corruption by creating a new police force; however it is having trouble getting people to sign up due to the high level of apathy people have for the system already in place.

     We then moved into small groups to discuss our HAPs on the Asela de los Santos interview and the historical questions for the day. The main historical questions were: “What questions should we consider when assessing interviews as sources?” and “What key themes regarding gender and revolution arise in the interview?” 

     In our groups we discussed “It Gave us Worth” the interview of Asela de los Santos by Mary-Alice Walters. We discussed the role of an interview as a source and the advantages and disadvantages that come with it. A disadvantage that was mentioned is that an interviewer will ask certain questions based on the argument they are trying to make. We also discussed the roles of women in the Cuban revolution and how that differed from previous revolutions discussed in class. Specifically, it was mentioned that women had a more calculated support of the revolution as many only joined after they believed the revolution would be successful and align with reforms they wanted. 

 

Key Terms:

Asela de los Santos: protested Batisa’s coup as a student, female leader and organizer of the July 26 movement, in charge of schools during Cuban revolution as a member of the department of education, established Federation of Cuban Women

Federation of Cuban Women (Federación de Mujeres Cubanas): created by de los Santos and Vilma after the revolution, advocated for women who believed their place was no longer limited to the home

 

Questions:

What are the advantages and disadvantages to using an interview as a source? 

How did the roles women played in the Cuban revolution differ to the roles women played in other revolutions?

How did gender roles change due to the revolution in Cuba?

 

Links:

Corrido de Nipsey Hussle Music Video

Corrido de Nipsey Hussle English Lyrics

Federation of Cuban Women Wikipedia Page

Vilma Espin Wikipedia Page

LA in the News: US Expels Two Cuban Diplomats to the UN

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On Thursday, September 19th, the US State Department expelled two Cuban diplomats, citing that they were working on “influence operations against the United States.” The State Department provided no further details on what actually occurred. The department’s spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus, could only label the alleged operations as, “activities harmful to US national security.” Along with the expulsion of the two diplomats, all other members of the Cuban mission to the UN have been restricted to the island of Manhattan.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez released a string of tweets immediately following the incident, calling the accusations “vulgar slander.” He stated that the US is seeking to provoke a diplomatic escelation that would lead to the closing of embassies and a strengthening of the embargo of Cuban goods.

These allegations of the Cuban diplomats came not too long after the suspected attacks on US diplomats in Havana. The US accused Cuba of using sonic weapons to cause ill effects on members of the US embassy, who reported dizziness and hearing loss. However, a Canadian study, published on the same day as the expulsion of the Cubans, suggested that neurotoxins from widely used Cuban pesticides could be to blame for the cognitive damage—not sonic weaponry.

US diplomats began experiencing symptoms in 2016

The information above is what I gathered from three different sources: CNN, Fox News, and BBC News. As expected, the BBC was the most neutral of the three, keeping their story short and to the point. CNN was also very neutral, but they included by far the most information, a lot of which could be used to defend Cuba in this situation. Finally, Fox News took a subtle anti-Cuban stance—expected from a conservative source. They used very strong rhetoric to describe the situation saying, “the Cubans were found to be running spy operations on American soil,” and they didn’t mention anything from the Cuban side of the story, unlike the BBC and CNN.

It is interesting to see the implications that world context can have when looking at revolutions. The Cuban revolution was more than half a century ago, yet it affects the foreign policy of other nations today. Had the revolution happened at a different time, one that wasn’t as close to the Cold War, the present situation may have never occurred. A long string of events stemming from the actions of Fidel Castro, has led to a Diplomatic struggle he could have never seen coming in 1953.

Sources:

BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49764300

CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/19/politics/us-cuba-un-diplomats/index.html

Fox: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-department-expels-two-cuban-diplomats-in-the-midst-of-un-general-assembly-restricts-travel-of-remaining-cuban-mission-to-manhattan

Class Notes 9/18/19

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The first item on our agenda Wednesday was the Border Studies program, discussed by a guest speaker in class. In the program, which is structured similarly to studying abroad, students live mainly in Tuscon, Arizona, but cross the border often on excursions to areas in Mexico. Students live with Spanish-speaking families, so experience in the language is required. Additionally, all students intern with organizations in the borderlands area. Those with high proficiency in Spanish may work with detained migrants and work in areas such as migrant justice or the interviewing of detained asylum seekers, and those with a lower proficiency may work in community gardens or schools. Those who can’t take part in this program (most likely seniors) can apply for internships, and there are week-long non-student programs.

