In this blog you are to comment on one or more of the assigned articles in relation with any of the topics touched on in the lecture PDFs every week. Your posts should be brief (150 words or the equivalent to 1 paragraph) and, most importantly, a reflection of your preparation for class.
Sec 1F - Week 6
Spain as a Worthy Power: 16thC (Charles V and Philip II)
In this new phase in Spanish history with see how Spanish Monarchy played an crucial role in shaping how Spain and Portugal are today.The article that talks about the intermarriage of Habsburgs shows the extent of how much the kings were willing to go to maintain a "pure blood" this decision had a toll on the health of what are now considered to be incestuous marriages that ended with Charles II. I also found the article about Filipinos being Hispanics interesting given that the country is named about Phillip II and that the SPanish were there for 300 years. The professor from UCLA qualifies this statement saying that by our modern definition of regional Hispanic Filipinos are not considered hispanic but by culture, religion, family and gender traditions, and even some language influence they can be considered Hispanic.
A key theme is this week's articles was the addition of Filipinos as a minor, yet important part of Spanish national identity. Considering Spain ruled the Philippines for a long period of time, bloodlines, culture as well as language are incorporated into part of Filipino as well as Spanish society. This historical observation also affects Filipinos as even they experience an added element to their national identity and allows people to choose how they would like to identify themselves. The article also exemplifies the key aspect of culture and importance of colonial history to understand the past and forge stronger relationships between ethnic groups. The development of this new idea will also allow Filipinos to reduce resentment due to any past injustices during Spanish reign and allow a potential new ally for Spain. Another interesting article this week was the one reporting fewer naps for Spaniards and reduced sleeping time in general. It exemplifies the previously discussed dwindling condition of Spain as they battle out of an economic crisis and need extra effort in order to restore their position as a superpower in Europe. This could also foreshadow potential rifts between the people and government because if people continue to work as incessantly without a clear positive outcome, then the government will be held equally responsible.
Como todas las semanas los artículos me parecieron interesantes. El articulo de Don Quixote fue interesante por la razón de que hay especulaciones de que había sido escrito en árabe. Por otro lado esta el articulo que nos hace la pregunta de que si los filipinos son hispanos, este me llamo demasiado la atención porque yo pienso que si pueden ser considerados hispanos, también porque muchos tienes los mismos nombres que nosotros los hispanos tenemos. El articulo que habla de lo que puede pasar si hay matrimonios entre familiares aunque un poco triste de todas las anormalidades que tenia el rey de España. Finalmente tengo que hablar de un tema que es muy importante, la siesta. La siesta a mi me encanta y que triste que ya no estén durmiendo tanto los españoles. Asta pienso que la siesta debería ser parte de la Cultura de Estados Unidos.
This week’s lecture discussion focuses on the expansion of the Spanish Empire and how it came to thrive as a powerful imperial nation. For the first time as a global empire, the question arose of how to identify the people of the new Spanish colonies; how do we categorize the national identity of these people if they do not live in Spain, but live under Spanish rule, and thus are heavily influenced by Spanish culture? This is an important question raised in this week’s article, “Are Filipinos Hispanic?” The complicated answer to this question parallels the similar issue of how to define the terms “Latino” or “Hispanic,” in general. More often that not, it is simply a matter of personal choice on how people choose to identify themselves. However, we learned in lecture of the heavy Spanish influence that became in the Philippines after the Spaniards conquered the area in 1565, with Manila becoming the greatest Spanish trading center in the East. Thus, the article’s assertion holds truth: that we must take into account that along with the nearly three centuries of colonization, came an undeniable assimilation of Spanish culture such as Roman Catholicism, Spanish names, musical traditions, and Spanish vocabulary as an integral part of life in the Philippines.
For the article about the demise of the Habsburg dynasty, I wasn't surprised that inbreeding was the source because science has shown that eventually this creates genetic illnesses and many of the children born through inbreeding would die. It was sort of a shame since the Habsburg dynasty was one of the most influential dynasties in Europe, constituting of many empires. Relating back to history, the Habsburg dynasty started with Emperor Charles I, son of Juana (daughter of Catholic monarchs) and Philip of Habsburg. One another note, Spanish people resented him because he was a foreigner.
The controversy of whether Filipinos are Hispanic or Asian, or something else is still a widely talked about topic today. When it boils down to it, this is a matter of colonizational influence versus personal identification. Spain rose to world power through exploration and conquest and it colonized the Philippines in 1565. Spain did have a ton of influence on the people even until today such as the religion, names, etc. During the 1500s, Manila became the greatest Spanish trading center in the East and the country was named after King Philip II.
While reading the article about Don Quixote, I was a bit confused so maybe it would be clarified later in section. But in regards to the history, this literary work was written during the reign of Philip III by Miguel de Cervantes. Don Quixote became the symbol of extreme idealism and this work was a parody of the novels of chivalry.
One Spanish stereotype that developed in the 16th and 17th century was that they were lazy and loved siestas. Apparently, the Spanish people at this time associated working with slavery so they didn't want to work. Recent studies show that Spaniards are sleeping 20 fewer minutes a day than in the last century.
With regards to the Don Quixote article, this article is quite interesting because it shows that the story of Don Quixote was written in Arabic, not in Spanish, and by Muslim writers. Now Cervantes, so-called author of the book, translates this book from Arabic to Spanish. The article goes on to talk about things like why Jews who continued to practice their faith were called Marranos and how eating pig meat was a sign of defiance, that Spanish were not going to follow Muslim and Jewish traditions. Then there is the Stereotypes article that talks about how siestas are no longer a tradition in Spain, according to the article of “Spanish Stereotypes: They like their siestas.” The article says that in fact it is now not the leading country in Europe of this tradition and in fact that Germany leads Spain in people who actually do take siestas. To this day, I was under the perception that the siestas were regularly and that that was part of the tradition of Spain but apparently it isn’t anymore. Now lets move to the article that talks about whether Filipinos are Hispanic or not. In my opinion, Filipinos are Hispanics because just us, they were also colonized by the Spanish. Sure, the US census says that you have to speak Spanish to be a Hispanic, but in reality I believe we are Hispanic because the Spanish colonized us just as they colonized the Filipinos. On a more slightly interesting and yet a bit disturbing note, we read about the “Inbreeding caused demise of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty, new study reveals…” article. The article talks about how in order to keep the monarchy of Spain in the family, there were inbreeding within the monarchs of that ruled this country during the Hapsburg period in Spain. I guess you could say that the strive for purity within the empire, especially after what happened with Muslim invaders years back, that is why Spanish monarchs under this kingdom decided to go about doing this. Unfortunately, as the article mentions, there were a lot of genetic disorders within the people of that monarchy because of the inbreeding between the family. To finalize these weeks articles, the video of the Battle of Lepanto talks about how the Muslims after being expelled from the Iberian peninsula, tried to take over the Italian country, but the pope sent all of the Christian countries to fight the invaders. The reason for the victory, according to the video, was the Virgen de Guadalupe also known as the virgen del Rosario, Rosario because of the rosary that the pope used to pray for the victory of this battle.
