Chilean History Sample Essay

Improved Essays
My two majors, history and Spanish, are my two academic passions. While history bores many, to me it represents a world filled with revolutions, dictators, riots, powerful leaders, and corrupt individuals. For this reason, I am drawn to Latin American history—one filled with conflict, unrest, powerful social movements and powerful people. I am especially drawn to Chile’s history due to the controversy of American interventionism there and the dark history of General Pinochet. Learning Chilean history at Chilean universities will help me grow as an academic because I will be able to see Chile’s history from a different perspective, void of the tint of American exceptionalism often evident in text books; visit the historical sights that I learn about; experience Chilean culture in a way that deepens my …show more content…
I could then segue into a career as a politician and use my experiences to create a more peaceful, understanding, and harmonious world. Studying in Chile will better my Spanish and improve my knowledge of Latin American culture in general. Growing in both of these areas will better prepare me to be a well informed, competent attorney that cannot only practice in the United States, but also abroad.
Finally, studying abroad for a year will help me grow by improving my cultural awareness and independence. Living in a different country for a year will expose me to new ways of thinking that will help me develop a mature perspective on world affairs. In addition, I will come to better understand my own culture and values, appreciating what makes me different from others, and also what makes us all the same. I will also become more independent, as maneuvering around a new city using my second language will improve my self-reliance and my

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Studying abroad would allow me to learn new foods, customs, and traditions. Creating a better appreciation for a country’s history and its…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He states that “dominant US culture was viewed as ‘imperialist’, ‘decadent’, and something to be resisted” (Gomez-Barris 99). While Oscar and his sister, Lola, attempted to assimilate into American culture as a result of transnational struggles, Gomez-Barris describes the Chileans as resistant to assimilation because they recognize the faults in US culture as a result of the two 9/11’s they…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    David Sedaris

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Have you ever thought about doing something different in your life? Something that compels you to leave your country and move to another? Are you excited by the unknown and ready to pay whatever it costs to follow your dreams? If your answer is yes, let me ask you a question first. What will you do with the experience once it’s all over?…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the film ‘Machuca,’ the director took the audience on a journey , exploring the lives of two boys, Peter Gonzalo and Pedro Machuca during the time Chile was fighting to rule their own country. The documentary, ‘The Battle of Chile Part 2,’ also gave the audience the direct footage from a journalist point of view of the campaign and fight for Chile. Both film gave viewers the insight of the struggles the lower class families and people struggling to make a living went through during the fight for leadership. ‘Machuca,’ shows how difficult it was for children of different class to maintain a friendship, mainly because the lower class was treated unfairly and not receiving the same privileges as the upper class kids. In ‘The Battle of Chile Part 2,’ viewer got to see the fighting of both sides and how the people and families were all fearful for their lives.…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Domingo Sarmiento Analysis

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Domingo Sarmiento was an Argentine activist, intellectual, ambassador and eventual President. Early in his life as an activist he was exiled from Argentina three times[ Bunkley, Allison Williams. The Life of Sarmiento. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1952.]. From 1845 to 1847, during one such exile, he was sent by the Chilean government to Europe, North Africa, and North America to examine different educational systems[ Ibid].…

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Growing up in two such diverse places made me who I am today and I wouldn’t want to change that for the world. Moving at such a young age just showed how much of the world I had yet to see. Much has changed since then and I have become an international traveler. Seeing all different parts of the US and parts of Europe and South America. The world is a big place that was meant to be…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Compare and contrast at least three views of the racial/ethnic hierarchy in colonial Latin America, represented by primary sources studied in this class. Consider how and why the various perspectives differ, how they are similar, and how they shed light on our understanding of race relations in this period. Colonial Latin America was a vast and diverse region, punctuated by profound differences in climate, culture and race. It comprised at its greatest extent: the entirety of the South American continent, Central America, The Caribbean and even parts of North America (Blue Reader maps 4-7). For most of the colonial period, these areas were dominated by two Atlantic facing European nations, Spain and Portugal.…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Americas – Period 2 consist of North America and Latin America 600-600 CE. Many changes happened whether they were political, economic, or social. Changes over time for North America included trade expansion, tribal government, and agriculture. For South America changes were in the pyramids, Mayan astronomy, and village organization. North America's change in trade expansion and continuity in village life, nomadism, polytheism, and shamanism.…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cold War Chile Essay

