Since the last quarter of the twentieth century, Fourth World populations, including those in Honduras, have been steadily gaining partial recognition of cultural rights; yet often official discourses of national identity continue to subsume cultural traditions of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. Honduras's heterogeneous ethnic pluralism has historically been combined to promote a more cohesive national identity of a homogenized, mayanized, indo-Hispanic mestizaje. Exclusion and mis- or under-representation of indigenous groups is reinforced by popular imagination, particularly in the cultural heritage and tourism sectors. Firmly situated within regional Latin American and global trends, over the past two decades, official discourse on Honduran national identity has ostensibly shifted from hegemonic notions of mestizaje to one of ethnic diversity and multiculturalism.
This thesis is a multi-sited ethnography that examines the cultural politics of four institutions of power in Honduras. I explore how one state-sponsored project and three private museums contributed to the redefinition of ethnicity in Honduran national identity. I suggest that although these institutions seemingly project the new official discourse of multiculturalism, in fact they uphold antiquated notions of national identity and continue to depict reductionist, universalized, and exclusionary visions of ethnicity in Honduran national identity.
","abstract_html":"<p>Since the last quarter of the twentieth century, Fourth World populations, including those in Honduras, have been steadily gaining partial recognition of cultural rights; yet often official discourses of national identity continue to subsume cultural traditions of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. Honduras's heterogeneous ethnic pluralism has historically been combined to promote a more cohesive national identity of a homogenized, mayanized, indo-Hispanic mestizaje. Exclusion and mis- or under-representation of indigenous groups is reinforced by popular imagination, particularly in the cultural heritage and tourism sectors. Firmly situated within regional Latin American and global trends, over the past two decades, official discourse on Honduran national identity has ostensibly shifted from hegemonic notions of mestizaje to one of ethnic diversity and multiculturalism.</p> <p>This thesis is a multi-sited ethnography that examines the cultural politics of four institutions of power in Honduras. I explore how one state-sponsored project and three private museums contributed to the redefinition of ethnicity in Honduran national identity. I suggest that although these institutions seemingly project the new official discourse of multiculturalism, in fact they uphold antiquated notions of national identity and continue to depict reductionist, universalized, and exclusionary visions of ethnicity in Honduran national identity.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Frewen, Cordelia A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christina Kreps, Ph.D.","Darío A. Euraque","Ermitte St. Jacque"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:35Z","subjects":["Artisanry","Ethnicity","Honduras","Museums","National identity","Anthropology","Museum Studies","Social and Cultural Anthropology"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/212","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christina Kreps, Ph.D.","Darío A. Euraque","Ermitte St. Jacque"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Frewen, Cordelia A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2001-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Artisanry","Ethnicity","Honduras","Museums","National identity","Anthropology","Museum Studies","Social and Cultural Anthropology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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This thesis is a multi-sited ethnography that examines the cultural politics of four institutions of power in Honduras. I explore how one state-sponsored project and three private museums contributed to the redefinition of ethnicity in Honduran national identity. I suggest that although these institutions seemingly project the new official discourse of multiculturalism, in fact they uphold antiquated notions of national identity and continue to depict reductionist, universalized, and exclusionary visions of ethnicity in Honduran national identity.
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This thesis is a multi-sited ethnography that examines the cultural politics of four institutions of power in Honduras. I explore how one state-sponsored project and three private museums contributed to the redefinition of ethnicity in Honduran national identity. I suggest that although these institutions seemingly project the new official discourse of multiculturalism, in fact they uphold antiquated notions of national identity and continue to depict reductionist, universalized, and exclusionary visions of ethnicity in Honduran national identity.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/212"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Artisanry","Ethnicity","Honduras","Museums","National identity","Anthropology","Museum Studies","Social and Cultural Anthropology"],"dc:title":["Redefining, Crafting, and Re/Presenting Contemporary Ethnicities: Honduran National Identity, 1994–2006"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:35Z"}