Break into small groups of four (5 groups total). Each group should discuss a different question and then share results with the entire class.
1) What role did “whitening” play in the construction of Latin American identity? Discuss with your group a possible definition of this term.
2) Discuss with your group the following terms: creole, Indian, black, mestizo or mulato. Who were the coolies? What was their social status in Cuba? Describe the relationship between “coolies” and slaves.
3) How did the creoles see themselves? How did they justify their monopoly of power?
4) What role did science play in establishing the idea of race? Discuss with your group the contributions of Darwin and Gustave Le Bon.
5) Why did the authors of this book choose to discuss as their case studies Argentina and Cuba? Spend some time discussing the most important differences in the evolution of the social and political structures of both countries.
6) Who was Jose Marti?
7) What role did the “idea of race” play in the consolidation of a Cuban or Argentine identity? What do the authors mean when they say that “Cuba had many qualities that could have led to a different project
8) What characteristics did Carlos Octavio Bunge see in indigenous people? What did the term “Oriental fatalism” seek to explain? What happened to the indigenous population of Argentina?
9) What role would immigration play, according to Bunge, in regenerating creoles?
10) What does “eugenesis” and “eugenics” mean?
11) What did Afro-Cuban intellectuals do in order to reclaim their rightful role in society?
