I believe that each sport can be placed into one of three categories. There are the sports in which every person is dressed the same, looks the same and acts completely as a part of a team, and almost never as an individual; individuality seems to be lost in these sports. American football fits this mold well. The next level are those sports in which much importance is placed on personal performance, but there is still little actual personal expression. This category includes tennis.  The last category includes the sports that allow their players to show their personalities in the uniform, costume or performance, and that also place emphasis on personal skill. Figure skating is the best example of this kind of sport.

There are almost no team sports that allow for any personal expression, whether it is gender identity-related or not. Team sports like football in America demand that you hand over your personality and individuality in exchange for the group personality. Sports like tennis are only slightly better because they show men and women almost as equals (uniform-wise and in the rules for games played by each sex), and allow each individual to demonstrate their personal skills. Figure skating is the only sport that we were able to think of that allows its participants to show off their personalities through costumes, music choices, and through skillful dance performances on the ice. In addition, skaters of both sexes are basically held to the same standards in competitions, so any different skill abilities between the sexes is ignored.  Any sport that has rules and regulations that place an emphasis on separating male and female or require players to all dress one particular way is effectively hindering the expression of gender identity.

Every person cannot be classified using the old binary system of male or female anymore. Our society is allowing our differences to not only emerge, but be accepted or judged in today’s world. My interviewee and I feel that the people who do not fit the male-female mold are fairly accepted in everyday life, but there has not been a place established for them on the sports field. The only place someone can express their gender identity, style or skill level is in the figure skating rink. All other team sports, and even those like tennis that place more emphasis on personal performance, are not able to easily accept someone who is not purely male or female, or someone who wishes to express their personal identity.

            2011    Mayas and tourism markets. In Mapping Latin America : a cartographic reader. J.   Dym and K. Offen, eds. Pp. 241-5. Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press.

Little’s article was focused on analyzing the meaning of tourist maps. Although maps for tourists may seem transparent and basically meaningless, they truly carry a lot of significance and weight because they control the actions of the tourists, which affects the locals. The Visite Antigua Guatemala map, distributed by the Guatemalan National Tourism Institute (INGUAT) in Antigua, was of little help to tourists because it showed only basic features of the city and because it was outdated (illustrated in 1963). Mayan businesspeople thought this map was anti-Maya and anti-vendor. The La Antigua Guatemala map was created to highlight the culture and history of Antigua to tourists, and was meant to show that the Maya were important in the area. However, the Maya still had issues with the price and look of this map. They considered creating their own maps, and eventually helped city officials understand that the Maya are important to the economy and that they needed a new city map. New marketplaces for Mayas were constructed, and new, better INGUAT maps were created. This case study stressed that something as simple and seemingly meaningless as a tourists’ map can greatly affect tourists and locals alike. Little’s article was very important and interesting because it presented an easily-understandable example of a way that locals were trying to produce their own identities, like we have been talking about in class and reading about in Babb.

            2006     After Life: An Ethnographic Novel. Durham: Duke University Press.

I found After Life confusing, terrifying and great to read all at the same time. I expected to read an ethnographic account of Bruna’s life and of Hecht’s experiences in Brazil, but after I read the introduction, I knew this was not the story. We were first presented with a seemingly random story of a depressed anthropologist, then with snippets of stories from a somewhat made-up street child. Still, after completing the book, I do not completely understand the purpose of including details about the fictional anthropologist Zoë, but the extremely engaging stories from Beto/Aparecida made up for this. Perhaps Hecht included Zoë’s story as a way to integrate some of his own experiences, but one cannot be sure.

I am glad that we read other articles and watched the movie about street children, because I am aware that the stories in After Life could easily be real. The stories were shocking, raw and heart-wrenching, but I came to the realization that what we believe is best for these kids may not be. Anthropologists need to help the people that they study, but it is not always safe for us to assume we know what ‘helping’ is. In the notes of the introduction, I saw where Hecht explained that he paid Bruna and sold her drawings in order to buy her a house, but that Bruna ultimately decided to spend the money elsewhere. At first, this made me sad that Bruna foolishly gave up a real home, but then I realized that the best thing for Bruna may not be to force her into a completely different way of life. To Bruna, ‘helping’ was not buying her a house; it was giving her money for food, clothes and whatever else she desired. Even though we may not all believe this is the best idea, we must remain observers and listeners and not try to control the lives of the people we study.

2004    Dangerous and Endangered Youth: Social Structures and Determinants of Violence. In Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Pp. 13-46. New York, N.Y.: New York Academy of Sciences.

