December 21, 2012: Mayan Day of Reconning or Hollywood Hype.

Until a couple of years ago there were not that many people who were acquainted with the end of the world 2012 prophecy that was put forward by many scholars who studied the end of the Mayan long calendar. This Long Count calendar has lasted for five thousand one hundred and twenty five years, and although the end of the calendar leads to many different interpretations, one of the most popular is the belief that at the end of this cycle, the world (or humanity’s existence) will come to an abrupt end on December 21, 2012. Is the world going to end in 2012? 

On Monday, December 10, 2012 at 7:00 p.m., Springfield Public Library will host Dr. Frank Argote-Freyre who will explore the meaning of December 21 from the Mayan perspective. The Mayan perception of time and the recent scholarship on the subject will be discussed as well as the popular mythology surrounding this mysterious pre-Columbian civilization.  

Dr. Frank Argote-Freyre is an assistant professor of Latin American history at Kean University,  Argote-Freyre received his Ph.D from Rutgers University in 2004. His first book, Fulgencio Batista: From Revolutionary to Strongman was published in 2006. His second book, A Brief History of the Caribbean, coauthored with Danilo Figueredo, was published in 2008. He was assistant editor of the Encyclopedia of Cuba (2003).