Final Reflections

I really enjoyed this class. I knew that I had some interest in learning about Mexican history because, like Native Americans, they are indigenous people. There are many straightforward parallels that can be drawn between the two groups, despite the fact that a large part of society does not see the Mexican race as positively. I feel that I have learned a large part of Mexican history by being engrossed by the art. I think this may be the best way to learn a country’s history–it is certainly the most interesting. I am glad to say this class has made me a more cultured and aware person.

Finding Sources

Finding sources for my final paper was particularly exciting because I got to use the resources in Rauner. Rauner is my favorite library because of the wide range of information available in their collection.

I visited Rauner library as a prospective student and it helped influence my choice of coming to Dartmouth. I found that the librarians were eager to help find anything you were interested in. When I came to them with my final paper topic they were just as willing to help as when I came to them as a prospective student. This was my first time using Rauner a research resource.

I think it is a great experience to be able to dig through primary documents. I found many on my topic because of its particular relevance to this campus. Some of the most useful pieces have been old correspondence between the president at the time and alumni.

Deciding On A Research Topic

For the majority of the term the research paper has been in the back of my mind. We covered multiple chapters covering “Los Tres Grandes” and how they connected to larger movements in society. However, none of their paintings seemed particularly inspirational in terms of something to write about for the final research topic. What has been interesting to me, however, has been the idea of the indigenous identity. Everything I have written for this class has been infused with the idea of indigenous identity or mestizaje (mixed raced). I found that it is something that naturally ties into the course and each response paper. Being an indigenous person, I can personally relate to the messages the images convey. Because of this, I am genuinely interested in writing about each topic.

One day in class the Hovey Murals were mentioned and I didn’t know what they were. I was intrigued because I wasn’t aware of their existence. The Hovey Murals depict Native Americans in a racist and sexist manner which is why they are censored to an extent. I thought it was interesting that there was a second mural on campus that few people are aware of. This sparked my idea for a research paper. I would analyze censorship and authorization of art using the two murals as an example. When I found out the Hovey Murals were a response to the Orozco murals, a third dimension of my paper was added. I would talk about how art speaks for an official culture (why one censored while the other is proudly displayed).