The article I found most interesting this week is entitled "Are Filipinos Hispanic? " by Barbara S. Gaerlan. This article truly connects to Monday's lecture regarding Spain as a world power in regards to exploration and conquest. As stated within lecture, "Spain raised from a situation of marginality in Europe to being a world power...Though Spain did not recognize the importance of the Philippines immediately, before the end of the century, Manila became the greatest Spanish trading center in the East". Thus, I find it extremely interesting that the true answer to whether Filipinos can be considered Hispanics as "yes and no" because it is ironically true! Growing up, I went to school with a vast majority of Filipino students-most had Hispanic last names as well. The fact that I went to a Catholic school, with such a high population of Filipino students highly reflects Spain's current influence amongst Filipino culture as the main religion, although there are others, in the Philippines is Catholicism. Additionally, a hand-full of my friends' grandparents and elderly relatives from the Philippines spoke and understood Spanish. Although the article describes Spanish relevancy in the Philippines as more of a lingering history, my personal knowledge slightly contradicts this. Grandparents are not necessarily our generation, however they are also not centuries before our time either; Spanish influence continues to flourish within Filipino culture. On another note, I think this article also highlights just how globally successful Spanish conquest was in the 16th century following Columbus' voyage to the Americas. The Philippines is an island offset the Pacific Ocean and the Americas nearing Asia, thus revealing just how advanced and ambitious Spanish voyagers were to explore the globe. Though the Philippines is identified as an Asian island, Spain inserted European culture within this country that still flourishes today. This also reflects the changing world of the 16th century in regards to exploring the world, and enhancing the image and ideal of human beings throughout the world in general. Manila establishing itself as a highly efficient trading location with China, India, and the East Indies furthers the notion of global enhancement by the Spanish culture to key locations throughout the world that intertwined and introduced new cultures and traditions to one another.
National identity is a topic that particularly upholds my interest time and time again. The Phillipines was named after one of the Spanish kings that invaded and conquered i; however that does not mean that it was not a country without it's on inhabitants before the Spanish invasion in the 16th century. Up until recently did the Phillipines actually become an independent country, yet the country remains to be rich in culture, language and food. When it comes it comes to national identity ultimately constituents and people should chose however they want to be identified and if they feel they identify with another ethnic group based on their experiences and past then they should define themselves however they want to. The majority of people from the Phillipines are Catholic, which shows one of the lasting influences of the Spanish culture on them, along with some last names and some words from there languages.
As we continue on with the course, I find Spain’s history more and more interesting. It is amazing how a peninsula in the Mediterranean could have come to be the starting point of a global empire. Spain accomplished to have the first global empire in 1580 and unite the Iberian Peninsula. The marriages and colonies they established helped them reach many parts of the world. The Spanish empire stretched across the whole world in North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. All of these places that the empire reached left a lasting mark for future generations. The article that really impacted me this week was, “Are Filipinos Hispanics?” This is a question that I have asked myself. Spain colonized the Philippines in 1570 and named the island after the Spanish king, King Phillip II; however, does this mean that Filipinos are Hispanics? The island of the Philippines did get some interaction with Spain and Mexico, because for 250 years, once a year, Spain brought goods from Manila to Acapulco, Mexico. This interaction could have caused Spanish influence to penetrate the Filipino culture. Although history made Spain and the Philippines cross paths, the identification of Filipinos should be based on their own personal views of identification. Today the Philippines is part of the United States, thus, many Filipinos identify themselves as Asian-American, but not Hispanic. Additionally, what impacted me the most was that the article stated that some Filipinos are confused for Hispanics, and I have confused Filipinos for Hispanics numerous times. I remember in middle school I asked this guy that looked like he was Hispanic where he was from. I was surprised when he said he was Filipino. I really thought he was Hispanic, especially since his last name is Madrid. I feel that Filipino’s identification should depend on how they personally feel they identify with. Places can be colonized by imperial powers, but the way people identify and connect to their culture, language and religion can never be taken away. They can be influenced like the Philippines, but not have taken away their entire Filipino identification.
The concept of identity appears as a potent topic for many of our blog posts. In the article titled "Are Filipinos Hispanic?" we see yet another case in which ethnic groups fall under specific categories. I agree that the concept of being labeled "Hispanic" deals with cultural, linguistic religious etc influence from Spain. All of these topics to this day are true and relevant to Filipinos. Hence the word Hispanic is meant to serve its purpose as a politically created word meant to categorize and slot groups of people into various components. However the problem with that is that there are a multitude of variations from that label. Furthermore the article does not state a specific opinion about the topic, but rather it states that the topic is a subjective matter than can or cannot correlate to Filipinos.
I also thoroughly enjoyed reading the article titled Inbreeding of Spanish Habsburgs. From previous European history classe I remember the mention of Charles II and his physical appearance and as the last of the Habsburg kings. As the article demonstrates through year of family inbreeding the outcome of their greed to main the power within the family, was the cause of their downfall. Hence the dynasty of the family reverted back into the hands of the French aristocracy.
I found the article "Are Filipinos Hispanic?" to be a very interesting topic this week in Iberian culture. Named after King Philip of Spain, the Phillapines was once a Spanish colony although they do not speak Spanish as an official language today. Filipinos carry many Spanish traditions such as Catholocism,but they are definetely far off from Spaniards and Latin Americans in terms of language. I believe that Filipinos are Hispanic in that they share a cultural past extremely influenced by Spanish colonialism. Many Spanish words are incorporated into their official language Tagolog and many people carry Spanish names. The influence that Spain had on the Phillipines is very strong but obviously not as strong as in those countries of Latin America where people speak Spanish as a native language. The Filipino people have always been known to be very tough, abrasive, and unwilling to deal with foreign colonial powers. The Filipinos have adopted many Spanish traditions because they were incorporated into the Filipino culture during the time of colonialism, but they have always kept their identity. They are Filipinos through and through , but they are also Hispanics just like somebody from Mexico is a Mexican but he/she is also Hispanic. The term Hispanic just refers to somebody of an upbringing or nature that was highly influenced by Spanish culture. In my mind there is no doubt that Filipinos could be categorized as hispanic, but they are also who they always were, Filipinos.
