Meeting Announcement:

Weaving Generations Together: Evolving Creativity in the Maya of Chiapas

with

Dr. Patricia Greenfield

at

The Burke Museum

University of Washington Campus

Monday, June 27, 2005, 7:00 PM

How are weaving patterns passed down through the generations? How are innovations in technique and design introduced over time? These processes are fundamental to our understanding of traditional weaving. Many have speculated on these processes, but our speaker, Dr. Patricia Greenfield, a Professor of Cultural Psychology at UCLA, has done field research that directly addresses these questions. Her focus has been on the Zinacantec Maya village of Nabenchauk, in the highlands of Chiapas. She began her studies there in 1969, and she has observed first-hand how weaving traditions have been passed down through generations, and how these processes have changed over time. Her research has particularly focused on the effect that economic development has had on textile design, and the very definition of creativity. She will share her research with us using slides and by showing some of the textiles she collected on her many trips to Chiapas.

Dr. Patricia Greenfield is the author of Weaving Generations Together: Evolving Creativity in the Maya of Chiapas, published last year by SAR Press. The book was written in Santa Fe, New Mexico, while Dr. Greenfield was a Resident Scholar at the School of American Research. Indeed, based on encounters with Native American artists while in Santa Fe, the book includes a coda on parallels between historical change in Maya weaving in Chiapas and Native arts in the United States. Books will be available for purchase and signing after the lecture.

Speaker Biography:

Dr. Patricia Greenfield received her Ph.D. from Harvard University and is a Professor of Psychology at UCLA. During the current academic year, she holds a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. At UCLA, she is a member of the FPR-UCLA Center for Culture, Brain, and Development and directs the Children's Digital Media Center. Her central theoretical and research interest is in the relationship between culture and human development. She is a past recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Behavioral Science Research, and has received teaching awards from UCLA and the American Psychological Association. She has done field research on social change, child development, weaving apprenticeship, and textiles in Chiapas, Mexico since 1969.

Meeting Schedule:

7:00 Mix and mingle. Announcements.

7:15 Dr. Patricia Greenfield – “Weaving Generations Together: Evolving Creativity in the Maya of Chiapas”

8:15 Show and tell – if you wish, please bring a favorite textile to share with the group. Something Mayan would be particularly appropriate!

Please note: This meeting is free to all members, $5.00 at the door for guests. As always, all are welcome.

Meeting Location:

The Burke Museum is located at the Northwest corner of the University of Washington campus, near the corner of 17^th Avenue NE and NE 45^th Street. The Burke Room is on the left side of the lobby as you enter off of 17^th. Parking is available in the lot just South of the Burke Museum, or on the street in the University District.