After this, Professor Holt informed us of the History department picnic, and the screening of the documentary “Undeterred”, both events occurring later that Wednesday. She also played a segment of “Corrido de Nipsey Hussle”, a contemporary song about the late rapper in the corrido style we learned about in during our study of the Mexican Revolution. Gio then presented his “LA in the News” research, on government sponsored killings in Nicaragua. Professor Holt then spoke briefly on the fact that the Ortega in Nicaragua today resembles little the Ortega of the revolution, and that in our future study of the revolution it will be important to make a distinction between the two.

Our discussion of our readings and HAP was brief. Professor Holt showed us a 1959 American newsreel celebrating Fidel Castro, portraying him as charismatic, a man who would bring Cuba “back to normal.” In this sense, normalcy refers to aligning with US economic interests, as Batista was previously supported by the US and produced vast amounts of sugar. The clip is very clearly on the side of the revolution, quoting Castro as saying “I am fighting for a democratic Cuba and an end to dictatorship”, which would soon be greatly ironic as American governmental opinions shifted.

In our groups, we discussed the “Declaration of San José” by the Organization of American States, and Castro’s response of the “Declaration of Havana.” The bureaucratic nature of the former when compared to the fiery rhetoric latter was attributed by Professor Holt as the first document being written by committee, while the second was written by Castro as a speech. Questions about the nature of imperialism were raised, as the Declaration of San José claims it rejects imperialism in all forms, and specifically calls out Sino-Soviet influence in the western hemisphere by name, referencing Castro’s decision to ally himself with the Soviet Union. Castro rebuts this by calling into question the Monroe Doctrine as an extension of US imperialism in the western hemisphere, that by giving America the right to police the hemisphere, the clause is already broken.

Corrido—a popular Mexican style of song, in the format of a ballad that tells a story.

Borderlands—the area beside a border, used here in reference to that between the United States and Mexico. It also has connotations of being a liminal space, a space of overlap, which relates to the cultural aspect of the Border Studies program.

Imperialism—the action of one country extending its influence over another using force or coercion.

Questions:

Does imperialism always have to be militaristic? Must coercion always come from the barrel of a gun? Why or why not?

 

How are cultures blended together today in the United States? Specifically, how do the cultures which exist on either side of the US-Mexico border interact with and change one another? Is the cultural divide distinct or blurred?

 

Our discussion of the protests in Nicaragua mentioned the fact that the protesters in the photo were wearing masks. Is hiding one’s face when engaging in this action morally acceptable, if it’s to do more than to protect from tear gas? Does its acceptability change if it is a protest in the United States, rather than in Nicaragua?

 

Links:

Further information on the events in Nicaragua.

A history of US-Cuba relations.

Corrido de Nipsey Hussle (Music Video)

Cuba’s New Government Recognised By Us (1959)

 

LA in the News: Working in Mexico’s New Police Force is a Deadly Job

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Mexico’s police force is in shambles. The newly-created National Guard is unable to fill its ranks with new recruits and has force the Mexican government to pull more than 58,000 officers from other security forces to make up for the shortfall of civilian recruits. Despite pledging that he would recruit an additional 50,000 law enforcement officers by 2020, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has made no major headway thus far, and various groups including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) claim that there is less incentive now more than ever to join Mexico’s police force. This is for a great many reasons that I will elaborate upon below.

Recently, there has been an uptick in violence, both against the police and in general, within Mexico. Just last year, 421 Mexican police officers were killed in the line of duty, while only 55 American police officers were killed in the line of duty. The Mexican public has been apathetic towards this trend, and, in many cases, law enforcement are no better. Officer Ramos’s patrol partner was shot eleven times and left to bleed to death on a tarmac in Mexico City. No one was arrested for the murder, despite large suspicions that it was committed by members of a local gang. In many cases, the police officers themselves doubt the legitimacy of their superiors as many Mexican law enforcement organizations are rife with corruption and, in some cases, extort business through protection fees or do the same with organized crime. This is to say that Mexico’s police will, at times, accept money from criminal groups and in turn will allow them to operate unmolested by the law.

