Amid the changing political landscape of the post-Sept. 11 world, two professors from ETSU are taking their show on the road, with impressive results.
Dr. Ken Mijeski, chairman of the political science department, and Dr. Scott Beck of the department of sociology and anthropology, along with representatives from Bolivar State University in Ecuador, have teamed up on a research project that seeks to learn more about the politics of Latin America.
The project, now in its sixth year, focuses on the political climate and changing philosophies in the Latin American nation of Ecuador. The project looks for interesting aspects of social movement in Ecuador, and doing so helps shine new light on the political systems of the United States.
The project focuses on the study of a political movement of indigenous people native to Ecuador. “These people,” Mijeski said, “have been oppressed both physically and politically for centuries.” However, the winds of change are blowing, and these two researchers have witnessed some sweeping changes since the inception of the project.
Another objective of the project Beck said, “is to analyze the electoral performance of this movement in the context of the larger political environment.”
The research has proven invaluable to the political science department, as the new insight has helped professors adjust the way Latin American politics is portrayed in class. The research while observing the progress of the political movements, points out the contrast between established political forces and developing grass roots movements.
This process has not only shed light of the world of Ecuadorian politics, but the information gathered exposes trends in the United States as well.
“Racism abides in Ecuador,” Mijeski said. “With the growth of the indigenous movement, increasing amounts of people have begun to call themselves Indian. It’s a matter of self-identity.”
This trend has also appeared in the U.S. Census of 2000. The Census data shows that the percent of the population that identified themselves as Indian grew at a faster rate that the reproductive possibilities. More people opted to identify themselves as Indian by desent, than had done so previously.
Finding these consistencies in both American and Ecuadorian politics has been a large benefit of the study. Mijeski is anxious that this field research will improve the quality of class work at ETSU. “This project will aid in our Latin American political classes due to the information we now have for comparison,” Mijeski said. “For those graduate students interested in this sector of the world, the information will be beneficial, as well.”
Now well into the project, the research has new challenges to interpret. The last Census conducted by the Ecuadorian Government included questions involving race and ethnicity. This information will provide a measure of the Indian movement and the strength that it has gained.
Results of the report remain unavailable, but regardless of the outcome, the research opportunity has shed new light on American culture as well as bring understanding to those in other parts of the world.
Despite the hard work and painstaking research, students at ETSU are indifferent towards the program. “I have never heard of it,” said ETSU junior Matt Grindstaff. “It sounds interesting, but I don’t see how it helps me.

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