Today was the last Maya class. After daily classes for 7 weeks, this is quite a shift. But we went out with a bang. The subject today was highland Maya weaving, and we spent the first half of the class with a show-and-tell. Several students bought textiles, as did I, and I managed to cover much of the information just using them as examples. After the break we discussed three articles that in different ways discussed the social, political, and economic contexts within which the textiles are made and exchanged in Guatemala. Each author (all women) also emphasized women's agency in determining how their weaving will change rather than depicting them as passive victims of oppression and market forces.
In the afternoon I attended Rita's class again, since the class is still working through the Castellanos book and I love Rita's arguments and the intense class discussions. I probably put in my oar too often, though. We had a wonderful discussion of the feminist reading of the book and Rita explained how it exemplified a Latin American feminism rather than the North American variety. There is never enough time to plumb the depths of this rich, thoughtful, conscientious and beautifully written text.
In the evening I stopped in at Matea and Paulina's apartment for the going-away party for James, who is finished with his courses and going to meet Joshua in Oaxaca. We also celebrated Maria Luisa's acceptance into the BFA program in theatre at UBC, which is quite a coup for her and she is, of course, absolutely thrilled.
Brent is due to arrive tonight and begin his class tomorrow. So much happens so fast here!
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