Carolyn: Website on Current Events

By Carolyn Kloecker



I recently came across a very interesting website called www.upsidedownworld.org. I was researching for a paper on Obama's policies in Latin America, and some articles on this website came up at the top of the list. The site is a compelation of articles regarding "Activism and Politics in Latin America". I find this very relaevant to cultural studies of Spanish-speaking countries, and much of the information comes from Latin American countries themselves, rather than U.S. news sources.

Although I did find a few of the articles very opinionated, I did not see this as a bad thing, as one might in other forms of news. I was very interested in the opinions of the writers and how they would back up their opinions. For example, in an article about what Obama "promises" in Latin America (http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1597/1), I was surprised to find critiques of the President-Elect, as I thought he would present a positive change to the Bush administration in the eyes of Latin Americans or Latinos. But this article noted how his choices in advisors were actually continuing the cycle of U.S. hegemony in the hemisphere. I found some of these points interesting, and it made me take a new look at our soon-to-be President (although I am very supportive of almost all of his policies, including his openness to talk to other world leaders).

Also see a previous post about Obama -http://spanishandillinois.blogspot.com/2008/12/globalization101org.html

Another article on the subject:

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