Wednesday, January 29,
2014
124
Sparks, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m
124 Sparks, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m
Cultivating Dismodernity: The Meanings of Maize
and
Agricultural Development in
Mexico’s Central Highlands
Emma Gaalaas Mullaney, Penn State
Agricultural
development programs in Mexico have been consistently pushing for the
replacement of traditional maize cultivars with “improved”, “modern”
scientifically-bred
varieties for over 70
years, and yet the overwhelming majority of Mexican maize area remains planted
with farmer-bred varieties to this day. The country’s Central Highland region
is home to some of the
world’s foremost centers of maize research, and also to maize-cultivating
peasant communities that, though oriented to commercial production, consistently
decline to cultivate
commercial seed in favor of diverse varieties that they have maintained for
generations. Drawing on ethnographic research and oral histories with local
maize
farmers, agricultural
extension agents, and research scientists, this talk will explore how
conflicting and contextually-inflected interpretations of modernity and
tradition have shaped
the agricultural
landscape in a region where maize is a primary source of food security,
livelihood, cultural identity, and biodiversity.
Emma Gaalaas Mullaney
is a dual-degree PhD Candidate in Geography and Women’s Studies. Her
dissertation research has been made possible by support from the National
Science Foundation,
the Society of Women Geographers, the Institute of International Education
Boren Fellowship Program, Specialty Groups of the Association of American
Geographers, the Center for Global
Studies, and several other departments and institutes at Penn State. Since
2010, Emma has also served as a Youth Delegate to the United Nations Convention
on Biological Diversity
(CBD) and Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
This lecture is a part
of the Center for Global Studies Brown Bag Graduate Lecture Series which
focuses on interdisciplinary graduate research.
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