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Race & Class in Latin America

Thursday, June 29, 2023 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Elizabeth Shesko, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of History – Oakland University 

How many people in Latin America are Indigenous? And how many are of African descent? Professor Shesko will illuminate why these seemingly simple questions are impossible to answer for this region and why class traditionally has been a more salient divide than race. In the 16th century, Europeans, Africans and the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and the Andes laid the foundations of what we now call Latin America. Extensive mixing among these groups created a society characterized by racial, cultural and religious hybridity. However, although Latin American countries have historically taken pride in lack of racial conflict, the correlation between race and class is strong, with people in poorer areas more likely to be of Indigenous or African descent. 

Location:
Birmingham Next