The overall impotence of the Mexican police force stems from the lack of proper pay, equipment, benefits, and leadership that its officers suffer from. It is difficult to uphold the law when one cannot support their family, must purchase their own boots, has no healthcare, and is haunted by  the suspicion that their superiors are secretly working with the criminals. By no means do I wish to imply that all or even the majority of Mexico’s police officers are corrupt, nor do I wish for the reader to believe that Mexico’s police of virtually of no use, but they are currently suffering from a great many institutional problems that must be addressed if they are to operate to the best of their ability.

 

The Mexican police force is portrayed to be an absolute mess. Interviews with current and retired officers only further cement this idea, and crime statistics paint Mexico as an increasingly lee-lawful country. While the article in no way paints every town and city in Mexico as being lethal to enter, there are a few that, with good reason, it describes as dangerous. The article also touches upon the public’s outrage against corruption within the police department, the attempts by officers at all level to reform it, and the positive progress, little as it may be, that has been made. In no way does the article attempt to paint Mexico as inherently lawless, nor is there any racial animus towards the people that live there. It is simply a situation wherein major reform must take place to fix the corruption to which any law enforcement organization might fall victim. 

Crime and corruption are major issues within Mexico and few of the people who live within its borders can escape their influence. These issues are universally condemned by the people, but they are not always fought in an organized manner. Many just try to get by as best they can. The fact that the battle against crime and corruption is central to all major political campaigns speaks to its importance in the mind of the public. All across the political spectrum, candidates and political groups voice their concerns and various solutions to the problem. In terms of how we have viewed Mexico within the context of this course, I would wager that organized crime, for a great many reasons, is one of the largest threats that Mexico must deal with in the modern era. The issue has become so large that it has begun to overshadow other operations of the state, which is unacceptable for so many reasons.

Maya Archaeology Lecture Thursday 9/26 @7:30

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I write to share an announcement from Dr. Navarro-Farr about her upcoming research presentation “Archaeology Beyond our Imagining: Sustainable Practices inside the Maya Biosphere Reserve” on Thursday, September 26 @7: 30pm.  It promises to be a fascinating evening, and I hope to see you there!

***************************************************

Dear colleagues and OLAS students,

I write to cordially invite you to a forthcoming lecture which will be part of the Archaeology Student Colloquium’s (ASC) annual lecture series. Our speakers will be offering a discussion on the intersections of archaeological research in the present as our team conducts investigations inside the second largest area of tropical rainforest left north of the Amazon. This talk will be a fluid and dual (English and Spanish) language conversation about the challenges and opportunities associated with doing community-centered and collaborative archaeology inside a protected area of high canopy rainforest. I am reaching out to you because this conversation promises to be multidisciplinary and intersectional and I hope you can join us.

Archaeology Beyond our Imagining: Sustainable Practices inside the Maya Biosphere Reserve 

Griselda Pérez Robles – Director of Conservation Proyecto Arqueológico Waka’ (PAW)

Juan Carlos Pérez Calderon – Director Proyecto Arqueológico Waka’ (PAW)

Olivia C. Navarro-Farr – Director Proyecto Arqueológico Waka’ (PAW) & Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology at the College of Wooster

Archaeological research is generally seen as an academic or scientific activity that, after long field or laboratory seasons, provides historical data on the past societies under study. However, archeology goes beyond what we think or imagine; It goes beyond our carefully excavated and registered excavations, vessels or maps. Archaeological research plays an important role in governance, access to decent work, inclusion, conservation and protection of natural and cultural areas. The work carried out by the Proyecto Arqueológico Waka’ (PAW) researchers within the Laguna del Tigre National Park, in the Maya Biosphere Reserve of Petén, Guatemala is academic and scientific. It is also fundamental to the sustained presence of this protected biosphere and the communities which exist in close proximity. The PAW cooperates with other actors in the area to protect the integrity of the natural landscape and to rewrite the ancient history of Guatemalans today.

Date: Thursday, September 26, 2019, 7:30 p.m.

Location: Scovel Hall Room 105