The people

I found Evita Peron's reading to be much easier to follow than the previous two readings and enjoyed it more, however I did not get who are the people. This reading seems to be very personal, political and emotional. We can take a look at what she thinks about the people, the military, the church, the upper class and other things. From what she is saying, it seems that the people are a just a bunch of lower/working class men and women, "descamisados", who are ignorant about whats around them and she is the one who will take care of them and she knows whats best for them. She identifies with them and rejects the oligarchy or the upper class and military whom she regards as oppressors of the people. She is a fanatic of the people and of her husband of whom she has nothing but good things to say. However, I think that she goes too far in praising him. Some actually think that My Message was not written by her and by someone else. I like the point she made about religion when she said that religion shoud be "the liberation of the people" however it seems that this is not the case since it has been religion the cause of many wars and people suffering around the world and especially the middle east.

What is Culture?

Trying to define culture can be a very hard task because I guess nobody really knows what it is. Everybody has a different definition for culture and so to come up with a precise definition of culture would be someting very difficult. From the first reading by Williams I liked how he said that culture is "ordinary" and that it is everywhere and not only in museums or teashops or elite schools or as being part only of high education. Culture is ordinary. Everybody has a different definition to what culture is.

I liked more the second reading as it was more about anthropology. Last semester I took a class about anthropology in Latin America and we were taught how anthropologists would go there and do their research, some of them already with preconceived notions which were mostly negative, some labelling these cultures as "primitve" ones. Also I got to see how this anthropologists had a role in shaping outsiders views about these cultures and how they can help these cultures in their different struggles. Anyway, what I liked most about this reading was Keesing's radical alterity notion. I would agree with Jean Sebastien when he said that most people ditinguishes themselves from others in order to find the uniqueness of their own culture. When I go on trips and later come back I can't help but to compare and think of the differences that I or my culture has with others. I guess it's just natural for us to do this.