So, this is what Frances told me that had happened to her at the Student Organization Fair last month.
At the 'Dores to China' booth--
Frances: So is this org only for Chinese students?
Person in Charge: Yes.

THAT, IS NOT TRUE!

Okay, Dores to China is service organization founded 2 years ago that aims at connecting families that have adopted kids from China to Chinese students at Vanderbilt. In this way, the kids can be introduced to their heritage, maintain close ties with their native country and build a unique cultural identity. Most of the children we are working with are in kindergarten or pre-school. We organize events throughout the year to involve kids and parents in games so they can have fun while learning more about China.
We do try to draw as many Chinese students as possible to the group to serve as a source of information to the families. But the group is definitely not exclusive!
We would like to get as many people involved as possible. Basically, anyone interested in the well-being of children is welcome! And this year, I expect to see a very diverse group of students involved. Hint: all the bloggers here!
This year, i happen to be one of the event coordinators of this group. Coming up next Sunday 2nd Oct. is our first event of the year-- Chinese National Day celebration! (Because our national day is the 1st of Oct) Our theme this year is the unity of all ethnic groups in China.
We're doing a mini drama introducing the 56 ethnic groups in China. Well, not all of them. And then we'll show videos of Chinese children's songs related to different ethnic groups. After that, we'll have a fun fair with several game booths and snacks!
In late Octobor we'll have our annual event with free homemade chinese cuisine! We're cooking noodles with bean curd sauce and vegetables, a traditional Beijing food.
In November, we're holding a talka and inviting a professor in Peabody College of Vanderbilt Univeristy to share her experience in raising children adopted from China. It's gonna be very informative for parents and families who have adopted and who are planning on adopting children.
So, that's about it. See you all at the fun fair next weekend!

Hey,

It's John here.  I figured I'd start today's post by explaining a little more about myself, and particularly what my studies entail and how I intend to contribute to this project.  If you’re not particularly interested in this, by all means skip down a few paragraphs to where I elaborate on the process of religious conversion in Mexico after the Spanish Conquest.

     From ages 4-9, I was convinced I would become a paleontologist.  On career days, I’d draw a picture of myself in typical dig clothes (in the fashion of Michael Crichton’s Alan Grant), standing over a giant hole with a dinosaur skeleton at the bottom.  Most of the vacations I remember from my childhood involve my parents indulging me by taking me to dinosaur sites across the U.S. and Canada.  We even bought t-shirts in multiple sizes from the Royal Tyrrell dinosaur museum in Alberta so we wouldn’t have to go back every time I grew larger.  I wore a T-rex shirt purchased ten years ago to my first Mayan Archaeology class this year.

     But these plans all changed when my family took me to Mexico for the first time.  We flew into Cancun, a city that most Americans never leave when they visit Mexico.  My parents, however, much preferred renting a car and traveling up and down the Yucatan peninsula, getting off the highway every time a sign appeared which said “Las Ruinas.”  Because of this, my first experience in Mexico involved very little time at the beach, but tons of time spent wandering around the ruins of Uxmal, climbing the then accessible “Piramide del Castillo” in Chichen Itza, and attempting to photograph every single lizard in the Yucatan Peninsula.  From then on, I’ve wanted to be an archaeologist, and nearly ten years later I’m here at Vanderbilt, majoring in Anthropology and Spanish.

     Along with Luke, I intend to study the effects of global conquest on both the conquering nations and those who are conquered.  Naturally, in this project I’m probably going to spend a lot of time dwelling on Mexico and Central America.  I’ve already taken an amazing writing seminar on the conquest of the Aztecs, and as I mentioned before, I’m currently studying Mayan civilization.  However, my research will also focus on more recent effects of conquest as well, such as the reign of Genghis Khan and the United States’ belief in manifest destiny.

Religious Conversion in Nahua Society

Today I thought I’d share some of my research on the process of religious conversion in Mexico after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec civilization.  One of the first questions worth considering when discussing conquered societies is whether or not their ideologies were challenged by the conquering parties.  In some cases, religious beliefs are allowed to remain intact as long as tribute is paid and the subjects submit to the will of their conquerors.  Unfortunately for the Aztecs, however, the entire Spanish conquest was performed under the pretense of serving the Lord’s will.  Once the conquistadores were through fighting indigenous armies, plundering cities, and overthrowing local leaders, Mexico became home to a number of Spanish missions, and the process of religious conversion was underway.

                However, even while under the rule of their Spanish conquerors, the Aztec proved remarkably adept at subtly resisting a complete conversion to Christianity.  Below are some examples of the difficulties of religious conversion in the new world:

1.  Difficulties in Translation

Before the Spaniards could hope to indoctrinate the Aztecs, they first needed to develop an understanding of the Aztec language, Nahuatl.  Unfortunately, the Spanish friars soon realized that Nahuatl lacks a number of key words in understanding Christian teachings, including “sin,” “virginity,” and a Christian version of “Hell.”  Aztec society did not focus on a battle between good and evil, but rather a balance of chaos and order.  This made the concept of immorality and sin very difficult for the Spaniards to explain to the conquered Aztecs.  Also, the Aztecs believed that the majority of people were destined to inhabit the underworld, with only people who died in very specific circumstances (drowning, lightning strike, death of a sexually pure warrior in battle, etc.) being allowed to enter a world similar to the Christian heaven.

2.  Assignment of Responsibilities in the Church

In order to make Christianity more appealing to the natives, the friars appointed certain Aztecs to various positions with the church.  Aztec priests were encouraged to study Christianity and retain their original positions (Aztec priests already practiced celibacy).  Aztecs were also appointed as fiscales, who managed many of the financial aspects of church organization.  Many Aztecs were more than willing to accept these positions, but their motives were not of a very Christian nature.  Corruption was common amongst the fiscales; families were excessively charged for funeral procedures, and children in catechism classes were sometimes asked to bring their residing fiscal maize.

