History - A band of guerillas has settled into a mountainous region

History 20 question for final exam  

A band of guerillas has settled into a mountainous region of Bellamy, a nation somewhere in the Western Hemisphere. They have a long list of grievances concerning the mistreatment of regional inhabitants by the government of Bellamy and, in particular, want to put an end to Bellamy’s sponsorship of foreign investment in their homeland. They claim that this kind of development will either drive people off the land or force them to work at low wages and under harsh conditions for outsiders who care nothing about their culture, their rights, or their well-being. These outsiders are there for one reason - to turn natural resources into money. The rebels seek to organize inhabitants of the region into a movement capable of changing the government’s policies and defending their right to live as they have always lived on the land.

You are an expert on the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas. The revolutionaries in Bellamy have read your writings on the movement in Chiapas and seek your advice on how they might gain the support of the people and wage an effective campaign against the Bellamian government and its foreign backers. They have asked you to produce a short (4-5 page!) report on the movement in Chiapas - how it got started, what kind of actions proved effective, what challenges it faced as it strove to achieve its objectives. They are hoping you can enlighten them about the question of leadership (i.e., how to win the trust and respect of people so that they are willing to fight with you; how to gain the support of people in the rest of the nation and around the world) and help them determine which kinds of objectives/goals they should emphasize in their organizing strategies and media campaigns. You are flattered by their invitation and agree to write the report.

4-5 pages, 12-point font, standard margins, double-spaced use the Hayden reader only (no Internet sources allowed) for direct quotes, place page number in parentheses immediately following quote

some suggestions for final essay

 I. another story ... what kind? ... a report - a presentation of information with a practical purpose ... as an expert on a particular historical situation (the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas), you are acting as a consultant - someone who can help plan an operation (in this case, a rebellion)

 II. what information (thus, which readings) are relevant? a. “before we get started, here is a brief summary of what happened in Chiapas” (the plot) --find the readings that give you these details (consult the timeline for the trajectory of the story, but will need other readings as well) ... select only those details (those events) that seem particularly important (don’t want to spend too much time just rehearsing the plot) ... this probably the best place to talk about why this rebellion occurred (what motivated the Zapatistas to take up arms and launch a rebellion)

b. “several factors seem particularly important in any evaluation of the Zapatista’s strategy” (you will have to choose carefully - only a 4-5 page report ... I provide this list to be helpful, don’t expect you can talk in depth about everything that follows ... your task is to incorporate as much information as you can into a coherent report (something that will be helpful to Bellamian rebels)

1. relationship between leaders and Chiapas residents (the indigenous) ... this the subject of many readings and obviously critical to the movement’s success ... how a small group of Marxist intellectuals came to assume the leadership of a mass movement off Indians ... the encounter between two different worldviews (Marxist and indigenous) and how that turned out

2. the appeal of the Zapatistas’ message - to their supporters in Chiapas, to the rest of Mexico, and the rest of the world ... here, you will want to pull some information out of the declarations/speeches of Subcomandante Marcos ... other readings can guide you to important themes/issues in his writings, but you should cite some of them directly ... can use Hayden’s commentary to help you make connections between “1" (above) and “2" (i.e., demonstrate Marcos’ gravitation towards an indigenous perspective) ... what goals/objectives/issues does he emphasize in his various appeals for support and understanding?

3. the role of the media ... a number of readings discuss this ... Zapatistas were savvy in use of various media outlets and platforms ... how did this figure in their success?

 4. how the movement functioned internally ... how decisions were made ... role of women, nature of gender relations in rebel communities ... general tenor and spirit of the movement, as that might be distilled from some of the readings

 5. the role of religion, Catholicism ... some readings emphasize the importance of outreach work done by priests (Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia) in the years leading up to the Zapatista rebellion ... you read an interview with Ruiz ... the Bellamian rebels will need to find a strategy for handling the religious convictions - pagan and Christian - of those they aspire to lead ...

6. your choice ... anything you might have noticed while doing the readings that is not on my list

c. “above all else, it is important that you ... “ (most reports like this end with a summary paragraph that highlights the most important factors ... if the Bellamians are to succeed, what bit of advice should they keep foremost in their minds at all times? ... a nice more here would be to zoom out to issues of general significance - use the readings that address this issue to frame your closing statement

 III. in general

 If you have already come up with your own strategy for organizing this essay, please feel free to pursue it. If you need some help, then here is a workable organizational plan. Whatever you do, make sure you draw on a broad range of readings: a report that is full of information will be more useful than one that is thin, lacking in specifics (vague), or one-dimensional. You want to show off your “expertise” (your familiarity with the required readings).

 required readings:

 "First Declaration from the Lacandon Jungle”

“Second Declaration from the Lacandon Jungle”

“Third Declaration from the Lacandon Jungle"

 "Fourth Declaration from the Lacandon Jungle”

“The Fourth World War has Begun”

"Marcos on Memory and Reality”

“Marcos from the Underground Culture to the Culture of Resistance”

"To The Relatives of the Politically Dispossessed”

 “Do Not Forget Ideas are Also Weapons” Hayden, “Conclusion” (pp. 318-320)