Lunch Lecture - Gema Kloppe-Santamaría (History)

Violence, modernity, and political distrust in post-revolutionary Mexico

In this talk, I will discuss how political distrust contributed shaping people’s explosive and violent reactions to the state’s efforts to modernize rural communities in post-revolutionary Mexico. In particular, I will focus on a series of lynchings and riots organized against doctors, engineers, teachers, and other state representatives from the 1930s to the 1950s, which took place in the context of state-sponsored sanitation and literacy campaigns, secularization projects, and the building of public infrastructure. In tune with the theme of “trust” I will reflect on the cultural, political, and historical reasons informing people’s distrust in the state and in the type of modernity envisioned by political and economic elites in post-revolutionary Mexico.   

The event is scheduled as a face-to-face event in compliance with 3G rules and the university's Corona regulations. Participants must be either fully vaccinated, tested (PCR-Test not older than 48h) or recovered. The terms of attendance may be subject to change depending on current regulations
(https://uni-freiburg.de/universitaet/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/CoronaVO.pdf).

All current information regarding the event series and participation will be posted at www.frias.uni-freiburg.de