Student: Cassie Kent
Graduation date: December 2018
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2017
Go to concentration landing page
Summary
Corn is considered the heart of Mexican culture and a common phrase is “Sin maiz, no hay pais” (Without corn, there is no country) (Fitting 2006). With recent events, such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the spreading of genetically modified (GM) corn, the rich cultural history of corn in Latin America has undergone changes. In the context of these policy and technological changes, different levels have been affected. Such as, GM corn’s impact on soil and biodiversity, small-scale farmers autonomy, indigenous ways of life and political resistance.
In context of the topic summaries, I chose soils to add a natural category that allows for a smaller scale scope. Then, agriculture which is a hybrid topic, allows me to look into how natural and social relations intersect. Finally, these topics are situated in the place of Latin America, which is rich in social, cultural and culinary history. When doing my topic summaries and concentration weaving theme post, I looked at the most pressing themes surrounding these topics to get a broad scope of understanding.
In the literature of soils, a common theme was soil health and how that affected or was affected by biodiversity. A good resource for this is “Soil Diversity and the Distribution of Plants” by Arthur Kruckeberg. He gives an overview of how diversity increases soil health, which is extremely useful when looking into agricultural mono cropping or GM crops and their effects (Kruckenberg 1969). For the descriptive question I ask, “What are Latin American farmers’ relationship to the soil and land? How has this changed over time? Specifically looking into colonialism.”. This question looks at the interplay of natural and social relations and how they intermingle. Additionally, this looks into how agricultural practices have changed over time as colonial and western influences entered Latin America.
Agriculture is an extremely complex topic due to its hybrid nature. Common areas of focus in agriculture are its relations with population, technology, such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and international/self dependency. All of these subjects are extremely pertinent to my concentration and there are a vast amount of resources that speak to them. For example, the article “The Great Global Enclosure of Our Times: Peasants and the Agrarian Question at the end of the 20th Century” by Farshad Arahi looks at how self sufficiency and autonomy was lost once large scale farming became more widespread. In context of my questions, this article helped me see peasants or small scale farmers are deeply affected by large scale forces, such as industrial agriculture. Therefore, the questions “Who are the winners and losers of IAT in Latin America? How does this tie into scales? Specifically in terms of land, indigenous peoples, farmers, corporations and international bodies” helps evaluate see who and how these issues are arising.
Finally, my last topic of Latin America helps situate my concentration into a place. A place is made up of a gathering of processes and perspectives, which I explored in my concentration summary. I mostly saw how Latin America has been highly influenced and shaped by other countries or global entities such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). These influences change the amount of agency Latin American countries have and call into question their role in helping in global crises, such as biodiversity loss and climate change (Cardenas and Muradian 2015). For my instrumental questions, it brings up these themes of influence in Latin American countries and not only how they should go about change, but also if they should and if do they carry the responsibility. Additionally, when looking at solutions and methods of change, it is important to look at history of resistance and who is striving to create change. In terms of international agricultural trade, in Mexico the Zapatistas have been a large influence of change and an inspiration to indigenous peoples.
The concentration I wish to pursue I believe is extremely relevant in a number of ways. Corn in Latin America brings up a complex array of subjects including GMOs, international relations, biodiversity, local economies, resistance and soil health. Each of these subjects is a pressing issue in our modern world and as an environmental studies major, it is our duty to try to understand these interconnections not only better our societies, but also our natural world. Unraveling the ties of power dynamics of corn in Latin America will reveal how our world operates, but also will expose how we can instigate change.
Citations
Araghi, Farshad. 2000. “The Great Global Enclosure of Our Times: Peasants and the Agrarian Question at the End of the 20th Century.” In Hungry for profit : the agribusiness threat to farmers, food, and the environment, 146-160 . NY: Monthly Review Press.
Cardenas, Juan Camilo and Muradian, Roldan. 2015. “From Market Failures to Collective Action Dilemmas: Reframing Environmental Governance Challenges in Latin America and beyond.” Ecological Economics (120): 358-65.
Fitting, Elizabeth. 2006. “The political uses of culture: maize production and the GM corn debates in Mexico”. Focaal (48):19-34.
Kruckeberg, Arthur R. 1969. “Soil Diversity and the Distribution of Plants, with Examples from Western North America.” In Special Issue: XI International Botanical Congress . Madroño 20(3): 129–154.
Questions
IAT = international agricultural trade
Descriptive
-
- What are Latin American farmers’ relationship to the soil and land? How has this changed over time? Specifically looking into colonialism.
- Have there been major changes in IAT in recent years in Latin America? Especially looking into trade agreements. How have farmers responded?
- What are the driving forces behind IAT? How is labor and land a component of the forces? Who are the large and small players involved?
- What is the history of indigenous and farmer resistance in Latin American countries?
Explanatory
-
- How have more recent forces of globalization and early forces of colonialization influenced IAT in Latin America?
- What is the relationship between agriculture and culture? Specifically looking into cultural elements behind corn.
- How has colonialism and globalization affected indigenous ways of life?
Evaluative
-
- Who are the winners and losers of IAT in Latin America? How does this tie into scales? Specifically in terms of land, indigenous peoples, farmers, corporations and international bodies.
- Has international trade come with expanding globalization? And as a result, affected diet or culture?
- Do Latin American women and men experience different affects of IAT? Does it reinforce or disrupt patriarchy and normal gender roles?
- Have local levels of resistance aided in the affects of IAT? Do these local levels stretch beyond the local? Specifically looking into the Zapatista movement.
Instrumental
-
- How can larger systems, such as international trade, be reformatted to make compromises between benefitting economies, land, indigenous, farmers and seeds?
- Could local resistance and movements be expanded upon to empower small farmers, indigenous peoples and the land?
Concentration courses
- HIST 141 (Colonial History of Latin America, 4 credits) Fall 2016. This course gives background to understand the underlying dynamics and history of Latin America.
- SOAN 254 (Social Life of Money & Exchange, 4 credits) Spring 2017. Social Life of Money and Exchange gives the foundation to understand international trade, local economies and understanding relations of exchange. This could be used to explore social dynamics on large and small scales.
- SOAN 249 (Political Economy of Food, 4 credits) Fall 2017. Allows me to look into the deeper meanings behind food. Gives a deeper look into the intersection of natural and social dynamics that agriculture embodies.
- SOAN 261 (Gender & Sexuality in Latin America, 4 credits) Spring 2018. I anticipate I can dig in deeper into the affects of international trade and agricultural technology on women and men.
- IA 350 (Social Justice in Global Economics, 4 credits) Spring 2018. This course will dig in deeper to international trade dynamics and the ethics behind such implementations.
- HIST 388 (What’s for Dinner, 4 credits) Spring 2018. An examination of the history of cultural, political, and economic power of food. Power and politics are emphasized.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.