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Chile, a South American nation covering 292,258 square miles, borders Argentina to the east, Peru and Bolivia to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. During the time of the Cold War, Chile faced many challenges politically and economically due to the change in systems of government. Chile started as a presidential republic then shifted to a communist based society. Because the types of government have very contrasting viewpoints, the economy suffered through the shift. Before the era of the cold war in 1925, Chile was a presidential republic but later developed many ideological differences including the Chilean Communist Party within the Cold War period.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This week, as we left class, Angylyne and I discussed the documentary, Precious Knowledge, all the way to the Armitage el stop where we parted ways. It was hard to believe that the education board of Arizona had such a problem with the Latin Studies Program. In high school, I took both AP US History and AP European History. In both of these courses, we learned about radical thinkers and doers and people who decided to revolt against the status quo. Both of these courses are fine for students to learn, it’s fine for us to learn about Napoleon and the American Revolution, so what makes the history of Latin American different?…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I will never forget the day that my parents told me we were moving to Colorado. I had a wide range of emotions towards this, I was both nervous and excited. I can explain it best as the moment before the fall on a roller coaster, the butterflies building up in your stomach as the bottom of the hill is not insight but the ride down is sure to be amazing. Much like roller coasters new experiences have no true end in sight but the journey along the way with all the twists and turns are sure to change you as a person. New experiences like moving help you grow as a person, because you are introduced to so many new things like being surrounded by new people who have many different viewpoints, to being in a new atmosphere with so many new opportunities all of which shape you as a person and they also present a great deal of life lessons.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I have learned a great many things while I was a foreign exchange student in Winfield High School in United States. Before I came to America, I was shy, had low self-esteem, and gave up easily. But after I came to America, I can see that I am changed. I have been more confident through presenting my several projects and speaking in front of many people with English in classes. And at first, it was hard to talk to someone whom I have never met before, but now I feel more comfortable with that and it helped me to make many friends.…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Economy Of Chile Essay

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Economy of Chile Chile had been known as one of the most stable politically and democratically in the Latin America nations. Though, it went through destabilizing effects of frequent external shocks, in which is considered to be a very normal and natural phenomenon that appear in every well-developed country. It had been characterized for their economy by an extreme high level of good reputation and foreign trade for the strong financial institutes, which in turn gave it the strongest sovereign bond in South America. Furthermore, Chile had succeeded in developing its fostering social mobility, institutions, and bringing economic progress.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Spanish Conquest Essay

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In 1519, Spanish explorers, under the leadership of Hernán Cortés, set foot on what is now modern-day Mexico in search of gold and land in the Aztec Empire. Although the Spanish initially had no intentions (or orders from Cuban governor Diego Velásquez for whom they made the voyage) to colonize the Aztec Empire, they sought to communicate with the inhabitants and spread their Christian faith. However, the end of 1521 saw the mighty Aztec Empire practically cease to exist, its emperor Montezuma II join the many victims of the conquest, and the survivors put under the rule of the Spanish. A variety of factors came into play regarding the Spanish’s ability to conquer this mighty empire, including the ability to communicate verbally, the religious beliefs of both peoples, and the devastating effect of disease on the Aztec empire.…

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Spanish Colonization Essay

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Spanish exploration of America brought many new foods, types of plants, and forms of wealth to the European world. The wealth brought to Spain from the Americas came at a cost that was paid for by the enslavement and the sufferings of Native Americans and eventually the Africans. The Spanish colonization from 1492 to 1700 was motivated by religious conversion of all peoples in America and the desire for wealth and profit that had a significant impact on the lives of Native Americans and Africans. First, colonization by the Spanish was motivated by religious conversion. Columbus first “discovered” America in 1492.…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays