archives@tulane.edu / A large gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people exist in Guatemala. I propose that this gap exists in part due to the intentional exclusion of indigenous related content, such as indigenous languages and pre-Columbian history, from the national curriculum. Ladinos see Maya and other indigenous groups as inferior mainly because they ignore their customs, languages, and cultures. In order to remediate this issue, the Maya Scripta project developed an online database containing Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions. This brings to the public information usually available only in specialized professional journals and mostly in English. Maya Scripta allows professionals, students, amateurs, and curious to access Maya inscriptions and their translation in Spanish for free and in a friendly and interactive display. This compensates for the lack of information in the school system. A community-engaged project developed with the Regional Museum of Southeastern Petén, Juan Pedro Laporte Molina, in Dolores, Petén, tested this hypothesis. The project consists of three axes: Marketing and Exposure, Exhibition, and Education. Through the first two axes we increased the number of visitors to the museum and improved the overall visit experience. The third and most important axis consisted of pairing with the museum and Universidad del Valle de Guatemala to develop workshops for local students from Dolores using the online platform of Maya Scripta. Through them, they learned about ancient and modern Maya, alongside with how the Maya hieroglyphic writing system works. As students attended more workshops, they increased their knowledge about the Maya and also had a more positive perception, proving the usefulness of Maya Scripta as a teaching tool and the importance of including indigenous related content in the classroom. Surveys also found that the environment where students interact plays an important role in how they understand Maya groups and also on what ethnic filiation students show. The project proved how a community-engaged approach can yield better results for all the parties involved in a collaborative, effective, and successful way. / 1 / Ruben Morales Forte
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_120363 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Contributors | Morales Forte, Rubén (author), Maxwell, Judith (Thesis advisor), School of Liberal Arts Latin American Studies (Degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | electronic, pages: 179 |
| Rights | 6 months, Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law. |
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