The two research topics that I am interested in learning more about include women’s fashion in Latin America and the literary movement, known as the Latin American Boom that took place during the 1960s and 1970s.

Although fashion may seem trivial to some people, I think of it as a form a cultural expression and as a way of revealing more about an era and its people. It would be interesting to discover some of the traditional attire that define Latin American fashion and culture, as well as the influences that have led to newer pieces. One particular designer that I am familiar with is Oscar de la Renta who is from Dominican Republic. As I’m researching, I would like to explore his designs and what he used as inspiration to formulate his pieces. I would also like to discover what makes his designs and other Latin American designs different from other areas of the world. I will primarily ask the following questions. How can Latin American fashion be identified and what makes it unique from other fashion from around the world? Latin America also contains several cultures, and it will be interesting to discover and discuss what defines each country from a fashion standpoint. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a lot of information about this topic on Wikipedia, but Credo did offer a good source that speaks to “syncretic, or mixed, nature of fashion and style” that I will continue reading about if a choose this topic. (http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abccliopop/introduction_the_syncretic_beauty_of_latin_american_and_caribbean_fashion/0)

The other topic I am interested is the Latin American Boom, which was a major literary movement in Latin America. It includes some prominent authors, such as García Gabriel Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, and Jorge Luis Borges. I have read some of their works in the past, but I would like to know about this literary era. For example, to what extent did the Latin American political climate and socio-economic status influence literature? And how is this represented in the books, poems, and essays from the time period? It will be interesting to explore the origins and history of this movement in addition to the elements, themes, and rhetorical techniques that define this form of literature. Both Wikipedia and Credo offer plentiful information about the Latin American Boom that explain both the historical context and the common elements that define the literature from this era. A lot of good evidence can be extracted from both databases!

Chapter 8 of A Land So Strange exemplifies the changing roles that are taken by the four remaining survivors of the Florida expedition. Primarily, they are renown within several Indian communities as healers and for this reason, Andrés Reséndez maintains that “Four naked and unarmed outsiders were led by hundreds, even thousands, of Indians. They were fed and protected and passed off from one indigenous group to the next, as if they were prized possessions moving along an ancient trading route across the continent” (188). Medicine men is exactly what these men were deemed to be at this point in their journey. They sharpened their skills and were performing much more complicated procedures. A ritual soon enveloped and the four castaways would travel from community to community healing natives and receiving food, shelter, and elaborate gifts in return. This quote portrays the invaluable nature of the healers by the Indian communties and objectifies their presence. Their reputation becomes determined by others based off of their doings and a huge sense of responsibility overtakes them with this job. The above quote also implies the inescapable life that they had to live in before continuing the exploration that they had set out to do. Along the same lines, it is important for understanding the different lifestyles the castaways had to adapt to and the difficulties that the natives had imposed on them and their lives.

A Land So Strange is a novel about the arduous journey that a band of Spanish colonists undergo in an effort to explore Florida and other parts of the New World. However, it cannot so simply be defined as a journey. Andrés Reséndez proves that it is a expedition filled with continuous misfortune, disastrous hardship, and harsh conditions. Initiated by Naraváez, the men pass through several foreign areas with different goals manifesting as they adventure. First and foremost, they do their best to survive through many environmental settings, such as hurricanes, powerful currents, swampy grounds, and frigid winters. Acquiring food and drink in an effort to resist starvation and dehydration are two other important goals for the debilitated men. Additionally, the natives serve to be a huge hindrance for the Spanish colonists as they try to locate their desired landmarks which are much farther than the colonists assume. However, the men have unwavering determination to both survive and colonize.

As it can be seen, environment plays a huge role in the narrative and could almost be described as a character in itself. Reséndez’s illustrative portrayal of the harsh conditions the colonists face is extremely useful because it sheds light on the disease-ridden and fatiguing circumstances the colonists undergo. I do not gain a sense of any exaggeration from Reséndez when describing the awful conditions and the causes for why the men die off. It paints a perfect picture of an imperfect situation where a constant struggle for survival is an inescapable reality. Description of the severe environmental conditions allows the reader to gain a sense of understanding of the explorers’ emotions, morale, and state of health. Further, the brutal conditions are very significant throughout the text because it shows the mens’ strength in spirit. As they are Christian, Cabeza de Vaca explains that it must be God who is allowing them to survive through such tropical storms and cold temperatures. In this case, the environment almost acts as both a deterrent that leads the colonists to failure and a motivating factor that enables the men to persist.