3.  Aztec Assistance in the Translation of Religious Texts

Because the Spaniards had such a poor understanding of Nahua language, Aztecs who also knew Spanish were often enlisted to assist in the translation of various religious texts.  These Aztecs often managed to sneak subtle references to their old religious beliefs into these translations.  For example, one translator describing the conversion of Paul mentioned a man who “swept the roads that led to heaven.”  This is not included in the original text, and this is most likely a reference to the priestly duty of sweeping in the temples.  The Aztecs were also encouraged to write plays which focused on religious themes.  However, recent studies have uncovered subtle references to Aztec religious beliefs as well as outright mockery of the Spanish conquerors.

I have written more about this subject, and if this is something you are interested in, I encourage you to check out my full paper, which also includes some helpful references.  Louise Burkhart has some great writings about the Aztec plays.   The Process of Religious Conversion in Nahua Society

A Quick Foodie Thought

My grandmother and I have a lot in common. We're about the same height, and enjoy swapping stories about the people we love. Furthermore, we both love the kitchen, and tend to catch things on fire while cooking. What we're making when the stove top starts flaming, and where its recipe originated, however, are where we become rather different.

My grandmother's stash of recipes is primarily handwritten. Those recipes originate from women in her family line and very dear friends. The recipes are great, and largely American. Cookies, pot pie, casseroles, quickie pancakes, and similar classic American dishes abound. Similarly, there are a few Italian and British recipes, like lasagna and scones, passed down from the countries her parents and in-laws immigrated from. Overall, the recipes are delicious, but focus on American, Italian, and British food heritage.

I, on the other hand, am a very different case. When I was in middle school, my mother's recipe shelf was the grandest recipe library imaginable. A few years later, I discovered the internet. The world of food opened up to me. I'm no longer dependent on the wisdom of my ancestors or neighbors for whether to flip an omelet or not, or how to keep my pie crust from sticking. I don't have to trudge to the library to dig up a cookbook, which may or may not be there, from a different country if I've developed an interest in foreign food.  I can look up an easy sugar cookie recipe on an online recipe website that may have been posted by someone stateside, or in a different country. I can go to a cuban food blog to find an authentic recipe for tamales, something I guarantee has never been made in my grandmother's kitchen. When a friend of mine came home from spending two years in Argentina, she spent a lot of time on From Argentina, With Love, to make the food she missed eating. The popular epicurious.com has a segment dedicated to international food. Allrecipes.com's recipe of the day is Babka, a Polish bread.

Overall, time and technology make food preparation a more global experience. Whether it's making a classic you already love from an online recipe posted by someone in a foreign country, or easily satiating a curiosity about foreign foods via the internet, or even having those foreign dishes brightly advertised on your favorite recipe website, the Internet allows cooks all over the world to come together and share their craft.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. -George Santayana

Welcome to the Official “It’s a Small World: Globalization Through the Ages” Blog.  We intend, through a variety of mediums (blogposts, seminars, etc) to convey how various historical topics and trends are necessary for understanding phenomena as large as the Global Village we live in today, and our own private lives.

This blog will showcase our research, events, and day-to-day discoveries. As a group of ten eleven individuals, we’ll be combining our skills and interests to provide you with knowledge about historical trends and their worldwide tendencies.

Cast:
Samantha: This year, I’ll be joining forces with Rachael and studying the globalization of food. Yes, this is an excuse to eat. It’s also quenching my endless curiosity pertaining to where everything that I eat originates. I mean, who came up with the idea of pink lemonade? Why have all the cafes on campus started serving paninis instead of sandwiches? I need answers.
Rachael: I love cats. I love every kind of cat. I just want to hug all of them, but I can't! Can't hug every cat.
Linda: I'm from Hong Kong and I'd lived in Germany for a year when I was in kindergarten. I'm a child studies major and possibly double-majoring in special education. I love kids. I love every one of them. I just want to hug all of them, and I can!
Bryce:  I have trained for a year and a half in mixed martial arts and am the president of the Vanderbilt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club.  I will cover the expansion of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from its origin in Judo martial arts taught in Japan to its international recognition.
Frances: I am a Child Development and Cognitive Studies Major. I am interested in learning how the brain works, and I love babies! Also, I am originally from Nairobi, Kenya but have lived in the U.S. since 1999. Hamsters are cool, too. I’m also a scorpio and enjoy long walks in the park ;) hehe
Patrick Eads: A math and computer science major (that is also very sensitive). I enjoy the analytical and philosophical sides of history as we study intellectual movements that resulted in world change. "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9
Luke Miksanek: I'm currently an undecided major, but as a matter of fact, I'm leaning towards history or classical studies. I enjoy movies, junk food, and anything considered old-fashioned.
John Sims-Jones: I’m double majoring in anthropology and Spanish. Throughout the project I will be focusing on patterns of global conquest, with a special focus on the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
Jose Rodriguez: Hello, World. I'm Jose Rodriguez, and I'm studying Mechanical Engineering. I live in the Cave, and I ride a bike that has a human name.
Xaralambos Papadatos: Ξέρετε τι είσαστε; Ανόιτι. Εντάξη, δέν είσαστε, άλλα δέν θα σας αγγαλιάσω. Anyway, I'm Double majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical engineering. An avid fan of Lovecraft, Valve, and lurking, I will be examining how trade has affected globalization, and what effect it may have in the future.
Nell: Dzień dobry i pozdrowienie z Polsce! I'm majoring in anthropology. I'm that crazy girl who decided to study abroad the minute I finished my first year, so I'm in Poland! Expect to see current examples of globalization from me, as well as some stuff on the USSR and its effects on the world, specifically Eastern Europe.