Nancy Scheper-Hughes first provides a background into what forced many children into the streets and what sparked the creation of death squads. The government system failed and many poor individuals ended up on the streets. The loathing of lower classes remained strong even though a new government and a new constitution were developed. Death squads were able to attack with even more strength because to them,  lower classes had no rights. Scheper-Hughes noted that demilitarization and democritization did not occur in the everyday lives of many people. The death squads took the role of executioners and assassins, and many citizens were afraid to defend themselves or their loved ones. Abidoral Querizoz was the leader of one very powerful death squad that alligned with corrupt police officers to cover up homicides. The death squad became the local government. Eventually, a new judge and a prosecutor were able to arrest Abidoral Querizoz and many of his helpers; Scheper-Hughes even helped uncover some of the murders that the death squad was responsible for.  Scheper-Hughes seemed to believe that her involvement with the issues in Brazil at that time were necessary because she urged a new discourse about violence and human rights. Do many anthropologists become as personally involved as Nancy Scheper-Hughes did in this case? Anhropologists usually function to give people a voice for expressing their own feelings and concerns, but Scheper-Hughes went further by investigating the murders and protesting along with the street children, poor people and others. Was this a safe or smart decision on her part?

      In Search of Brazil’s Street Children. Pp. 146-60.

The chapter was focused on the use of the term “street children.” Over the years, the term has been used differently across the world. Still it seems that no real definition of a street child has been formulated. The Inter-NGO Programme for ‘Street Children’ and Street Youth chose to define a street child basically as one who lives in the streets more than at home with family, and one who is without adult supervision. But, there are still problems with this definition and with others. Determining how many street children exist in Brazil has been a difficult task, especially because no definition of a street child has been agreed upon. Hecht makes it obvious that it is very difficult to actually locate these children. Estimations have ranged from 2 million to 30 million street children in Brazil, but Hecht estimates about 40 thousand. Being a child of the streets or not has to do with how much time a child spends on the streets, and on a child’s relationship with their mother. Being home is maintaining a relationship with one’s mother and living a ‘rightous life.’ To the children, living on the streets is an abondonment of a matrifocal household. I found it odd that Hecht never mentioned if mothers ever came looking for their children that left home and did not return for a long period of time. He made it sound like mothers don’t care if their children come home or not. Is this the reality? In addition, what roll do fathers play in the the raising of children in Brazil?

Bonfil explains that the book has two purposes. The first is to show the presence of the lasting Mesoamerican civilizations among indigenous groups, or the México profundo. The second purpose is to present some facts for a more broad analysis that applies to all Mexicans. He notes that two civilizations are present at the same time, and that this is an “unresolved dilemma” because many believe that in order for the country to grow, either the western or the indigenous ideas will have to be chosen. Those who maintain imaginary Mexico are those who are forcing westernization, and those who maintain México profundo are those who are resisting this. There are ongoing problems because México profundo has never truly been given a place in Mexico, and Mesoamericans have always been ignored.  Bonfil suggests that the only way Mexico can be helped is if beneficial aspects of both Mesoamerican and western ideas are incorporated. Bonfil then goes on to say that his book is divided into three parts: Mesoamerican history before European invasion, Mesoamerican life today, and the current conditions in Mexico plus what the future may hold. Considering this book was published in 1996, I wonder if Bonfil’s ideas for the future have taken hold in Mexico, and how much his personal ideas have affected the growth of Mexico.

Chapter 1:

Mesoamerican culture was largely built from the use of agriculture and corn. The central valleys of Mexico became very important centers for agricultural, economic and political growth. Many groups were able to communicate and converge in the central valleys. Eventually, many different cultural groups created a unified Mesoamerican civilization. The Mesoamericans occupied almost every niche available in Mexico, and, as Mignolo said, the land did not become “unknown territory” until the Europeans came. Mesoamerica became a collection of diverse cultures, but Bonfil explains that a civilization cannot be characterized by determining whether certain traits are present or not, but sometimes by a common language. Over many, many years, the Mesoamericans invented their cultures and ways of life, and Bonfil argues that this accumulation of centuries of experiences is what is allows Mesoamerican ideas to persist today. He also suggests that we may be able to learn about nature through Mesoamerican language. Bonfil also talks about the phenomenon of racial fusion and de-Indianization not occurring uniformly throughout Mexico; social organization has allowed Indian traits to persist in some areas, and has led to maintenance of culture. This chapter was very interesting because of Bonfil’s discussion of the fact that continuation of biologically indigenous traits allows for continuation of Mesoamerican culture and tradition. I am curious whether, during the period of European colonization, indigenous people were consciously more concerned about the maintenance of biological traits or of traditions, because in the end, both were either preserved or lost.

