Florencia E. Mallon

A very detailed look at the relationship between national movements and peasant classes in Mexico and Peru. Mexico is the more interesting look as she compares the national agenda with peasant action. She goes into, at times, excruciating detail. The main gist is that peasants became part of the process while necessary, but were marginalized by the central players once the consolidated power. She also looks at local power structures and regional self-identification. It is an interesting, but show more often difficult to get through, analysis. Really only worth it if you are interested specifically in Mexico or Peru. show less

"...an interdisciplinary collection that grapples with the racial and ethnic politics of knowledge production and indigenous activism in the Americas. It analyzes the relationship of language to power and empowerment, and advocates for collaborations between community members, scholars, and activists that prioritize the rights of Native peoples to decide how their knowledge is used. The contributors—academics and activists, indigenous and nonindigenous, from disciplines including history, show more anthropology, linguistics, and political science—explore the challenges of decolonization. "-- from publisher's web site show less