At left, the topic of a lecture on politics and, at right, a Diego Rivera painting depicting ancient Aztec healers
Speaking of... transboundary politics, curanderismo, civil war
(Sept. 23, 2002)--Several speakers will offer presentations this week on a wide range of topics including citizenship and identity in an increasingly denationalized world, and ancient healing practices, while a UTSA faculty member will be interviewed on KLRN-TV in connection with the rebroadcast of the renowned Ken Burns documentary "The Civil War."
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The UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts Cultural Studies Lecture Series opens with Saskia Sassen, University of Chicago professor and London School of Economics visiting professor, speaking on "Urban and Digital Space: Toward a Transboundary Politics" at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 25 in the Humanities and Social Sciences Building Room 2.01.30 at the 1604 Campus. The lecture concerns issues of citizenship and identity in an increasingly globalized, denationalized political culture rich with an intersection of ethnic traditions.
Sassen is the Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, and Centennial Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics. She is currently completing her forthcoming book, "Denationalization: Economy and Polity in a Global Digital Age," based on her five-year project on governance and accountability in a global economy.
Her most recent books are "Guests and Aliens" and her edited book "Global Networks/Linked Cities." "The Global City" was published in an updated edition in 2001. Her books have been translated into ten languages. She is co-director of the Economy Section of the Global Chicago Project, a member of the National Academy of Sciences Panel on Urban Data Sets, a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and chair of the newly formed Information Technology, International Cooperation and Global Security Committee of the SSRC.
For more information, contact Billy Weitzel at (210) 458-5347.
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Sponsored by the Division of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies and Downtown Campus Activities, a discussion by local traditional healers, "Spirituality and Healing: Curanderismo at Work in San Antonio" will be presented 6:30-8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 26 at the UTSA Downtown Campus Frio Street Building Room 1.402. The event is part of Latino Heritage Week.
The panel, Charlene Beecham, Jacinto Madrigal, Jo Ann Ramos,
Berta Valdez and Lizzie Brieno, are long-standing healers within
the community primarily on San Antonio's West Side. They will be introduced
by Elizabeth De La Portilla, assistant professor of education and human
development, who is working with the group to research the ancient healing
techniques. De La Portilla will give a description of curanderismo, and then
facilitate the discussion.
Curanderismo has its origin in the indigenous medical, religious and botanical systems in place in Central America at the time of the Spanish invasion. The existing practices and philosophy were coupled with those brought by the Spaniards, and the practice of curanderismo as it is currently known began. The tradition is flexible and adaptive and has survived and flourished for over 500 years.
Over time substitutions of plants and ritual materials have occurred, but its philosophical foundation remains unchanged: The body must be in harmony in order to be in good health. The body is composed of four aspects: the mental, the physical, the spiritual and the emotional. If any of these aspects is disrupted then illness is possible.
A curandera or curandero works to bring a person back into harmony to make
them well and whole once again. In San Antonio, there are approximately 200
curandera/os actively healing in the community. One of the presenters, Jacinto
Madrigal, is a yerbero, or herbalist, who grows the medicinal plants that
healers and non-healers use in ritual and as medicine.
For more information, contact Elizabeth De La Portilla at (210) 458-2632 or the Division of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies at (210) 458-4426.
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Civil War specialist Patrick Kelly, UTSA assistant professor of history, recorded an interview Friday with KLRN-TV that will accompany a repeat showing of Ken Burn's "The Civil War." The interview will air 10:30-11 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 26.
Kelly received his doctorate in history from New York University. His book,
"Creating a National Home: Culture, Politics and the Building of Veterans'
Welfare State, 1865-1900," was published by Harvard University Press
in 1997. His current project on Texas during the Civil War era is supported
by a UTSA faculty development leave and an NEH "Extending the Reach"
faculty research fellowship.
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Speaking of... transboundary politics, curanderismo, civil war
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2002