It is interesting to note that one of this week’s readings goes back to the first week’s reading about identifying Latinos and/or Hispanics. The article “Are Filipinos Hispanic?” tries to define whether Filipinos should be considered Hispanic or not. I agree with the opinion in the article that states that it is a personal choice. It does depend on how the U.S. Census Bureau defines “Hispanic” that determines a person’s self-identity. It is rather the way a person looks at him/herself that determines a person’s self-identity. Filipinos do have the right to call themselves Hispanic due to the history between Spain and the Philippines. After the conquest of the Philippines there was Spanish presence. Because of this Filipinos received a lot of traits from Spain. Some of this includes religion, culture, traditions, some words of the language, and so much more. Even though Filipinos are not exactly from a Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin it does not mean that they cannot identify themselves with that group. Like Professor Torrecilla said during lecture, national identity is created through history so the self-identification of Filipinos as Hispanic is a personal choice. They feel connected to the Hispanic culture due to the Spanish conquest of the Philippines.
The US Census Bureau defines Hispanic “ as person of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin”, subsequently meaning people whose ancestors originated in Spain and/or Latin American countries, and who speak Spanish as a main language today. However, exactly who falls under the broad term of “Hispanic” is extremely unclear. Filipinos for example, seem to fight neither within the term nor outside of the term, and therefore the question arises to what extent are Filipinos considered Hispanic. On one hand, Filipino’s ancestors resided in an Asian country and the main languages spoken by Filipinos today are Tagalong and English, therefore, leading to the conjecture that Filipinos are in fact not Hispanic. On the other hand, however, some may claim Filipinos can be considered Hispanic do to the fact that the Philippines were colonized by Spain and therefore have a heavy Spanish influence. Therefore, although Filipinos may not be able to trace their ancestry to the geographic location of Spain, Spanish influence, due to colonization, has had a prevalent impact on the Philippines and subsequently the Filipino community.
The article “Are Filipinos Hispanic” poses the question of who exactly is considered “Hispanic.” According to the article, the US Census Bureau defines Hispanic “ as person of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin”, subsequently meaning people whose ancestors originated in Spain and/or Latin American countries, and who speak Spanish as a main language today. However, exactly who falls under the broad term of “Hispanic” is extremely unclear. Filipinos for example, seem to fit neither within the term nor outside of the term, and therefore the question arises to what extent are Filipinos considered Hispanic. On one hand, Filipino’s ancestors resided in an Asian country and the main languages spoken by Filipinos today are Tagalong and English, therefore, leading to the conjecture that Filipinos are in fact not Hispanic. On the other hand, however, some may claim Filipinos can be considered Hispanic do to the fact that the Philippines were colonized by Spain and therefore have a heavy Spanish influence. Therefore, although Filipinos may not be able to trace their ancestry to the geographic location of Spain, Spanish influence, due to colonization, has had a prevalent impact on the Philippines and subsequently the Filipino community.
Christian monarchs set out to reconquer Spanish territory owned and governed by Muslim power, but their ordeal did not end there. Using Christian ideologies, the Catholic monarchs were able to conquer more territories which extended out of the Iberian Peninsula. The kingdom of Aragon was able to conquer Italy, Cecile and Greece out in Mediterranean territories, while Portugal expanded out into North Africa and some parts of Asia, and Castile- the most powerful kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula, conquered parts of North America, the Atlantic, North America, South America and the Philippines. Through conquest, many of the places conquered adapted Spanish culture. The Philippines is a clear example of how the conquered territories assimilated into Spanish culture, allowing for some of its population to identify as Hispanic to a certain extent. The article are Filipinos Hispanic? Talks about the reasons for why it can be argued that Filipinos are Hispanics regardless of its geographical position and U.S. identification of Filipinos as some type of Asian groups. This article was very interesting to me because before reading the article I had not made a connection between the Philippines and Spain even though I knew that the Philippine culture has some similarities to other Spanish territories, such as religion. As the article stated, I also believe that regardless of the definition of what Hispanic means, it is up to a person to decide how he or she wants to identify.
I’m currently reading “Don Quijote de La Mancha” for this quarter’s ‘Spanish 135: Topics in Early Modern Studies.’ The article on Cervantes’ famous obra presupposes some things about the book without having read it, apparently. For one, nowhere is it posited that “Benengeli” means “eggplant”; the confusion may arise from Sancho’s misstating of the Arabic historian’s name as “Berenjena,” which does mean “eggplant,” upon which don Quijote promptly corrects him. Further, numerous critics have noted many inconsistencies in the book that contradict its supposed verisimilude. For example, if Cide Hameti Benengeli is a historian, why is he writing about don Quijote’s expeditions no more than a month after La Primera Parte is complete (since in the beginning of La Segunda Parte, which continues one month after the first part ends, the bachillerato Sansón reports to Quijote that a man named Cervantes has authored La Primera Parte which is already published and being enjoyed by many)? With this and more unstated inconsistencies remaining in the published work, I personally find it difficult to focus even on the Cervantes’ subtle criticisms of Spain’s contemporary environment of fierce nationalism. He seems to go back and forth, in one part praising the pork-salting renown of Quijote’s lady love, while in others displaying careful sympathy for the very Arabs who cost him his arm in the decisive Battle at Lepanto.
Relating to the article “Are Filipinos Hispanic?” I feel that Filipinos can legitimately identify as Hispanic if they choose. After the conquest of the Philippines in 1565, Filipinos gained Hispanic culture. This is similar to how the people in the Iberian Peninsula identified with the Romans after it was conquered and developed into Hispania. When a country is conquered, it evidently gains the customs and culture of its new leaders. As a result of Hispania’s control of the Philippines for over 300 years, many Filipinos today still carry Hispanic surnames. Therefore, it is accurate to say that they have Spanish ancestry. Although it is true that many Filipinos do not speak Spanish or practice Spanish customs, they can still trace back to Hispanics. Because of Hispania’s control of the Philippines for so long, I do not think that it is possible for Filipinos to ignore the heritage that they gained from Hispania and only identify themselves as being of solely Asian descent.
This week's articles related for the most part on stereotypes that we have about different things/ideas. Such as the articles about Filipinos being Hispanic. I found this article very related to week 1 article about what defines a Latino, too. The article gives the definition of Hispanic as it is known by the US census but also states that their is another section for people from the Philippines under the Asian American category. Hence, it can be said that they are not Hispanic. But they also state that one of the definitions for Hispanic is having a Spanish background and the Philippines was reigned by Spain for over 300 years. therefore, proving that Filipinos could call themselves Hispanic. Another article that talked about Stereotypes was the article about the siestas. I found it interesting because I had heard about that stereotype and thought it was true. I thought it was interesting to know that the Germans are the ones to nap the most throughout the day. Lastly, I enjoyed the article about Don Quixote. I have not read this book thoroughly but I did read parts of it for a high school spanish class. When I was reading it back then I thought the author had gone nuts. But as I read about it in this article I was very impressed. Something that really stood out to me was how the author was able to characterize the people of this time. "A moor she is in costume and in body, but in her soul, she is thoroughly Christian." it made me see the connection that the history of Spain has had in comparison to conversos.