Chapter 2:

Chapter 2 begins with Bonfil arguing that Mexico can only reach its full potential as a country if Indianess is understood. Indians have been simply rejected for so long and little is known about them, but it is necessary to understand the cultural differences; he then attempts to explain a bit of Indian culture. However, a problem arises because there is no clear definition of what an Indian is, and it definitely cannot be measured through censuses about language because people may be ashamed to admit the truth. Colonization has effectively silenced Indian culture for 500 years. Many indigenous people were convinced that they were inferior; colonizers attempted to expel the existing systems of social organization while physically moving communities to other areas that were sometimes uninhabitable. Some Indian cultures have been changed greatly by colonization, while others have not. Some near cultural extinction. Many popular indigenous ideas about the natural world and agriculture have disappeared. Tight family units and endogamy help to ensure culture will be passed on to later generations. Self-sufficiency and specialization has helped with survival. Nevertheless, problems still exist because western civilization does not understand or respect Indianess. I suppose it is obvious from our point of view that everyone in Mexico would benefit from integration of both indigenous and Western ideas, but why hasn’t this happened? And is it our job as anthropologists to help these two cultures mix?

Chapter 3:

Mexico does not have a heterogeneous way of life. Different regions have different cultures, and even further, cultures in regions cannot be generalized; Indians still exist in some but have been driven out of others. Non-Indian societies are not homogenous either.  Rural peasant communities exist that have an Indian culture, but they have lost the identity that goes with it. Agricultural ideas, beliefs about the natural world, and Indian techniques of crafting and eating are still present. But, communal organization in the peasant world is slightly different. The peasants still do things the Indian way, but no longer identify themselves as Indian. Bonfil describes this as de-Indianization because the dominant society broke down the Indian ethnic identity.

During colonization, Indians were forced to become rural. Some Indians migrated to cities later, but they were separated from the colonizers. There has been growth of cities recently because of the arrival of Indians or mestizos from rural areas; these people often disguise their identities in cities and return home occasionally. Bonfil pointed out that, to the growing middle class, traditional culture has less of a place, and this connects to the idea of the superficial, surface Mexico. There has been so much conflict between the indigenous people of Mexico and the colonizers, and it is affecting Mexico’s ability to grow. Have the cultures of the colonizers and of the colonized been able to easily mix anywhere in the world?

Chapter 4:

Bonfil begins by saying that there is no common Mexican culture because there are two main civilizations present that never combined, and that have never lived harmoniously. There is one reason for this: particular social groups (Europeans) have held positions of power since the European invasion. Mesoamericans have never been allowed to take part. A harmonious solution has never been attempted by integrating the two civilizations; the only option to westerners has been to eliminate the Mesoamericans. Even when Mexico became an independent State, the same path to Westernization was still present. The groups with the most power in the country have never recognized that it may benefit the growth of Mexico to acknowledge the cultures that exist in the majority of the population. Instead, these cultures and their ideas are ignored, and an alternative reality is created that does not include the Mesoamericans. This fake reality is imaginary Mexico (the opposite of México profundo). The main idea of imaginary Mexico is that reality is substituted instead of being transformed. All of Mesoamerican history was not truly history, and the people that remain need to be removed in order for Mexico to start over in the right direction. Have Europeans created this same “imaginary” version of a country in each place that they have taken over?

Chapter 5:

In the beginning of this chapter, Bonfil suggests that the problems in Mexico began when the colonial order was put in place in the sixteenth century; this is when the separation of the subordinate indigenous and the superior Western people was created. Bonfil gives a little history about domination pre-colonization. Domination of some groups over others was present, and fighting did occur, but he points out that there were few differences in armament, and that there was no attempt to force a particular language on the weaker group. Ideas of absolute inferiority were not present. However, domination by the Spaniards was very different. The invasion was very violent, religion was imposed, resources and people were exploited, the individual indigenous cultures were completely denied, and the Indian name was given to all non-Spaniards. Eventually, when people of mixed origins were being born, groups of mestizos, castas, mulattoes, and creoles were created, although they did not have defined roles in society. Each person of mixed race was able to create a place by having certain social factors, such as wealth. Bonfil explained that the ideas of total domination were foreign to the indigenous people of Mexico, so where did the Spaniards get these ideas from? The papacy had a lot of influence on the colonization movement, but where did the papacy get the idea that total domination was acceptable?

