Kent-Drury

English 420

Columbus Voyages

Important concepts:

Clifford Geertz's explains Gilbert Ryles' concept of thick description in ethnography as a method of describing a culture that is informed by a thorough understanding of the assumptions underlying its practices and beliefs.

Mary Louise Pratt describes contact zones as "social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power."

Questions

1. How would you characterize the "first contact" between Columbus (and his crew) and the native peoples they encountered?
2. Note any references to the following concepts and their impact upon what is recorded

1. Religion
2. Politics
3. Economic
4. Ethnicity
5. Gender
1. Characterize each of the narratives that appear in this editor’s account of Columbus’s Voyages (i.e., the biography of Columbus written by his son, Hernando Colon, the letter written by Dr. Chanca, and the letters of Columbus). How are the Spanish depicted? Their leaders? The native peoples encountered? The landscape?
2. Dr. Chanca writes about the extremely complex and delicate interactions between the Spanish commanders and the native peoples they encounter. What is the history behind this encounter? What is the central problem each side faces? What steps do the Spanish go through to understand what has happened? What evidence do they collect, and how do they analyze it?
3. Assess what you know as you complete each voyage. Does the Spanish view of the natives change, or does it stay the same? What have you learned, both positive and negative, about the Spanish and their policies? What have you learned about the cultures of the native peoples they encounter?
4. What elements of the Spanish observations do you believe? Which don't you believe? Why?