The Catholic Monarchs shifted the focus of Spain into more of an empirical force. This being said, the country as a whole is focused on expanding its cultural influences to various parts of the world that were opened up due to Columbus’ voyage of 1492. One example is the Manila Galleon that lasted for over 250 years connecting Asia to America and vice-versa. From this trading route, many Filipinos adopted the culture of Spain since the Philippines was conquered by Spain and named after King Philip II. Therefore, the article on “Are Filipinos Hispanics?” is quite interesting due to the previous conquest by the Spanish crown. There is no distinct answer to the question since someone needs to decide that for himself. Many historical influences are evident in the Philippines today, that may be an indicator that there is some type of Hispanic heritage present. Furthermore, Tagalog (the Filipino language) has many Spanish (Castilian) words and years of intermarriage has resulted in Filipinos with Spanish roots, as well. The Spanish siesta, mentioned in the “Stereotypes” article, is also a beloved pastime of most Filipinos - furthering the relationship between both cultures. But, it is up to the individual to decide what his national identity is.
This week in lecture we focused on the issues and benefits of Spanish expansion and how Iberian literature was key to the golden age. In class we discussed Spanish expansion through Latin America and Asia, thus as Spaniards established in the Philippines more trade routes such as Manila-Acapulco were established, which made Manila the greatest Spanish location in the east. Moreover, as a consequence of the colonization of different regions in other continents the cultural identity of such regions was affected. Therefore, considering the fact that Spanish presence lasted more than 300 years in the Philippines some Filipinos are seen as Hispanic, despite the fact that the Philippines are located in Asia. During this time period Spain was expanding too much and was fighting several wars, which exhausted its resources. In addition to this, the mass deportation of Muslims also contributed to Spanish decline, given that an important part of the economic force was expelled and depopulation worsened. The impact of the expulsion of Muslims is shown in the famous story “Don Quixote” by Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra, who alludes to Muslim and Jewish culture. However, the relevance of this story is also due to the fact that Cervantes’ work was part of the Golden Age, in which was crucial to Spanish status as a culturally rich society.
I have never contemplated the origin of people who classify themselves as "Filipino/a". Based solely on looks and the use of the word, I would have guessed their origin dates back to a form of Asian rule. Little did I know until this class that it dates to Spanish power. The article "Are Filipinos Hispanic" tells of that connection (assuming it is already known by the reader) and extends on whether Filipinos would even prefer to be classified as such. It seems that their language, looks, and likely more importantly, their ideals have changed much from the time of Spanish power.
The article I found most intriguing this week was "Regarding Cervantes." Despite the fact that Don Quixote is widely regarded today as one of the most classic examples of Spanish literature, it is interesting to see that Cervantes actually joked about the origin of the story not being Spanish at all, but rather Arabic. While the article does refute this possibility, it is actually feasible in that the Spanish empire was so widespread and encompassed a lot of Arab culture.
What is also interesting about this article is how it explains Cervantes' views on Spanish Imperialism and how he incorporates it into the story. In lecture, because we are studying the Spanish history from a broad point of view, we tend to see a glorified version of how deftly Spain was able to expand its empire. However, this article shows that Cervantes was a soldier who did not fully support the Spanish empire's expansion and had bad experiences when fighting in the Spanish wars. Cervante's rather negative opinions that came out of these experiences were then put into Don Quixote in a more comedic sense to disguise the blatant critique of the glorification of war and "caballeros." This article from the opposite point of view provides a nice contrasting perspective to what we've been learning about in lecture.
“Are Filipinos Hispanic?” I think so and at least here at UCLA’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, it seems that the majority of people agree. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has a program called CEED or the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity. Undergraduate students are picked from the pool of incoming freshmen and are extended an invitation to join CEED along with their acceptance letters; the catch is that only students with a “minority” status are allowed in. How is this relevant? Well, a student who identifies as white American or Asian American is not extended an invitation; however, a student who identifies as Filipino is. The school itself has recognized that not only are Filipinos not exactly Asian, but that they are also deserving of the minority status alongside African Americans, Native Americans, and other Hispanic students. (Note: in this case the minority status means more that these groups lack heavy representation in the STEM fields than anything else). Taking a more surface look at things, if one looks at the average Filipino person, he or she doesn’t look exactly Asian; they tend to be darker and wider, aspects which stereotypically are not attributed to Asian races. So it makes sense for them to claim some sort of Hispanic heritage, it isn’t just in their history and culture, but in their blood as well. They may not be full blown Hispanics, but it is there, and many people recognize it.
Claire Lemieux: This week’s article about the effect of inbreeding on the Habsburg dynasty ties in very nicely with the Professor’s points in lecture today of how the expulsion of the Jews and the moriscos influenced the decline of Spain. The Telegraph article discusses all of the abnormalities which occurred in the Habsburg royal family as a result of inter-familial marriage over generations. Although I had heard of the “Habsburg chin” and knew that Charles II had medical problems which are commonly understood to be the result of in-breeding, I did not know the extent of his problems, or that the infant mortality rate of the royals was as high as one in two. I think that this article relates well to the Professor’s discussion of how Spain’s policy of expulsion of religious and racial minorities in order to achieve a homogenous society contributed to it’s decline. Not only was Spain eliminated needed bodies (as their population was declining anyway during this time because of war and plagues), but, because of the cultural association between Jews and business, it was working specifically against the “scientific and financial spirit” needed for success in the developing world. The Habsburgs unwittingly engineered their own biological dead end through a mistaken value in bloodline, just as the state worked toward its own decline through discriminatory policies.
I have to start with saying that Cervantes is one of my favorite authors. Don Quixote is the greatest novel ever written. One of the articles discussed issues brought up about Cervantes and his story of how he did not write the novel himself does seem difficult t belief. I have read both parts of Don Quixote and Cervantes has a good reason to make up that he didn't write the novel. Don Quixote is more than a comedy about an Hidalgo who read too many chivalry books; it gives critiques and insight about the Monarchy and Spain as a united nation. Cervantes criticizes the conquest of Spain, the monarchy, and many social and religious aspects of Spain. Sancho Pansa can be a symbol for Spain. Spain might seen sane but its not the perfect nation that Spaniards seem to believe it is. Additionally, I found the article about Charles II very interesting. It was a repetition of Torrecilla spoke of in lecture, nonetheless, it makes an important point. I think Charles the second doesn't look right, he looks creepy. Up until the discovery that having children amongst family brought deformed, problematic children, many nobles married to family.
