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The role that the media and film industry plays in creating dominant narratives is one that can’t be overstated, and especially so when we’re talking about the cocaine trade. Building upon last week’s readings it was really eye-opening for me to learn about the extent to which the people in Bolivia had a connection with …

Continue reading "Week 5: The Cultural Life of Coca & The Coca War"

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The assigned readings for this week remind me of a course I took last year called Anthropology of Drugs (ANTH 203), where we studied the socio-cultural meanings and constructions of drugs. One of the most important things I learned through this course is that the classification of substances as drugs is highly dependent on cultural, …

Continue reading "Coca, Corridos, and Culture"

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I greatly appreciated this rather short article. It was purely anthropological and did not criminalize coca and by association the people who harvest it, as I find most Western media does. In her abstract, Alison Spedding does note the stigma associated with the plants that narcotics derive from in the U.S., especially in context to… read full post >>

I greatly appreciated this rather short article. It was purely anthropological and did not criminalize coca and by association the people who harvest it, as I find most Western media does. In her abstract, Alison Spedding does note the stigma associated with the plants that narcotics derive from in the U.S., especially in context to… read full post >>

I found Alison Spedding’s article “The Cultural Life of Coca” incredibly interesting. I didn’t realise that there was a cultural significance behind growing coca, I thought it was only a way to earn money. I found the symbolism behind the coca plant so beautiful and meaningful. It started to feel more personal to me sinceContinue reading "Week 5: Drugs" read full post >>

The Cultural Life of Coca and The Coca War While doing these readings I concentrated my thinking on ideas of criminalization and the vilification of Indigenous practices.  The first article “The Cultural Life of Coca” described the practices surrounding coca production, distribution, and consumption. It was interesting to learn about the cultivation process. I wasContinue reading "Week 5: Drugs LAST 201" read full post >>

I am going to apologize in before hand for this blog post turning into a rant. Although I found the readings by Allison Spedding on the Bolivian coca farming really interesting, the only thought that really came to me was how I despise the United States. I cannot understand that because they had failed in […] read full post >>

When I hear “War on Drugs,” I imagine police and military occupying Brazilian’s favelas. Although they say they intend to make the community safer by stopping drug traffic, they end up killing innocent people “by mistake.” In reality, most people killed are Afro-Brazilians who the police and military discriminatorily assume to be a drug dealer.Continuar lendo "“The Coca War” and “The Cultural Life of Coca”" read full post >>

The following two articles were both forms of internal displeasure over the situation. And, a series of reactions from the protagonists. The first article I will discuss is the Cooking Lessons piece where the main character is a female and newly married wife. Her position in the situation speaks and reads melancholic. Throughout the story […] read full post >>

The following two articles were both forms of internal displeasure over the situation. And, a series of reactions from the protagonists. The first article I will discuss is the Cooking Lessons piece where the main character is a female and newly married wife. Her position in the situation speaks and reads melancholic. Throughout the story […] read full post >>