Historian Discusses Mexican Nationalism in Lecture at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. William H. Beezley, professor of history at the University of Arizona, will deliver the lecture “Indians, Intellectuals, Anthropologists and Calendar Girls: Jose Vasconcelos and Mexican Revolutionary Nationalism” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, in 140 Bidgood Hall on The University of Alabama campus.

A reception begins at 3:30 p.m in 121 Bidgood, and the lecture is free and open to the public.

The lecture is part of UA’s celebration of Hispanic Latino Heritage Week and is sponsored by UA’s history department, part of The College of Arts and Sciences, as well as The Bankhead Fund, the University Diversity Committee, the department of American studies, and the dean’s office of The College of Arts and Sciences.

Beezley frequently lectures in the United States, Latin America, Canada and Europe on modern Mexican history and is director of the Oaxaca ( Mexico ) Graduate Field School in Modern Mexican History. He is the author of “Mexican National Identity: Memory, Innuendo, and Popular Culture” and co-author of “Mexicans in Revolution, 1910-1946.”

In his lecture, Beezley will discuss how in the 1920s Mexican leaders sought to rebuild the country after the first decade of the Mexican Revolution left 2 million citizens dead. José Vasconcelos, minister of public education,  sought to unite the nation by creating “a Mestizo society and culture, by which they meant to include ethnic groups and their traditions in a hybrid nationality,” Beezley said.

“Vasconcelos looked to provide all Mexicans an education that included the standard Western traditions of literature, music and dance, but ironically the ultimate expression of the revolutionary programs’ success became the ubiquitous calendar girls.”

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.