There are several key ideas in the module that we must consider:
How events shapes people's sense of themselves in relation to the context, and
what are the consequences for each of those events?
The module provided some insight into the colonial experience in Mexico. Perhaps the most interesting
discussion centered on the idea of castas. A Mexican Caste system that allowed people not only to relate to each other in "racial" forms but also begin to "consume" the ideas of the castas that were exercised.
Pierre Bourdieu's provides us with a definition of habitus. Habitus is defined as some sort of filter that
individual’s use to structure their own perceptions, experiences, and practices given a particular context.
According to Bourdieu, this notion does not only shape one's mental state of being but also one's physical
being as well. The readings state, habitus helps mold one's "natural propensity" and "sense of one's place."
However, this is not the only compass of habitus but instead it is an "internalization of externality." So,
Bourdieu’s idea of habitus claims that an individual’s inclinations are a direct result of how one internalizes externalities.
So, here is the question:
Discuss how Colonial New Spain created a racialized society and explain its social consequences.
Explain how people begin internalize externalities and its consequences to identity.
Sample Solution