Chapter 6:

This chapter contains more history of Mexico post-colonization. The Church and merchants eventually controlled the economy. Creoles and wealthy mestizos were in charge of ranches and haciendas in the late seventeenth century. Mexico gained independence, but there was no huge transformation. The Spanish Constitution had lasting effects, but the citizens of Mexico did become the sole beneficiaries of the wealth and patrimony in the territory. Problems arose when it came time to define who Mexican citizens were. Struggle over land rights followed; Indian communal lands were threatened by new ideas about private land ownership. Indians were able to resist for a time, but most were eventually left with no land. The Indians were still the inferior group, and white foreigners were recruited to Mexico. Imaginary Mexico during the nineteenth century was a country that wished to be wealthy and modernized and México profundo became a serious denial of the imaginary Mexico; imaginary wanted individualized land and free trade, while profundo wanted communal land. Basically, everything Indian was the enemy of imaginary Mexico. Civilization was only possible with the abolishment of Indianess, including indigenous languages. Even though imaginary Mexico split from Spain, the western ideas never disappeared. By what mechanism can all western ideas be lost? As in, would all people of European descent have to leave the country in order for the ideas to be lost as well?

Chapter 7:

In this chapter, Bonfil begins the discussion in the 1900s. A revolution put a new legal framework in place. One goal of the revolution was to create a cultural homogeneous place; this focused on the idea that Mexico was a mixture, but Indians and creoles were somewhat left out even though both México profundo and imaginary Mexico took part in the Revolution. New ideas did seem to acknowledge that the past was Indian, and that after the Spanish conquest, the “real Mexican” or mestizo was created. Indians could not be ignored. The Revolution proposed to recognize the fact that Indians had good ideas and values, and hoped to erase the inequality that was forcing Indians into a state of lower historical development in order to make cultural differences fade away. However, little was done to ensure that Indian culture did not disappear. The idea still remained that in order for imaginary Mexico to be produced, the majority culture must disappear. The Revolution seemed to be aimed at created a mestizaje society, but was still more in favor of western ideas than indigenous ones. It is interesting that the Revolution suggested to finally recognize the Indians, not because they are equal to Europeans, but because they are in an inferior state of historical development.

Chapter 8:

For many, many years, colonial domination has broken down Indian cultures, but some groups still remain to fight for México profundo. Throughout post-colonization history, there were many rebellions, and many people were forced to move from their homeland, but at the same time, some aspects of indigenous culture that had previously been left behind were re-incorporated. Bonfil points out three processes have allowed indigenous cultures to remain. These are resistance, innovation and appropriation. Indians became skilled at adapting to new situations in order to keep their people and their cultures alive. Indians were able to resist because they rejected some foreign ideas and innovations, and were able to defend themselves against proposed changes. Indians were forced to innovate because they were constantly being oppressed. There was a constant creation of new cultural elements. They were able to appropriate by taking foreign ideas and making them their own; it was sometimes safe to benefit from innovations of westerners without losing any Indian authenticity. Each group has a “cultural matrix” that allows the group to maintain itself while being constantly bombarded by imposed culture, no matter how small the group. Even now, Indians are being confronted with new forces of domination. What are the differences between the indigenous groups who fell under the pressure of the Spanish and the indigenous groups that still fight for México profundo today?

Chapter 9:

This chapter begins the final section of Bonfil about the Mexico we have today. Mexico recently became something different from the imaginary Mexico. Mexico is poor and much of the land has been overly exploited, so the country must import food that it previously grew to feed its citizens. Systems of agriculture are unstable and the future of industry is cloudy because it is not organized properly to meet the needs of the world or of Mexico itself. Many, many Mexicans earn money doing manual labor because there are no other paying alternatives. Mexico is in poverty, everyone has debt, and those hit the hardest are most likely the Indians who no longer affiliate with México profundo. Pollution, resource over-exploitation, and extinction of natural species are all big problems. Overall, Mexicans feel frustrated with their current situation, and the people of México profundo fall silent. The plan for imaginary Mexico has failed and Mexico does not currently have the capabilities to produce a new plan. Bonfil believes that México profundo must finally be recognized because it is the last possible solution, and that some Western ideas can be safely incorporated into a new solution. I would like to know more about Mexico’s current situation to see if any México profundo ideas have been considered.

