Congratulations! Dr. Regina Harrison
Warm congratulations to Professor Regina Harrison, of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in the SLLC, and of the Program of Comparative Literature, for being elected as a "Vocal" (Member of the Board) of the Instituto Internacional de Literatura Iberoamericana-Revista Iberoamericana. A prestigious literary organization that is over sixty years in existence, IILI was formed to promote cultural relations among the peoples of the Americas. Professor Harrison joins other internationally distinguished academicians on the Board of the IILI for a term to begin in 20002 through 2008.
Regina Harrison gave two papers at the Modern Language Association meetings in New York City: both explicating Quechua language and culure. "Pacha: Space and Time in Andean Autobiography," was sponsored by the Division of the Teaching of Literature, and covers material from Andean Lives, a book to be included as a CMLT CORE course requirement and subject of next year's workshop. "Sumaq: Quechua Esthetic Categories in Sketch and Song," sponsored by the Division on Colonial Latin American Literature, is a look at how colonial Andean Indians describe the elusive concept of "beauty." These same concepts now govern contemporary beauty contests in the Andean countries and highlight spiritual qualities rather than physical attributes.
The big project making life difficult for Regina Harrison is finishing her multi-phase study of colonial confession manuals in the Andes, the Guggenheim Awarded project. While she has published numerous articles on Catholic theology, Andean sexuality confronting European theologies of sexual mores, and the role of metaphors in conversion, the last major section concerns the introduction of money into the Andean economy which was based on barter. Thus, Quechua concepts of kin based transactions are compared to the expansive European systems of contract, mining profits, labor, and land use. The paper given at the Latin American Studies conference in Dallas examines the role Bartolomé de Las Casas took in arguing for restitution to Andean Indians for the injustices of the Conquest. His "Advice for Confessors" emphasizes the tactic of not administering absolution to those Spaniards who did not give monies or property to rectify their adverse dealings with the Indians.
The University of California Center for Media and Independent Learning is distributing Regina Harrison's award-winning video, "Cashing in on Culture: Indigenous Peoples and Tourism," (2002). UMCP has acquired a copy that can be seen in 4th floor Hornbake. This video was selected for screening at the American Anthropological Association meetings in New Orleans, November, 2002.
The Creative and Performing Arts Award (CAPA) has given Regina Harrison 2003 summer research money for her new video project on Bolivian miners in Potosí. At an altitude of 16,000 feet, these men and teenage boys work in the tunnels of the same colonial mines which caused so many Indian deaths in the colonial period of the Viceroyalties.
Alison Krogel, the recipient of the Cosmos Club Foundation Scholarship, invited Regina Harrison to dine with her at the Cosmos Club Scholars Dinner. The dinner of smoked salmon and chutney, roast lamb with fingerling potatoes and tiny string beans, was partially eaten by Krogel (a vegetarian) and entirely consumed by Harrison. Both ate the individual Creme brulee when served for dessert. Alison was one of 13 scholars awarded the research money, for her Peruvian song video taping of Quechua songs.
In an effort to satisfy student interest in media projects at the University, Regina Harrison gave a Humanities Honors presentation on "From Database to Digital: Making a Video with Students in Tropical Forest Ecuador," in December. She discussed the horrors (batteries running down during filming key segments) and the joys (extensive travel in Ecuador's river systems) of researching with student filmmakers to make a half-hour video.