In this new phase in Spanish history with see how Spanish Monarchy played an crucial role in shaping how Spain and Portugal are today.The article that talks about the intermarriage of Habsburgs shows the extent of how much the kings were willing to go to maintain a "pure blood" this decision had a toll on the health of what are now considered to be incestuous marriages that ended with Charles II. I also found the article about Filipinos being Hispanics interesting given that the country is named about Phillip II and that the SPanish were there for 300 years. The professor from UCLA qualifies this statement saying that by our modern definition of regional Hispanic Filipinos are not considered hispanic but by culture, religion, family and gender traditions, and even some language influence they can be considered Hispanic.
ReplyDeleteA key theme is this week's articles was the addition of Filipinos as a minor, yet important part of Spanish national identity. Considering Spain ruled the Philippines for a long period of time, bloodlines, culture as well as language are incorporated into part of Filipino as well as Spanish society. This historical observation also affects Filipinos as even they experience an added element to their national identity and allows people to choose how they would like to identify themselves. The article also exemplifies the key aspect of culture and importance of colonial history to understand the past and forge stronger relationships between ethnic groups. The development of this new idea will also allow Filipinos to reduce resentment due to any past injustices during Spanish reign and allow a potential new ally for Spain. Another interesting article this week was the one reporting fewer naps for Spaniards and reduced sleeping time in general. It exemplifies the previously discussed dwindling condition of Spain as they battle out of an economic crisis and need extra effort in order to restore their position as a superpower in Europe. This could also foreshadow potential rifts between the people and government because if people continue to work as incessantly without a clear positive outcome, then the government will be held equally responsible.
ReplyDeleteCarlos Gutierrez
ReplyDeleteComo todas las semanas los artículos me parecieron interesantes. El articulo de Don Quixote fue interesante por la razón de que hay especulaciones de que había sido escrito en árabe. Por otro lado esta el articulo que nos hace la pregunta de que si los filipinos son hispanos, este me llamo demasiado la atención porque yo pienso que si pueden ser considerados hispanos, también porque muchos tienes los mismos nombres que nosotros los hispanos tenemos. El articulo que habla de lo que puede pasar si hay matrimonios entre familiares aunque un poco triste de todas las anormalidades que tenia el rey de España. Finalmente tengo que hablar de un tema que es muy importante, la siesta. La siesta a mi me encanta y que triste que ya no estén durmiendo tanto los españoles. Asta pienso que la siesta debería ser parte de la Cultura de Estados Unidos.
This week’s lecture discussion focuses on the expansion of the Spanish Empire and how it came to thrive as a powerful imperial nation. For the first time as a global empire, the question arose of how to identify the people of the new Spanish colonies; how do we categorize the national identity of these people if they do not live in Spain, but live under Spanish rule, and thus are heavily influenced by Spanish culture? This is an important question raised in this week’s article, “Are Filipinos Hispanic?” The complicated answer to this question parallels the similar issue of how to define the terms “Latino” or “Hispanic,” in general. More often that not, it is simply a matter of personal choice on how people choose to identify themselves. However, we learned in lecture of the heavy Spanish influence that became in the Philippines after the Spaniards conquered the area in 1565, with Manila becoming the greatest Spanish trading center in the East. Thus, the article’s assertion holds truth: that we must take into account that along with the nearly three centuries of colonization, came an undeniable assimilation of Spanish culture such as Roman Catholicism, Spanish names, musical traditions, and Spanish vocabulary as an integral part of life in the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteFor the article about the demise of the Habsburg dynasty, I wasn't surprised that inbreeding was the source because science has shown that eventually this creates genetic illnesses and many of the children born through inbreeding would die. It was sort of a shame since the Habsburg dynasty was one of the most influential dynasties in Europe, constituting of many empires. Relating back to history, the Habsburg dynasty started with Emperor Charles I, son of Juana (daughter of Catholic monarchs) and Philip of Habsburg. One another note, Spanish people resented him because he was a foreigner.
ReplyDeleteThe controversy of whether Filipinos are Hispanic or Asian, or something else is still a widely talked about topic today. When it boils down to it, this is a matter of colonizational influence versus personal identification. Spain rose to world power through exploration and conquest and it colonized the Philippines in 1565. Spain did have a ton of influence on the people even until today such as the religion, names, etc. During the 1500s, Manila became the greatest Spanish trading center in the East and the country was named after King Philip II.
While reading the article about Don Quixote, I was a bit confused so maybe it would be clarified later in section. But in regards to the history, this literary work was written during the reign of Philip III by Miguel de Cervantes. Don Quixote became the symbol of extreme idealism and this work was a parody of the novels of chivalry.
One Spanish stereotype that developed in the 16th and 17th century was that they were lazy and loved siestas. Apparently, the Spanish people at this time associated working with slavery so they didn't want to work. Recent studies show that Spaniards are sleeping 20 fewer minutes a day than in the last century.
With regards to the Don Quixote article, this article is quite interesting because it shows that the story of Don Quixote was written in Arabic, not in Spanish, and by Muslim writers. Now Cervantes, so-called author of the book, translates this book from Arabic to Spanish. The article goes on to talk about things like why Jews who continued to practice their faith were called Marranos and how eating pig meat was a sign of defiance, that Spanish were not going to follow Muslim and Jewish traditions. Then there is the Stereotypes article that talks about how siestas are no longer a tradition in Spain, according to the article of “Spanish Stereotypes: They like their siestas.” The article says that in fact it is now not the leading country in Europe of this tradition and in fact that Germany leads Spain in people who actually do take siestas. To this day, I was under the perception that the siestas were regularly and that that was part of the tradition of Spain but apparently it isn’t anymore. Now lets move to the article that talks about whether Filipinos are Hispanic or not. In my opinion, Filipinos are Hispanics because just us, they were also colonized by the Spanish. Sure, the US census says that you have to speak Spanish to be a Hispanic, but in reality I believe we are Hispanic because the Spanish colonized us just as they colonized the Filipinos. On a more slightly interesting and yet a bit disturbing note, we read about the “Inbreeding caused demise of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty, new study reveals…” article. The article talks about how in order to keep the monarchy of Spain in the family, there were inbreeding within the monarchs of that ruled this country during the Hapsburg period in Spain. I guess you could say that the strive for purity within the empire, especially after what happened with Muslim invaders years back, that is why Spanish monarchs under this kingdom decided to go about doing this. Unfortunately, as the article mentions, there were a lot of genetic disorders within the people of that monarchy because of the inbreeding between the family. To finalize these weeks articles, the video of the Battle of Lepanto talks about how the Muslims after being expelled from the Iberian peninsula, tried to take over the Italian country, but the pope sent all of the Christian countries to fight the invaders. The reason for the victory, according to the video, was the Virgen de Guadalupe also known as the virgen del Rosario, Rosario because of the rosary that the pope used to pray for the victory of this battle.
