On page 3 of Where the River Ends, Shaylih Muehlmann writes that, “as a result of the 1944 water treaty between the United States and Mexico, 90 percent of the water in the Colorado is diverted before it reaches Mexico.” This is an example of how colonial legacies—here in the form of American economic imperialism—shape the environment. How do such power-laden changes to the surface of the earth shape human lives? One answer is simply that it leads to a lack of resources and poverty. But throughout this course, we’ve seen how changes in one dimension of culture resonate at many levels. This paper asks you to dive more deeply into one such case, and by doing so grasp the ways in which colonial legacies continue to impact indigenous cultures around the world today.
Overview of assignment
Your goal in this paper is to identify how the changes in the Mexican Colorado Delta have impacted a particular area of culture. It is up to you to choose which area of culture you would like to focus on (but your choice should correspond to one of the topics in the class, such as Language, Economics, Race and Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality, Health and Medicine, Environment, etc.). Your paper will draw on Shaylih Muehlmann’s ethnography, Where the River Ends, as a primary source (you should be writing primarily about the Cucapá people as described in the book). You will also draw on the readings and lectures from the course in order to support your argument.
Assignment
Your paper will begin by stating your thesis. After a brief introduction to the context that you are writing about (the Cucapá in northwest Mexico), your paper will move on to identify and describe the dimension of culture you chose. In this part, you should emphasize why the aspect of human life you chose is cultural and not a universal or natural aspect of humanity with reference to specific examples from Muehlmann’s ethnography. Continue from there to give relevant details about this dimension of life as described by Muehlmann.
From there you will show how this dimension of Cucapá culture has been changed or shaped at least partly by the changes to the Colorado River. In this part of your paper, you should draw particularly on Muehlmann’s ethnography, and the Topic that corresponds to the area of culture you chose to focus on. Make sure to define the source of the change and explain clearly how it plays a role first in Cucapá life in general, and then in relation to the specific cultural domain you chose. Your discussion should engage directly with some of our readings on this particular Topic in the course (e.g., Gender and Sexuality, Language, Environment, etc.).
Finally, write a brief concluding section (one short paragraph) where you offer your own thoughts and reflections on your argument above. Just as an example, you might include at least a brief discussion of the relevance of colonialism and its legacy in the form of American imperialism and capitalism (for an example, you might refer to the article we read by Fotiou, and her argument that colonialism has shaped shamanism practices in the Amazon region). Alternatively, you might discuss the response of Cucapá people and how they have engaged with ideas about race and ethnicity. Ultimately, this last section is up to you, and you may choose to take it in the direction that most interests you.
FORMAT:
The paper should be 650-1000 words. Preferably, you should copy and paste the text into Blackboard (I recommend writing in a word processor first to avoid losing your work. When you paste into blackboard, if it asks to retain formatting or not, select “yes.” If that seems problematic, then try “no.” It is not always consistent!!). If you have too much trouble copying and pasting into Blackboard, you may attach a .doc(x) or .pdf file.
Make sure to make all citations explicit in the text and include a separate works cited section at the end. Use AAA or APA style conventions.
