Introductions and Hello Everyone!

Hello everyone! For those of you who I haven't met yet, my name is Julia Moniz-Lecce and I am a fifth-year Sociology major who is also getting a minor in Latin American studies. Throughout my sociology degree, I have taken a primary focus on race, ethnicity, and migration, hence I have found my minor and major to enrich each other in different ways. I'm very excited to expand and learn about the connections between race, ethnicity, migration with the different indigenous cultures once we are in Peru. I first took an Intro to Latin American Studies course as an elective in the second year of my degree, and since then, the history and culture have sucked me in and here I am completing my minor in the subject. So far, Latin American studies have been some of the most rewarding (and unexpected!) courses of my degree. This course seems like the most perfect way to finish off my minor and for those who haven't taken a LAST course yet...you're in for a treat!

One of the reasons why I am so excited about this course is that while I have spent many hours in classes, readings, and assignments discussing race and ethnicity, I have had very little discussion on the role of Indigeneity, especially Indigenous cultures found within Latin America. I have been saying for the last year or so that this is something that I felt has been lacking in my degree, therefore I am very appreciative and excited that UBC is offering and supporting this course. 

The personal connection I have with this topic (and one of the reasons why I was so drawn to Latin American studies) is through my family's colonial and migration history from Portugal and Brazil. When learning and reading about my country's own colonial past, it is often difficult for me to really grasp the subject as texts are often told from a colonial perspective and there is little information included on the modern day effects of colonialism. However, don't get me wrong, I think it would be very difficult to look at Latin America and write an accessible book with all of the modern day effects of colonization considering that it has affected the course of entire nations. Because of this, on this trip, I am looking forward to learning about colonialism from a nuanced perspective, hearing from those who have actually been majorly affected by this point of intervention in history and not solely from the readings of white researchers in textbooks.  

Another point of interest I'm looking forward to exploring is the effects of tourism on Latin American society. Last year, I got to backpack across Mexico for a while and one of the most shocking things I witnessed was how certain towns and cities are controlled and curated for tourists. I remember one particular day, I was travelling in Chiapas (an area where there are a lot of Indigenous communities) and witnessed a few communities that had literally barricaded and blocked themselves off from tourists and the public as a way to preserve their community and culture. I remember stopping for a minute and thinking that I was in the middle of a silent war, with the message of colonialist exploitation still ringing through. I am very interested in exploring the relationship between colonialism, tourism, and Indigeneity further on this trip to Peru, however, I am also hyper-aware of my own positionality as a tourist on this trip. I find an interesting loop of destruction occurs as the history of colonialism encourages tourism, which then reproduces the historical effects of colonialism in a modern format. Hence, I am hoping to not contribute to this problem as much as possible and learn not only the colonial history of Peru, but how to be a more responsible and ethical traveller for the future.   

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon and for this exciting adventure!