One thing I took away from this week’s discussion was in
regards to the cultural conflict between the liberals and conservatives. The
conflict stemmed from more than just social class differences and included
political and economic reasons for struggle as well. In past history classes,
when talking about conflicts between groups of people, we often overlooked
political and economic causes and focused solely on class or race differences.
The fact that we took the time to analyze all aspects of the conflict shows
that there are always more perspectives to consider. In Burns’ document, “The Nineteenth
Century: Progress and Cultural Conflict,” he included the effects of progress
on Latin American nations that were trying to modernize. He explained that some
people were in favor of incorporating new technologies and economic policies
into their lives, and some were opposed, wanting to keep their previous way of
life. I related this to nowadays, and the technology boom that occurred in the
early 2000s. Smart phones and computers, for example, were both controversial
topics when they were first invented and brought into society because at this
point people had access to more information than ever before. This concept not
only excited people for the future, but also frightened some who were unsure of
the intentions of this new technology. This idea is similar to the division of
people in Latin America during the 19th century when some people
wanted to progress and move forward, but other’s feared the results of
modernization and change.
One thing I
really enjoyed about class this week was the activity that required us to stand
in circles and talk with different people. It was nice to be able to answer
questions that were student-lead and be able to talk to people that were not in
our learning communities. It helped me see different perspectives of Burns’
document, many of which I hadn’t considered myself.
I like how you related the fears of people during post-independence in Latin America about new technology and industrialization to the fears some experienced during the early 2000s about the introduction of smart phones and computers. I think most people would say it was a positive progression in our society despite their initial fears, but I think some would still argue we were better off before the introduction of smart phones and computers, as well as the industrialization of Latin America
ReplyDeleteI thought it was nice of you to relate the topic to the modern world. You are correct in saying that people overlook the politics and economics of a situation and people do need to look at more than race; one's skin color can hardly be the only thing to blame in a conflict. Industrializing Latin America was a big jump that did involve politics and economics because the people had to decide where to get the money and how they would be affected.
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