Event Description
Stuart M. McManus: The Latin Language in “Latin” America: Imperialism, Globalization and the Classics in the Renaissance
September 14, 2021 7pm EDT
Today, there is a lively debate about the relationship between Classics and European Imperialism. However, rarely do we look beyond the British Empire in the 19th- and 20th-centuries and at actual texts written in the classical languages. Drawing on McManus’ new book, Empire of Eloquence: The Classical Rhetorical Tradition in Colonial Latin America and the Iberian World (CUP, 2021), this talk will uncover the little-known world of Spanish and Portuguese imperial Latin writing and speaking between 1500 and 1800.
In particular, it will explore the role of the classical tradition in structuring and disseminating discourses on empire, slavery and Christian missions with a focus on the ways ancient literary forms and civic practices (from the epigram to Ciceronian public speaking) were then appropriated by ethnically Iberian, indigenous and African students of antiquity to carve out a place for themselves within this hierarchical global space.
N.B. - You can view a recording of this, and other past events on Paideia's Youtube Channel.
Event Info
Sep 14, 2021 at 07:00 PM - 08:00 PM EDT
Guest Speaker