ReplyDeleteThe article I found most interesting this week is entitled "Are Filipinos Hispanic? " by Barbara S. Gaerlan. This article truly connects to Monday's lecture regarding Spain as a world power in regards to exploration and conquest. As stated within lecture, "Spain raised from a situation of marginality in Europe to being a world power...Though Spain did not recognize the importance of the Philippines immediately, before the end of the century, Manila became the greatest Spanish trading center in the East". Thus, I find it extremely interesting that the true answer to whether Filipinos can be considered Hispanics as "yes and no" because it is ironically true! Growing up, I went to school with a vast majority of Filipino students-most had Hispanic last names as well. The fact that I went to a Catholic school, with such a high population of Filipino students highly reflects Spain's current influence amongst Filipino culture as the main religion, although there are others, in the Philippines is Catholicism. Additionally, a hand-full of my friends' grandparents and elderly relatives from the Philippines spoke and understood Spanish. Although the article describes Spanish relevancy in the Philippines as more of a lingering history, my personal knowledge slightly contradicts this. Grandparents are not necessarily our generation, however they are also not centuries before our time either; Spanish influence continues to flourish within Filipino culture.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I think this article also highlights just how globally successful Spanish conquest was in the 16th century following Columbus' voyage to the Americas. The Philippines is an island offset the Pacific Ocean and the Americas nearing Asia, thus revealing just how advanced and ambitious Spanish voyagers were to explore the globe. Though the Philippines is identified as an Asian island, Spain inserted European culture within this country that still flourishes today. This also reflects the changing world of the 16th century in regards to exploring the world, and enhancing the image and ideal of human beings throughout the world in general. Manila establishing itself as a highly efficient trading location with China, India, and the East Indies furthers the notion of global enhancement by the Spanish culture to key locations throughout the world that intertwined and introduced new cultures and traditions to one another.
National identity is a topic that particularly upholds my interest time and time again. The Phillipines was named after one of the Spanish kings that invaded and conquered i; however that does not mean that it was not a country without it's on inhabitants before the Spanish invasion in the 16th century. Up until recently did the Phillipines actually become an independent country, yet the country remains to be rich in culture, language and food. When it comes it comes to national identity ultimately constituents and people should chose however they want to be identified and if they feel they identify with another ethnic group based on their experiences and past then they should define themselves however they want to. The majority of people from the Phillipines are Catholic, which shows one of the lasting influences of the Spanish culture on them, along with some last names and some words from there languages.
ReplyDeleteAs we continue on with the course, I find Spain’s history more and more interesting. It is amazing how a peninsula in the Mediterranean could have come to be the starting point of a global empire. Spain accomplished to have the first global empire in 1580 and unite the Iberian Peninsula. The marriages and colonies they established helped them reach many parts of the world. The Spanish empire stretched across the whole world in North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. All of these places that the empire reached left a lasting mark for future generations. The article that really impacted me this week was, “Are Filipinos Hispanics?” This is a question that I have asked myself. Spain colonized the Philippines in 1570 and named the island after the Spanish king, King Phillip II; however, does this mean that Filipinos are Hispanics? The island of the Philippines did get some interaction with Spain and Mexico, because for 250 years, once a year, Spain brought goods from Manila to Acapulco, Mexico. This interaction could have caused Spanish influence to penetrate the Filipino culture. Although history made Spain and the Philippines cross paths, the identification of Filipinos should be based on their own personal views of identification. Today the Philippines is part of the United States, thus, many Filipinos identify themselves as Asian-American, but not Hispanic. Additionally, what impacted me the most was that the article stated that some Filipinos are confused for Hispanics, and I have confused Filipinos for Hispanics numerous times. I remember in middle school I asked this guy that looked like he was Hispanic where he was from. I was surprised when he said he was Filipino. I really thought he was Hispanic, especially since his last name is Madrid. I feel that Filipino’s identification should depend on how they personally feel they identify with. Places can be colonized by imperial powers, but the way people identify and connect to their culture, language and religion can never be taken away. They can be influenced like the Philippines, but not have taken away their entire Filipino identification.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of identity appears as a potent topic for many of our blog posts. In the article titled "Are Filipinos Hispanic?" we see yet another case in which ethnic groups fall under specific categories. I agree that the concept of being labeled "Hispanic" deals with cultural, linguistic religious etc influence from Spain. All of these topics to this day are true and relevant to Filipinos. Hence the word Hispanic is meant to serve its purpose as a politically created word meant to categorize and slot groups of people into various components. However the problem with that is that there are a multitude of variations from that label. Furthermore the article does not state a specific opinion about the topic, but rather it states that the topic is a subjective matter than can or cannot correlate to Filipinos.
ReplyDeleteI also thoroughly enjoyed reading the article titled Inbreeding of Spanish Habsburgs. From previous European history classe I remember the mention of Charles II and his physical appearance and as the last of the Habsburg kings. As the article demonstrates through year of family inbreeding the outcome of their greed to main the power within the family, was the cause of their downfall. Hence the dynasty of the family reverted back into the hands of the French aristocracy.
I found the article "Are Filipinos Hispanic?" to be a very interesting topic this week in Iberian culture. Named after King Philip of Spain, the Phillapines was once a Spanish colony although they do not speak Spanish as an official language today. Filipinos carry many Spanish traditions such as Catholocism,but they are definetely far off from Spaniards and Latin Americans in terms of language. I believe that Filipinos are Hispanic in that they share a cultural past extremely influenced by Spanish colonialism. Many Spanish words are incorporated into their official language Tagolog and many people carry Spanish names. The influence that Spain had on the Phillipines is very strong but obviously not as strong as in those countries of Latin America where people speak Spanish as a native language. The Filipino people have always been known to be very tough, abrasive, and unwilling to deal with foreign colonial powers. The Filipinos have adopted many Spanish traditions because they were incorporated into the Filipino culture during the time of colonialism, but they have always kept their identity. They are Filipinos through and through , but they are also Hispanics just like somebody from Mexico is a Mexican but he/she is also Hispanic. The term Hispanic just refers to somebody of an upbringing or nature that was highly influenced by Spanish culture. In my mind there is no doubt that Filipinos could be categorized as hispanic, but they are also who they always were, Filipinos.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to note that one of this week’s readings goes back to the first week’s reading about identifying Latinos and/or Hispanics. The article “Are Filipinos Hispanic?” tries to define whether Filipinos should be considered Hispanic or not. I agree with the opinion in the article that states that it is a personal choice. It does depend on how the U.S. Census Bureau defines “Hispanic” that determines a person’s self-identity. It is rather the way a person looks at him/herself that determines a person’s self-identity. Filipinos do have the right to call themselves Hispanic due to the history between Spain and the Philippines. After the conquest of the Philippines there was Spanish presence. Because of this Filipinos received a lot of traits from Spain. Some of this includes religion, culture, traditions, some words of the language, and so much more. Even though Filipinos are not exactly from a Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin it does not mean that they cannot identify themselves with that group. Like Professor Torrecilla said during lecture, national identity is created through history so the self-identification of Filipinos as Hispanic is a personal choice. They feel connected to the Hispanic culture due to the Spanish conquest of the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteThe US Census Bureau defines Hispanic “ as person of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin”, subsequently meaning people whose ancestors originated in Spain and/or Latin American countries, and who speak Spanish as a main language today. However, exactly who falls under the broad term of “Hispanic” is extremely unclear. Filipinos for example, seem to fight neither within the term nor outside of the term, and therefore the question arises to what extent are Filipinos considered Hispanic. On one hand, Filipino’s ancestors resided in an Asian country and the main languages spoken by Filipinos today are Tagalong and English, therefore, leading to the conjecture that Filipinos are in fact not Hispanic. On the other hand, however, some may claim Filipinos can be considered Hispanic do to the fact that the Philippines were colonized by Spain and therefore have a heavy Spanish influence. Therefore, although Filipinos may not be able to trace their ancestry to the geographic location of Spain, Spanish influence, due to colonization, has had a prevalent impact on the Philippines and subsequently the Filipino community.
