In this lesson, students will identify the causes and consequences of the European Expansion. They will consider the importance of Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro in the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
The Age of Exploration (Lesson)
Malintzin: Indigenous Women Discover Spain (Lesson)
In this lesson, students will analyze images to compare the role of indigenous women in Mesoamerica before and after the Spanish colonization. They will consider how Malintzin, a Nahua woman from Coatzacoalcos, contributed to this process and how women resisted or adapted to the changes introduced by the Spaniards.
The Lieutenant Nun: More Than Catalina, More Than Alonso (Lesson)
Students will learn about the Mapuche, their worldview, lifestyle, and resistance. Through primary sources, they will analyze the day-to-day life of Spanish women in the Araucarian wars, such as Catalina de Erauso, also known as Alonso Diaz. They will find more information to consider how women used the legal and societal conventions to defy gender identity in colonial Latin America.
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Obedience and Rebellion from the Convent (Lesson)
In this lesson, students will identify the main events in the life of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and analyze how the historical context shaped her life. Students will discuss women’s ability to make decisions in colonial Mexico through Sor Juana’s biography, her poem, You Foolish Men, and artwork inspired by her.
Fidel Castro’s Building Inauguration Speeches (Exhibition)
This exhibition explores the themes of revolution, national autonomy, and anti-capitalism in a set of inauguration speeches delivered by Castro. The selected texts highlight how the rhetoric of the Cuban Revolution shaped the built environment of the island and how these advances complicated the polarized representations of Castro’s government.
Peru in the 1920s (Exhibition)
The early twentieth century brought political, economic, and social changes to Peru. After the devastating losses experienced from the War of the Pacific in the late 1800s, the need to reconstruct and reform Peruvian society lent itself to the economic opportunities modernization presented. This exhibition of postcards from the 1920s show how the past and present converged in Peru at this critical juncture.
Remembering Ernesto Cardenal: Selections from His Archive (Exhibition)
On March 1, 2020, prominent Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal passed away, leaving an indelible legacy behind. He was a multi-faceted man: He was a poet, priest, revolutionary, liberation theologist, sculptor, and activist. This exhibition seeks to trace and reflect on key moments in his life.
You Are What You (Do Not) Eat: Decolonial Resistance in U.S. Latinx Zines (Exhibition)
This exhibition aims to underscore resistance to colonial legacies by examining Latinx zines that interrogate food and its impact in shaping cultural identity.
The Augustinian Order in Sixteenth-Century Mexico (Exhibition)
This exhibition focuses on the lives of Augustinian friars who professed to the Augustinian Order in Mexico City’s convent.
Presenting Geospatial Research with ArcGIS (Platform Tutorial)
This step-by-step tutorial will introduce you to ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS StoryMaps, free web-based tools that help you visualize and present geospatial research, using data and images from materials related to the Augustinian Order in sixteenth-century Mexico preserved at the Benson Latin American Collection.