Die Amerikas: Forschungskolloquium zu den Amerikas aus kulturwissenschaftlicher Sicht

Prof. Anita Carrasco (Luther College, DeCora, Iowa, USA)

The Pipelines of Chuquicamata Mine: Their Impacts on the Atacama Desert and its Indigenous Inhabitants

To talk about the pipelines of Chuquicamata mine along with their impacts on the Atacama Desert and its indigenous environment, first I have to introduce you to a very important person in this story. His name was William E. Rudolph and in this talk I want you to get to know him. My hope is that this part of my story can reveal what I, as anthropologist, gained from ‘studying up’ in my research.

William E. Rudolph was an American engineer who worked for Anaconda mining company in the Chuquicamata mine of northern Chile during the first half of the 20th century. Although he was not initially central to my research on the impacts of mining on indigenous peoples in the Chilean Andes, by reviewing the photos and documents he authored, I recognized how uncovering the story of this engineer’s work in Atacama, could help me think about the ambiguous nature of the relationships between the colonizers and the colonized. The indigenous peoples he encountered in Atacama were hired for the building and maintenance of the pipelines needed to bring water to the Chuquicamata mine. Working with them allowed Rudolph to get to know them as humans. This led him to think critically about how to benefit the lives of people his work had an impact on. The irony of it all was that being in charge of exploring water for Anaconda, Rudolph knew that if diverted for mining, it would mean the end of a way of life: that of the Indian villagers of the Atacama desert. Yet, despite the developmental scheme pushed by the mining company back in those days, we find an engineer who was pushing back in his own way, providing resistance to his own position of power by humbly supporting the indigenous people he came to know through his work.

Wann?            Donnerstag, 13. Dezember 2018, 18 -20 Uhr

Wo?                Oettingenstr. 67, 80538 München, Raum L 155

Veranstalter:  Institut für Ethnologie

Programm zu den kulturwissenschaftlichen Forschungen in den Amerikas unter der Leitung von Dr. Henry Kammler für das Wintersemester 2018/19 hier zum Download (108 KB).

Mehr Informationen zu Vorträgen am Institut für Ethnologie im Wintersemester 2018/19 finden Sie unter „Veranstaltungen".

Sie können auch das Archiv mit den Veranstaltungen der vergangenen Jahre besuchen.