THEMES/QUESTIONS for Jose Vasconcelos Reading mestizaje
1.“fifth race,” “synthetic race,” “fusion”; the future
2. How does he feel about Spain and/or the “Iberian” (Spanish & Portuguese) influences in Latin America?
3. How does he feel about England/Northern Europe/Anglo-Saxons and/or white Americans? Does he think of the English and/or the Anglo-dominant U.S. is bad? Where do whites fit into his “fifth race”?
4. How does he feel about Latin American independence movements of 1800s? (“provincialism” vs. pan-Latin-American unity)
5. “personal taste,” sex, love, interracial relationships
6. What do you find to be racist?
7. What do you find to be anti-racist?