ReplyDeleteThe article “Are Filipinos Hispanic” poses the question of who exactly is considered “Hispanic.” According to the article, the US Census Bureau defines Hispanic “ as person of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin”, subsequently meaning people whose ancestors originated in Spain and/or Latin American countries, and who speak Spanish as a main language today. However, exactly who falls under the broad term of “Hispanic” is extremely unclear. Filipinos for example, seem to fit neither within the term nor outside of the term, and therefore the question arises to what extent are Filipinos considered Hispanic. On one hand, Filipino’s ancestors resided in an Asian country and the main languages spoken by Filipinos today are Tagalong and English, therefore, leading to the conjecture that Filipinos are in fact not Hispanic. On the other hand, however, some may claim Filipinos can be considered Hispanic do to the fact that the Philippines were colonized by Spain and therefore have a heavy Spanish influence. Therefore, although Filipinos may not be able to trace their ancestry to the geographic location of Spain, Spanish influence, due to colonization, has had a prevalent impact on the Philippines and subsequently the Filipino community.
ReplyDeleteChristian monarchs set out to reconquer Spanish territory owned and governed by Muslim power, but their ordeal did not end there. Using Christian ideologies, the Catholic monarchs were able to conquer more territories which extended out of the Iberian Peninsula. The kingdom of Aragon was able to conquer Italy, Cecile and Greece out in Mediterranean territories, while Portugal expanded out into North Africa and some parts of Asia, and Castile- the most powerful kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula, conquered parts of North America, the Atlantic, North America, South America and the Philippines. Through conquest, many of the places conquered adapted Spanish culture. The Philippines is a clear example of how the conquered territories assimilated into Spanish culture, allowing for some of its population to identify as Hispanic to a certain extent. The article are Filipinos Hispanic? Talks about the reasons for why it can be argued that Filipinos are Hispanics regardless of its geographical position and U.S. identification of Filipinos as some type of Asian groups. This article was very interesting to me because before reading the article I had not made a connection between the Philippines and Spain even though I knew that the Philippine culture has some similarities to other Spanish territories, such as religion. As the article stated, I also believe that regardless of the definition of what Hispanic means, it is up to a person to decide how he or she wants to identify.
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ReplyDeleteI’m currently reading “Don Quijote de La Mancha” for this quarter’s ‘Spanish 135: Topics in Early Modern Studies.’ The article on Cervantes’ famous obra presupposes some things about the book without having read it, apparently. For one, nowhere is it posited that “Benengeli” means “eggplant”; the confusion may arise from Sancho’s misstating of the Arabic historian’s name as “Berenjena,” which does mean “eggplant,” upon which don Quijote promptly corrects him. Further, numerous critics have noted many inconsistencies in the book that contradict its supposed verisimilude. For example, if Cide Hameti Benengeli is a historian, why is he writing about don Quijote’s expeditions no more than a month after La Primera Parte is complete (since in the beginning of La Segunda Parte, which continues one month after the first part ends, the bachillerato Sansón reports to Quijote that a man named Cervantes has authored La Primera Parte which is already published and being enjoyed by many)? With this and more unstated inconsistencies remaining in the published work, I personally find it difficult to focus even on the Cervantes’ subtle criticisms of Spain’s contemporary environment of fierce nationalism. He seems to go back and forth, in one part praising the pork-salting renown of Quijote’s lady love, while in others displaying careful sympathy for the very Arabs who cost him his arm in the decisive Battle at Lepanto.
ReplyDeleteRelating to the article “Are Filipinos Hispanic?” I feel that Filipinos can legitimately identify as Hispanic if they choose. After the conquest of the Philippines in 1565, Filipinos gained Hispanic culture. This is similar to how the people in the Iberian Peninsula identified with the Romans after it was conquered and developed into Hispania. When a country is conquered, it evidently gains the customs and culture of its new leaders. As a result of Hispania’s control of the Philippines for over 300 years, many Filipinos today still carry Hispanic surnames. Therefore, it is accurate to say that they have Spanish ancestry. Although it is true that many Filipinos do not speak Spanish or practice Spanish customs, they can still trace back to Hispanics. Because of Hispania’s control of the Philippines for so long, I do not think that it is possible for Filipinos to ignore the heritage that they gained from Hispania and only identify themselves as being of solely Asian descent.
ReplyDeleteJazmin Henderson
This week's articles related for the most part on stereotypes that we have about different things/ideas. Such as the articles about Filipinos being Hispanic. I found this article very related to week 1 article about what defines a Latino, too. The article gives the definition of Hispanic as it is known by the US census but also states that their is another section for people from the Philippines under the Asian American category. Hence, it can be said that they are not Hispanic. But they also state that one of the definitions for Hispanic is having a Spanish background and the Philippines was reigned by Spain for over 300 years. therefore, proving that Filipinos could call themselves Hispanic. Another article that talked about Stereotypes was the article about the siestas. I found it interesting because I had heard about that stereotype and thought it was true. I thought it was interesting to know that the Germans are the ones to nap the most throughout the day. Lastly, I enjoyed the article about Don Quixote. I have not read this book thoroughly but I did read parts of it for a high school spanish class. When I was reading it back then I thought the author had gone nuts. But as I read about it in this article I was very impressed. Something that really stood out to me was how the author was able to characterize the people of this time. "A moor she is in costume and in body, but in her soul, she is thoroughly Christian." it made me see the connection that the history of Spain has had in comparison to conversos.
