2 hours writing, 1 hour reading, 0.5 hours meeting, 0.5 hours emailing, page count = 170
Today I focused on writing about the army in the 1950s, incorporating relevant information into different sections of the empirical chapter. This was a key period of transition for the Colombian army, as the experience of sending a batallion into Korea, the emergence of anti-Communist counter-insurgency doctrine - and of course, 4 years in government - profoundly impacted the professionalism and political bent of the institution.
In terms of reading, I gathered background information on Paraguay, one of the countries in the "Colombia in comparative perspective" chapter, and a paragon of a militarized society. During the 19th-century War of the Triple Alliance, in which Paraguay took on Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, Paraguay lost 90% of its male population. Reportedly an Argentine leader said afterwards, "The war ended for the simple reason that we killed all the Paraguayan men over 10 years old." And yet the society continued to be very militaristic. The contrast with Colombia could not be more stark, and will be interesting to explore.
Had a good phone conversation with another recent Berkeley grad who had helpful advice on managing the dissertation endgame. And I worked to set up specific meeting times with my committee for mid-December to get their feedback on a complete draft.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Dear Son:
Excellent progress; you are increasing your pace now. I guess when you can see the finish line your energy level and determination go to unexpected levels and I can almost feel them in your words. Congratulations!
It continues to happen; I read your posting and memories flow back from my childhood. Before 1953 and Rojas Pinilla the army officers, especially the high ranks, were not the elite class that they became during his regime. They became “los nuevos ricos” of our society. Also, please consider than more than 300,000 [maybe that is a myth, do you know how many for sure?] Colombians were killed since 1946 and when the opportunity came, we didn’t want anything with violence. All of this changed with Pablo Escobar and the drug war, not violence that affects Colombia now.
As you know I leave for our home in Miami tomorrow and my nest posting will be tomorrow evening from there.
Ti voglio tanto bene, Il Babbo
Post a Comment