University Press of America
Pages: 268
Trim: 6½ x 9
978-0-7618-5354-1 • Paperback • June 2011 • $54.99 • (£42.00)
978-0-7618-5355-8 • eBook • February 2011 • $52.00 • (£40.00)
Janice Lee Jayes received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College and her masters in foreign service from Georgetown University. She then earned a Ph.D. in history at American University in Washington, D.C. She has taught American studies in the U.S. as well as abroad, including work for the Civic Education Project at the University of Latvia, the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan, and as a Fulbright teaching scholar in Egypt.
Chapter 1 Introduction: Donkeys and Diplomats
Part 2 Part I: Diplomatic Fictions: John W. Foster's Mission to Mexico, 1873-80
Chapter 3 Introduction: Of Missions and Memoirs
Chapter 4 Chapter 1. "The Most Difficult Mission on the Western Hemisphere"
Chapter 5 Chapter 2. Awaiting the Descent into Chaos
Chapter 6 Chapter 3. The "Inconvenient" Mr. Foster
Chapter 7 Conclusion: "Such Intimate Connection to the People"
Part 8 Part II: A War of Words: Rewriting the Vocabulary of U.S.-Mexican Relations
Chapter 9 Introduction: "The True Lifeguard of Our Nationality"
Chapter 10 Chapter 4: "The Language of Business"
Chapter 11 Chapter 5: "Sister Republics"
Chapter 12 Conclusion: "Order and Progress"
Part 13 Part III: "Mexico, the Wonderland of the South!"
Chapter 14 Introduction: Pilgrims to Paradise
Chapter 15 Chapter 6: From Education to Escape: American Tourism in Porfirian Mexico
Chapter 16 Chapter 7: Sombreros and Aztec Villages: Mexico on the American Fairgrounds
Chapter 17 Chapter 8. Writing the Revolution
Chapter 18 Conclusion: Trading Progress for Paradise
Chapter 19 Epilogue: Donkeys, Diplomats and the Illusion of Ignorance
Jayes, a scholar with a background in international study and teaching, examines the way Americans think about Mexicans by dissecting the relationship between Mexico and the US during the Porfiriato (1877-1910). Under Porfirio Díaz, Mexico sought to carve out respectability in the eyes of its northern neighbor. Jayes notes that this effort failed, leaving a legacy of misunderstanding and ignorance toward Mexico and its people in the eyes of many in the US. She argues that Mexican stereotypes, constructed through experiences by three groups (diplomats, tourists, and merchants) shaped US views toward Mexico that persist today. Despite the Díaz administration's attempt to cast Mexico as a modern and viable economic and cultural counterpart, US observers developed a fascination with Mexico's primitive past instead of its modern potential. Easy to read and comprehend while offering good detail and quality research, this is a solid entry for faculty or students interested in Mexico or US foreign relations. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic libraries.
— Choice Reviews
The Illusion of Ignorance is an original and well-written book that utilizes a wide variety of travel accounts from the era. The author revels how stereotypical images if Mexico not only severed to de-legitimatize Mexico’s sovereignty, but also influenced how Americans saw the world. Thus, although the focus of the book is on the Porfiriatio and its aftermath, it sheds light on our present-day interaction with the world that is expressed in a combination of ‘interest and aversion’.
— Southwestern Historical Quarterly