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic Monarchs shifted the focus of Spain into more of an empirical force. This being said, the country as a whole is focused on expanding its cultural influences to various parts of the world that were opened up due to Columbus’ voyage of 1492. One example is the Manila Galleon that lasted for over 250 years connecting Asia to America and vice-versa. From this trading route, many Filipinos adopted the culture of Spain since the Philippines was conquered by Spain and named after King Philip II. Therefore, the article on “Are Filipinos Hispanics?” is quite interesting due to the previous conquest by the Spanish crown. There is no distinct answer to the question since someone needs to decide that for himself. Many historical influences are evident in the Philippines today, that may be an indicator that there is some type of Hispanic heritage present. Furthermore, Tagalog (the Filipino language) has many Spanish (Castilian) words and years of intermarriage has resulted in Filipinos with Spanish roots, as well. The Spanish siesta, mentioned in the “Stereotypes” article, is also a beloved pastime of most Filipinos - furthering the relationship between both cultures. But, it is up to the individual to decide what his national identity is.
ReplyDeleteThis week in lecture we focused on the issues and benefits of Spanish expansion and how Iberian literature was key to the golden age. In class we discussed Spanish expansion through Latin America and Asia, thus as Spaniards established in the Philippines more trade routes such as Manila-Acapulco were established, which made Manila the greatest Spanish location in the east. Moreover, as a consequence of the colonization of different regions in other continents the cultural identity of such regions was affected. Therefore, considering the fact that Spanish presence lasted more than 300 years in the Philippines some Filipinos are seen as Hispanic, despite the fact that the Philippines are located in Asia. During this time period Spain was expanding too much and was fighting several wars, which exhausted its resources. In addition to this, the mass deportation of Muslims also contributed to Spanish decline, given that an important part of the economic force was expelled and depopulation worsened. The impact of the expulsion of Muslims is shown in the famous story “Don Quixote” by Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra, who alludes to Muslim and Jewish culture. However, the relevance of this story is also due to the fact that Cervantes’ work was part of the Golden Age, in which was crucial to Spanish status as a culturally rich society.
ReplyDeleteI have never contemplated the origin of people who classify themselves as "Filipino/a". Based solely on looks and the use of the word, I would have guessed their origin dates back to a form of Asian rule. Little did I know until this class that it dates to Spanish power. The article "Are Filipinos Hispanic" tells of that connection (assuming it is already known by the reader) and extends on whether Filipinos would even prefer to be classified as such. It seems that their language, looks, and likely more importantly, their ideals have changed much from the time of Spanish power.
ReplyDeleteThe article I found most intriguing this week was "Regarding Cervantes." Despite the fact that Don Quixote is widely regarded today as one of the most classic examples of Spanish literature, it is interesting to see that Cervantes actually joked about the origin of the story not being Spanish at all, but rather Arabic. While the article does refute this possibility, it is actually feasible in that the Spanish empire was so widespread and encompassed a lot of Arab culture.
ReplyDeleteWhat is also interesting about this article is how it explains Cervantes' views on Spanish Imperialism and how he incorporates it into the story. In lecture, because we are studying the Spanish history from a broad point of view, we tend to see a glorified version of how deftly Spain was able to expand its empire. However, this article shows that Cervantes was a soldier who did not fully support the Spanish empire's expansion and had bad experiences when fighting in the Spanish wars. Cervante's rather negative opinions that came out of these experiences were then put into Don Quixote in a more comedic sense to disguise the blatant critique of the glorification of war and "caballeros." This article from the opposite point of view provides a nice contrasting perspective to what we've been learning about in lecture.
“Are Filipinos Hispanic?” I think so and at least here at UCLA’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, it seems that the majority of people agree. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has a program called CEED or the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity. Undergraduate students are picked from the pool of incoming freshmen and are extended an invitation to join CEED along with their acceptance letters; the catch is that only students with a “minority” status are allowed in. How is this relevant? Well, a student who identifies as white American or Asian American is not extended an invitation; however, a student who identifies as Filipino is. The school itself has recognized that not only are Filipinos not exactly Asian, but that they are also deserving of the minority status alongside African Americans, Native Americans, and other Hispanic students. (Note: in this case the minority status means more that these groups lack heavy representation in the STEM fields than anything else). Taking a more surface look at things, if one looks at the average Filipino person, he or she doesn’t look exactly Asian; they tend to be darker and wider, aspects which stereotypically are not attributed to Asian races. So it makes sense for them to claim some sort of Hispanic heritage, it isn’t just in their history and culture, but in their blood as well. They may not be full blown Hispanics, but it is there, and many people recognize it.
ReplyDeleteClaire Lemieux:
ReplyDeleteThis week’s article about the effect of inbreeding on the Habsburg dynasty ties in very nicely with the Professor’s points in lecture today of how the expulsion of the Jews and the moriscos influenced the decline of Spain. The Telegraph article discusses all of the abnormalities which occurred in the Habsburg royal family as a result of inter-familial marriage over generations. Although I had heard of the “Habsburg chin” and knew that Charles II had medical problems which are commonly understood to be the result of in-breeding, I did not know the extent of his problems, or that the infant mortality rate of the royals was as high as one in two. I think that this article relates well to the Professor’s discussion of how Spain’s policy of expulsion of religious and racial minorities in order to achieve a homogenous society contributed to it’s decline. Not only was Spain eliminated needed bodies (as their population was declining anyway during this time because of war and plagues), but, because of the cultural association between Jews and business, it was working specifically against the “scientific and financial spirit” needed for success in the developing world. The Habsburgs unwittingly engineered their own biological dead end through a mistaken value in bloodline, just as the state worked toward its own decline through discriminatory policies.
I have to start with saying that Cervantes is one of my favorite authors. Don Quixote is the greatest novel ever written. One of the articles discussed issues brought up about Cervantes and his story of how he did not write the novel himself does seem difficult t belief. I have read both parts of Don Quixote and Cervantes has a good reason to make up that he didn't write the novel. Don Quixote is more than a comedy about an Hidalgo who read too many chivalry books; it gives critiques and insight about the Monarchy and Spain as a united nation. Cervantes criticizes the conquest of Spain, the monarchy, and many social and religious aspects of Spain. Sancho Pansa can be a symbol for Spain. Spain might seen sane but its not the perfect nation that Spaniards seem to believe it is. Additionally, I found the article about Charles II very interesting. It was a repetition of Torrecilla spoke of in lecture, nonetheless, it makes an important point. I think Charles the second doesn't look right, he looks creepy. Up until the discovery that having children amongst family brought deformed, problematic children, many nobles married to family.
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