Assignment 3C

Matthew MacDonald:
Although Paulo Freire’s teaching remain excluded by mainstream teaching models, some of the fundamentals of his ambitions remain a very strong component of what is a free society. For example, Paulo implemented his theories by teaching 300 sugarcane workers to read and write. The impact of this is that these workers who previously could not vote where thereby allowed to vote and impact society by electing officials that had their better interest at heart.

Paul Hopkins:
Paulo Freire` was an educated and influential theorist of the 20th century. Instead of pursuing riches, he instead sought to educate the oppressed and put them in a position of empowerment by means of knowledge. One of his most famous quotes (and my favorite) was: “I never accepted that educational practice should be limited just to the reading of text, the reading of words, but that it should include the reading of context, the reading of the world.” This quote is of interest to me because in this modern world, so much is put into what someone says, and very little is put into the context of those words. What they mean in the intended context is of more significance that what the definition is.

Class Relevance:
I believe that Paulo Friere’s theories and teachings have a substantial relevance to our class. In addition to being a prominent member of Latin American culture/history, his theories remains a cornerstone of what I believe is a truly free society. Knowledge, even in its most basic form such as reading and writing is truly power. The more we know, the more we learn, the less room we have for ignorant differences such as racism and the less inclined we should be to want to hurt one another.

Assignment 3B

I viewed the following videos during my research of Machu Picchu in assignment 3A. Although this is not a traditional piece of art, I view it as such because of the superior architecture and innovative design that was seemingly ahead of its time. These videos correlate to our examination of Humanities because this lost city of Machu Picchu is a prominent component of both modern and ancient Latin America.

Observation:
Whether your viewing a video set to traditional Peruvian music or listening to an expert offer their explanation on the history of this great city, one thing that I keep finding myself reflects upon is that how after all of this time, this great city remains a mystery for the most part. The other part that I observe when watching these videos is how the sophistication with which the city was designed. The stone in the walls cut so precise that mortar was not necessary. The seismic integrity of the structures was so superior that the walls withstood centuries of earthquakes. Despite that, there were portions that needed to be restored but overall the site has remained intact.

Interpretation
This piece of artwork is about many things. However in my opinion, at this date in history and in being able to reflect on all that the Inca empire was able to achieve as well as the events it has had to withstand, this piece of artwork prominently indicates to me the dominance of the culture in the region at the time as well as the sophistication and accomplishments of this empire. This city is grand and prominent that to me, it only starts to pay homage to what the Inca Empire was all about. The fact the much mystery remains furthers my view on that.

Judgment
The reason I chose this piece of work is because despite all that we’ve discovered and know about the city, much of it remains a mystery. I’ve read differing views on what the purpose of the city was, what happened to its residents and why/how was it never discovered by the Spanish. The fact that it has withstood the perils of time to reveal all that it has about this ancient culture is also impressive. It is a great testament to the ancient Peruvians and all that they accomplished.

Questioning
I would like to know how long it took to build this beautiful city. How were the stones moved up to this high altitude, and what was the process like? For example, was the process similar to what we see today when a building is built. Permits, suppliers, materials and workers. What did it take at put this together?

Assignment 3A

Pre-Colombian refers to the period of time prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the subsequent influx of European influence into Latin America and the Caribbean.

The topic I chose was the Incan Empire and the video I viewed was about Machu Picchu.
The reason I chose this topic is because my wife is Peruvian and was born there. In fact we just had some of her family visit us last week. We plan to go visit them within the next eighteen months. Here are some interesting facts I found out about this ancient culture:

The Incan Empire was the largest pre-Columbian America Empire. It dominated much of Western South America stretching from the Andean Mountain Range, east – to as far north as Southern Columbia and as far south as Northern Chile. Much of these conquest where completed by Pachacuti who was essentially a commander within the empire and after his death, his son Tupac continued the domination and expansion within the region.

The Lost City of the Incas, also known as Machu Picchu is not only one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, but it is widely accepted that this site served as a retreat to the Inca emperor, Pachacuti. The city was abandoned less than 100 years after being built due to the invasion of the Spanish army. Surprisingly that although the site was relatively close the Cusco, the capital city of the empire, the Spanish never found the site and consequently it lay left alone for centuries.


The Incas were considered to be among the most accomplished stone masons. The architecture of Machu Picchu uses a technique called Ashlar. The technique is amazing in that large stones are cut so precisely that when they fit together, there is no need for mortar to seal any cracks.

References:
http://www.machupicchu.com/History.htm

http://www.sacredland.org/world_sites_pages/M_Picchu.html

http://opa.yale.edu/opa/mpi/History-of-Machu-Picchu-Collections.pdf

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560004/inca_empire.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Empire


The reason I consider these references to be reliable is because much of the information I read I cross referenced to out resources and found them to be consistent. The only questionable item that did come up was that there was some debate over whether archaeologist considered Machu Picchu to be a retreat or a defense fortress. Based on historical events, most historians and archaeologist agree that it was a retreat for the emperor.

Assignment 2C

Linda A Beavers
1. Is MoLAA able to adapt its program to the school aged children or primarily geared to adults?
Absolutely. In fact MoLAA encourages children to interact and become involved in art. It accommodates various field trips throughout the year, has child rates for entry and encourages art through various programs it sponsors throughout the year.

2. Who is the founder of MoLAA?
Robert Gumbiner is a philantrophist, and an 85 year old former doctor who decided to venture into the world of art and in 1996 he founded the Museum of Latin American Art.

Caylen L Cole-Hazel
3. Why was MoLAA founded?
As an avid art collector, Dr. Robert Gumbiner realized that there was substantial chasm in the world of art in the United States. That chasm being that while there were traveling exhibits, there were no dedicated museums to the prolific genre of Latin American Art. Looking to fill that void in a significant manner, he set out to establish what is now known as the Museum of Latin American Art.

Deanna L Dellapenna
4. Who is the museum Director?
Since 1999, Gregorio Luke has been the director of the Museum of Latin American Art.
However his duties are limited to the Directors role. He participates and leads regular lectures on various facets of Latin culture and artist.

5. What day of the week is the museum free?
Fridays are free admission to any and all interested in viewing the exhibits.