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Dr. Silvia Escanilla Huerta joins Eric and Rob to talk about the best ways to teach Colonial Latin American History.  Dr. Escanilla Huerta is a professor at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a scholar of Latin America, who was born and raised in Argentina. She specializes in the process of Independence in Peru and Bolivia, focusing on Indigenous Peoples and Political History.   She has published several book chapters and articles in journals such as American Hispanic Historical Review and Revista de Indias.  Silvia provides three core concepts to help teachers frame this era.  First, she explains that it is critical to teach pre-Hispanic history.  Colonialism unfolded in the midst of complex indigenous societies with unique political, economic, and social systems which shaped the structures of colonial society. Second, teachers should represent indigenous people as savvy legal actors whose knowledge and actions significantly influenced colonial regimes.  Activists worked to resist oppressive policies and applied their knowledge of both indigenous and Spanish law to protect the interests of their people.  Third, teachers should not present the Latin American wars for independence as solely the effort of Creole elites.  Women, indigenous people, and people of African descent played critical roles in the struggles and sought to use the conflicts to obtain new rights and opportunities.  

Lesson Plans and resources:

The “Colonial Latin American History” lesson can be found at https://bit.ly/4uj3AHI

The “Updating the Story of Latin American Independence “ lesson can be found at https://bit.ly/3Nrna47

A list of resources and books recommended by Dr. Escanilla Huerta can be found at https://bit.ly/4rWRJNY

Credits

Opening theme music, “Bossa Bossa,” created by Clare Howard www.clarehoward.com  Music supported by the National Council for History Education www.ncheteach.org

Transition theme music, “The Clock is Ticking,” created by Emily Hahn.

Logo artwork created by Jessica Goldman.

Shit I Have to Teach in 20 Minutes is produced by Eric Hahn and Rob Good.  Audio and video editing by Sebastian Rosales.

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