For centuries, the Zinacantec Maya women of Mexico have woven and embroidered textiles that express their social and aesthetic values and embody their role as mothers and daughters. A book by Patricia Marks Greenfield, “Weaving Generations Together: Evolving Creativity in the Maya of Chiapas,” boasts more than two hundred striking and detailed photographs of Zinacantec textiles and their makers. It provides a rare long-term examination of the cognitive and socialization process involved in transmitting weaving knowledge across two generations.
Photo: Mayan textile.
Greenfield will lecture and sign her book, Friday, April 15, 6 to 7:30 p.m., in UNM’s Hibben Center, room 105. Refreshments will be served. The event is free and sponsored by the Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies at the University of New Mexico.
Greenfield combines a scholarly study of the impact of commercialization and globalization on textile production and sales, acculturation, and female socialization with poignant personal reflections on mother-daughter relationships, creativity and socialization, the life cycles of material culture, and the anthropology of the Maya people. Weaving Generations Together will appeal to both the academic specialist and anyone who admires Maya weaving and culture.
For additional information call (505) 277-1936 or email kklein@unm.edu.
Contact: Greg Johnston (505) 277-1816