LANIC.utexas.edu Latin America Network Information System,
UT-Austin
The librarians at UT-Austin have
created a valuable index of resources on Latin America, which can be
sorted by topic or by country. This is the easiest way to find online
newspapers, for example, which are an excellent teaching resource.
The librarians at UT-Austin have also created the definitive collection
of online maps, mainly from copyright-free U.S. government sources. It
is organized by region and country. About a dozen maps of current news
interest are usually included on the main page, so check it first when
addressing current events in class.
BSU Librarian and Latin Americanist Pamela Hayes-Bohanan has created
this guide to resources available through the Maxwell Library. Some
online resources require a BSU username. She has created a separate guide to coffee!
This is the diplomatic umbrella
organization for the hemisphere. Among other functions, it serves to
bring governments together to address political crises. It functions in
some ways like the United Nations for Latin America.
I highly recommend using NPR frequently
in classes. Stories and reviews of a few minutes duration can often be
found. Many students are not familiar with NPR, but after a few times
hearing it in class, they may seek it out as a way to become better
informed. To take advantage of the craving many students have for
visual stimulation, I usually put a relevant map on the screen when
playing NRP audio in class. Although most shows are produced primarily
for adults, many of the stories are suitable for younger children, and
certainly for the enrichment of teachers. The NPR web site includes a
searchable archive that can yield a lot of pleasant surprises.
Geographer Matt Rosenberg and his
interns have developed this engaging site over the past decade, with
thousands of short stories and links about all things geographic. Use
this site for games, base maps, and newsy articles.
Formerly a branch of the University of
London, this independent university serves 15 English-speaking islands
throughout the Caribbean. Several campuses offer programs in
geography.
Caribbean
Tectonics Dr. George PC's page on tectonics, volcanism, and tsunami
risk in the Lesser Antilles
"Prehistoric
Cultures" by Pamela Hayes-Bohanan is not limited to Latin
America, but
it is a good overview of the current state of scholarship on
prehistoric cultures world-wide. It appears in a general-reference
encyclopedia at the high-school level [Birx, H. James, ed. 21st Century Anthropology : A Reference
Handbook. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 2010] available in many
public libraries.
The following are links to specific items about Mexico that were part
of the May 2010 program. Many of these links are also in the PowerPoint
above, but are provided here for simplicity.
Recommended
reading
about
violence
in
Ciudad
Juarez is "The Sicaro: A
Juárez hit man
speaks" by Charles Bowden. It appeared in Harper's magazine in May 2009.
Bowden provides important insights about the political
economy of the rapidly increasing violence along the US-Mexico border.
The same
author has recently written Murder City, which explores the
subject in
more detail. That book, in turn, was the subject of a recent story on
NPR,
archived at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125427225.
1000
mujeres x Ciudad Juárez -- (in Spanish) report
and commentary on protests against ongoing violence against women on
the border, which predates the current drug war
Drug War
reporting -- maps, photos, and reports on the border drug
violoence from the Los Angeles Times
La Villa Bonita -- culinary
school/spa in Tepoztlan, Morelos.
Gadsden Purchase -- maps
and details of how the U.S. acquired this strip of land
Mayan
History
Timeline -- beautiful chronology of Aztec, Mayan, and other
Mesoamerican civilizations
Ancient
Maya
Calendar -- a blog posting that describes pre-Columbian
calendars in detail
Cholula
-- Pam Hayes-Bohanan's web page about our 1990 summer in central
Mexico
Most of these are unsuitable for most classes, but will provide
a richer understanding of the cultural landscape and certain aspects of
social geography. I do not necessarily agree with the point of view of
some of these films, but they all enrich learning in some way. See
http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhayesboh/resource/justfun-flicks.html
for
more of my thoughts on films.
Al Otro Lado (I have seen two movies about migration with this title,
and both were very good. I think there is even a third.)
Bordertownr Brazil
Revealed (Discovery Atlas documentary)
Bus 174
Casa de los Espiritus (House of the Spirits)
Cidade de Deus / City of God
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
El Norte
End of the Spear
Kiss of the Spiderwoman
Maria Full of Grace
Men with Guns
Milagro Beanfield War
Mojados: Through the Night
Motorcycle Diaries
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Yo Soy Boricua, Pa'Que Tu Lo Sepas!
