Latin American Historiography and Travel Narratives

RICARDO CICERCHIA

New York

Conferencia; Lecture Series. City University of New York; 2005

City University of New York

What separates these travelers from the Renaissance traditions, which were linked more to adventure and humanist mysticism, was their conviction that domination and the reinforcement of the methods and structures of knowledge were necessary. This climate developed a particular way of thinking, placed emphasis on detailed information and on a referential system of sources and designed critical observation. From then on, the rigorous indication of geographies and ethnographies, particularly in the New Word, along with scientific classification were the deep objectives of all travel chronicles. This lecture, a study in cultural and social history, from the 18th century on, of travels and travel accounts from Europe to Latin America, analizes the nature of the travels in the context of expansionist interests. Themes of focus include new colonial discourses, representations, the relationship of a new knowledge and the modern travel, and the impact of the community of readers on the genre.