B4822 - Indigenous Americas, Colonialism, and Globalization (1) (LM)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

At the end of the course students will be aware of the political, economic, and cultural dimensions of the European colonization of America and of its relationship with the early modern globalization. Students will be able to recognize the active role played by indigenous groups and individuals in the shaping of the emerging global world. At the end of the course, the student will be able to contextualize the European conquest of America within a global historical and cultural framework, as well as to independently engage in the critical analysis of historical sources and early modern ethnographic records. The students will also be able to deploy such analytical skills to professional activities linked with the popularization and public use of historical and anthropological knowledge.

Contenuti

Please note that classes will begin on Monday, September 15, 2025.

This course examines the cultural processes that took place during the European colonization of the Americas and explores their role in fostering Early Modern globalization. Special attention will be given to the Mesoamerican cultural area, though examples and case studies from other regions will also be discussed.

The first week of the course will provide an introduction to the course itself and offer an overview of the European colonization of the Americas.

The second week will primarily address the military and political aspects of the conquest and explore the roles played by indigenous peoples. The social and demographic changes induced by phenomena such as the Columbian Exchange and the slave trade will also be described.

The third week will be devoted to discussing topics related to gender roles, indigenous religions, and the so-called "spiritual conquest."

During the fourth week, lessons will address biological and cultural mestizaje, the transformation of writing systems, and other forms of memory-making. They will also cover the epistemic violence brought by colonization, including the extraction of indigenous knowledge.

The fifth and final week will address the role of missionary-ethnographers, the colonial origins of anthropological practices, and the current discussion on decolonization.

Two classes (in weeks three and five) will be devoted to collectively discussing articles and book chapters provided by the teacher.

Please note that classes will begin on Monday 15 September 2025

Testi/Bibliografia

Students attending class are asked to read the articles or book chapters from the syllabus that will be discussed in class collectively (see the previous section). All articles and chapters are available in the “Teaching Materials” section of the website, which is accessible only to Unibo students with institutional credentials. At the end of the course, attending students will write a final paper on a topic agreed upon with the teacher. This paper will employ both the weekly reading syllabus and a more specific set of bibliographical references, which each student is required to compile.

Students not attending class must read the syllabus articles plus two books from the following list to prepare for the final exam:

Blackhawk, Ned, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History. New Haven: Yale University Press 2023.

Boone, Elizabeth, Descendants of Aztec Pictography The Cultural Encyclopedias of Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2020.

Davies, Surekha, Renaissance Ethnography and the Invention of the Human. New Worlds, Maps and Monsters. Cambridge University Press 2016.

Earle, Rebecca, The Body of the Conquistador: Food, Race and the Colonial Experience in Spanish America, 1492–1700. Cambridge University Press 2012.

Gruzinski, Serge, The Mestizo Mind: The Intellectual Dynamics of Colonization and Globalization. Routledge 2002.

Matthew, Laura, and Michel R. Oudijk (eds.), Indian Conquistadors: Indigenous Allies in the Conquest of Mesoamerica. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.

Mignolo, Walter, The Darker Side of the Renaissance. Literacy, Territoriality, & Colonization. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2005 (2nd edition).

Restall, Matthew, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. Updated edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Ríos Castaño, Victoria, Translation as Conquest. Sahagún and Universal History of the Things of New Spain. Madrid-Frankfurt: Iberoamericana-Vervuert, 2014.

Townsend, Camilla, Malintzin's Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. Albuquerque: Univ of New Mexico Press, 2006.

Metodi didattici

Teaching method will be based on both frontal lessons and collective discussions.

During frontal lessons the teacher will introduce general topics and connected scholary debates, then discussing in detail some specific example based on textual or visual sources in order to introduce the students to actual source-reading activity. Students will be encouraged to comment and ask questions.

Every week a certain amount of time (approx. 2 hours) will be specifically devoted to collective discussion of the readings and of the themes exposed during the frontal lessons. Students will be strongly encouraged to actively take part in the discussion.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Students attending classwork will write a final paper on a topic agreed with the teacher and based both on the references listed in the reading list and on further specific bibliography selected by the student.

The grade assigned to the paper will be based on:

- selection of the topic and its relatedness with the course content

- ability to identify relevant bibliography

- critical analysis

- clarity in structure and aims

- language proficiency

Students that do not attend classwork will have to pass an oral exam, with questions aimed to verify the student's knowledge of the themes treated in the program's texts. The questions will be aimed at testing the student's ability in exposing with an appropriate language some of the topics tackled by the books, as well as his/her skills in making connections between different texts in order to build an argument.

Proper language and the ability to critically speak about the books' content will lead to a good/excellent final grade

Acceptable language and the ability to resume the books' content will lead to a sufficient/fair grade.

Insufficient linguistic proficiency and fragmentary knowledge of the books' content will lead to a failure in passing the exam.

Exam sessions (only for oral exams) are scheduled monthly throughout the year, except in August. Students can only take the exam once they have finished their lessons.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

During frontal lessons the teacher will do ample use of power point presentations containing maps, as well as a good deal of textual and visual sources commented upon during the lesson.

After class, the powerpoint files will be uploaded in the teaching material section of the website, so that students will be able to download them.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Davide Domenici