I chose to read and critique the Wikipedia article titled “Narváez expedition.” At first glance, I noticed a warning at the top of the page that stated that more citations are needed to verify the article’s text. This initially made me skeptical about the article’s credibility, but as I continued reading, I noticed that overall the article is factual and corresponds to what I have been reading in  A Land So Strange. To elaborate on this, all the information presented in the article is relevant to the topic of Narváez’s expedition. It discusses each main element of the excursion chronologically with significant detail, no apparent bias, and little deviation from the subject at hand. The author(s) majorly discuss the part of the expedition that takes place up until Narváez’s death, but do not include much about the part of the expedition that contains great historical significance, as the talk page suggests. Up to this point in the class, we have read up to Narváez’s death and a large section of the book remains, implying that a lot of the later information of the excursion (that was initiated by Narváez) has been omitted from the article. Something worthy of noting is how quickly the article jumps from 80 survivors to only four survivors. I noticed that the later parts of the expedition have subheadings (“South Texas” and “Southwestern North America”) and some information included, but these sections simply need more elaboration and information to complete the story. If these are excluded from the expedition, a major part of history is being overlooked. Further, I checked the links and citations of this article. All of them function properly and do not seem to be outdated, contributing to good reliability and validity. Relevant information is obtained from each of these links. However,  the article does not contain enough citations, as the warning suggests. I noticed this because many of the paragraphs that include factual information that must have been obtained from outside sources do not end with an in-text citation. All in all, I believe this to be an adequate article containing detailed events of Narváez expedition, with two faults being the minimal information about the later parts of the expedition that occur after Narváez’s death and a lack in the number of citations.

In the introduction of “A Land So Strange,” the author Andrés Reséndez highlights the importance of the journey that Cabeza de Vaca, Estebanico, and two other Spaniards take in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Principally, the author wants to bring to attention that their story of colonization is rather unconventional as it sought to create an alliance with the natives and connect two different worlds. He mentions two texts that have contributed to people’s previous awareness of the story, but he believes that the topic of this extraordinary venture that offers an essential image of pre contact North America has faded from present view. With this book, he hopes to bring the story back to light and correct any misconceptions. Although I do not know much of this significant encounter yet, this introduction is persuasive because the author explains how necessary their story is. Their interactions with the natives were humane and their journey was one of understanding, adaptation, and survival. The story of Cabeza de Vaca also serves as an integral part to our country’s history and the author confirms this with the statement, “It is, in essence the story of America.” I find this to be very compelling! Reséndez uses evidence from the Joint Report and the work of Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo among other information to develop this tale accurately and reveal the true intricacies of this important encounter.

The article by David Buisseret emphasizes the use of the term “creolization” to describe the multilateral intermingling of cultures and people. This opposes the terms “acculturation” or “assimilation” which depicts a culture that is dominating an inferior one. I find the concept of creolization to be very positive as it is more of a holistic word to describe something developed in the New World. It takes into account not only one’s own culture entering a distinctly new one, but environmental factors and influences of resident creoles. Interestingly, creolization did not occur at a stagnant rate. The author points out that several factors, such as self-importance, material abundance, and number affect the rate of creolization. The author uses many examples as well as various authors’ findings to support the concept of creolization. He goes on to list numerous examples of architecture, agriculture, food, language, and music that all exemplify creolization. One example I found particularly interesting is the exchange of medicine that Samuel de Champlain had to use to treat his sick men. Evidence like the latter makes the author’s view toward the idea of creolization a more convincing one. Towards the end of the article, Buisseret presents the stages of creolization from the perspective of different authors and offers feedback to each one. Overall, I found the article to be very persuasive because the author not only presents his view, but explores the ideas of other intellects. The countless specific examples also demonstrate and further support the idea of universal creolization. To me, creolization is the correct way to describe the mutual fusion of cultures and people.

In the article “Only Connect…”, William Cronon offers his stance in an argumentative fashion of the qualities that a true liberal arts educated person should possess. He is responding to the people and educators who try to produce liberally educated people by creating a sort of “formula.” They are the people that are part of the educational system that list the necessary courses that students must take in order to achieve a liberal education and say that the purpose of a liberal arts education is to complete this set of courses. Although it is easy to follow this, Cronon states that the essence of a liberal arts education is something much more and far greater than that. To him, it is one that fosters growth, freedom, and ten qualities that he goes on to list.

His central argument is that success in school needs to be calculated by how well students live up to these ten important qualities and only then can people be described to be liberally educated. To support this, Cronon gives an example of a real institution that lists the four aims of a liberal education and explains that “it is hardly a statement that stirs and inspires the soul.” This is evidence as to what an institution should not do to create liberally educated people. As to what an institution should do, his list is a good source for what universities and schools should strive to incorporate inside and outside the classroom. In a sense, it offers the ideal example of a liberally educated person and serves as a template to mimic.

I find Cronon’s argument to be extremely persuasive because he presents a counter-arguement, his argument and reasons to support both. His extensive and well-explained list also shows that he has spent a lot of time pondering, researching, and studying what comprises a liberally educated individual. I also find his conclusion that presents the two warnings that deal with individualism and liberal education as a lifestyle shows that the author is aware of what he is explaining. He even admits that what he had said earlier in the text is misleading. Further, I found his concluding paragraph to be very persuasive and inspiring because it ties the whole text to the idea of human connection and love for one another. It evokes the idea that a liberal education serves not only oneself, but the community. However, to make a clear distinction between Cronon’s ideas and my own, I would like to read about how other people define someone as liberally educated because it can potentially mean something different to everyone, and then I can see where my stance lies.