Illustrating Indigenous Knowledge in European Print

This seminar examines the transatlantic politics of publishing indigenous knowledge. In early modern Europe, pictorial prints codified paradigm shifts in geography, ecology, and medicine. Knowledge of newly conquered lands appeared in books illustrated by artists who, often, had never visited the places they pictured. Meanwhile in the Americas, indigenous and creole artists appealed to experienced printmakers and publishers in Europe while building resources and artisanal knowledge among local printmakers. How did the power dynamics of coloniality shape the way knowledge of indigenous peoples was codified? We will answer this question through study of illustrated books in special collections at Brown.