Chapter 10:

Obviously, Mexico needs some kind of new plan for the future, or else the country will continue in a downward spiral. Bonfil believes that Mexico still has the potential to turn itself around into an overall successful country, but it will not stay this way forever. A civilizational project would involve accepting Mexico as a “backward and underdeveloped” place, and in turn accepting the ideas of México profundo. A substitution project would involve adopting civilization ideas straight from the West. It may be necessary for Mexico to truly recognize itself as plural and not uniform; liberation of oppressed groups is necessary in order for them to take part equally in the creation of a new society. Mexico must stop paying attention solely to the illusion of imaginary Mexico and look toward the true strengths and potential of México profundo. Have all other countries in Latin America and the Carribean had problems similar to those in Mexico following colonization and could Mexico take some advice from these places on how to recover?

Tourism may be a buzz word within the economies of each developed and developing nations. It chips in to the expansion and development of the native lands where it’s being practiced. Its vitality is observed from the stastical knowledge of 2011: Direct contribution to GDP and employment generation was US $2 trillion and ninety eight million respectively across the planet. whereas talking concerning the indirect contribution within the same year it accounted for US $6.3 trillion GDP and 255 million jobs globally. This depicts the festering importance of tourism for any nation however the very fact is that a lot of components of the planet are still ignorant concerning the multifariousness of the sphere of tourism and that they take into account it solely as a leisure activity. truly Tourism is like an umbrella that encompasses the subsequent flourishing fields:

Discipline: Tourism may be a vast field of study that encapsulates the ideas of anthropology, sociology, history, psychology, archaeology, ethnography, geography , accounting, economics, marketing, leisure, management and varied alternative disciplines. it’s the systematic study of the strategies employed in tourism trade. It teaches a way to upset folks , their psyche and alternative necessary events going down within the domain of tourism. It keeps folks updated relating to the newest trends going down within the travel and tourism and provides them with the knack to upset cross cultural issues reducing the planet into one international village. It enhances our data relating to the prevailing and virgin tourist destinations. This know-how will equip the analysis students to come back up with novel topics, notions, ideas and explore them with the tools of this discipline which might ultimately cause new studies and raise the prevailing literature essential for thriving the tourism trade.Many personal and public tourism organizations have created a replacement job position for tourism analysis students where dextrous and competent researchers will build their mark and add colors to travel. Rural tourism in Italy

Entrepreneurship: Tourism trade is that the solely trade that includes a shoe for each foot. it’s immense scope for those that believe in ‘ Being your own boss’(YOB) approach. it’s commonly observed that those that are inventive, innovative, accountable and have the flexibility to influence others have an inherent dislike to figure below or for others. however attributable to lack of resources they’re guaranteed to work for the success of people. Tourism is that the field that one will decide on san entrepreneurial career with full investment of his caliber and fewer financial inputs. It permits one to figure and build profits even with virtual offices. Initially, the sole machine that a contemporary day tour entrepreneur needs may be a pc and an area of few feets. therefore so as to be an efficient entrepreneur in tourism one wants the competency to sense the chance and exploit it with the correct angle.

JOB: Tourism additionally provides the duty ‘Just obey your boss’ possibility for those that like a straightforward life, have poor risk taking capability, lack initiative and like to be directed. within the gift era, several national and multinational corporations like KUONI, SITA, TUI, COX & KINGS, SOTC etc are dealing in tourism and that they have vast job opportunities for the tour professionals. Most of the duty vacancies are solicited and may be simply noticed working portals. Handsome salaries , job security and smart prospects of growth are being offered as per the flexibility of the people. 

FOREIGN EARNING: Tourism has the potential to earn huge foreign currency and raise the strength of our economy. In 2011 ,India witnessed 6290319 foreign tourist arrivals and earned 77591 crores of foreign exchange that is self-convincing relating to the richness of tourism.

Thus, we will conclude that tourism may be a multi -dimensional and a multi- sectoral activity which might go an extended means in eradicating unemployment and earning huge profits. For this the requirement is to comprehend the importance of tourism and introduce it as a discipline and a field of study each at {the school|the varsity|the faculty} and college level. varied diploma and degree courses will prove handy in spreading the attention relating to the blossoming avenues of the tourism.

Everyone involved in anthropological research should benefit from the research in some way, but so should everyone else in the world. The purpose of anthropological research is to study unfamiliar societies and cultures, and in a world full of judgment and prejudice, we need to spread this information. If information about foreign cultures is distributed to people throughout the world, everyone can take a step towards understanding and accepting other cultures. More understanding and less prejudice benefits every person in the world, and therefore, so does anthropological research.