Marvelous Possessions: The Wonder of the New WorldMarvelous Possessions is a study of the ways in which Europeans of the late Middle Ages and the early modern period represented non-European peoples and took possession of their lands, in particular the New World. In a series of innovative readings of travel narratives, judicial documents, and official reports, Stephen Greenblatt shows that the experience of the marvelous, central to both art and philosophy, was cunningly yoked by Columbus and others to the service of colonial appropriation. He argues that the traditional symbolic actions and legal rituals through which European sovereignty was asserted were strained to the breaking point by the unprecedented nature of the discovery of the New World. But the book also shows that the experience of the marvelous is not necessarily an agent of empire: in writers as different as Herodotus, Jean de Léry, and Montaigne—and notably in Mandeville's Travels, the most popular travel book of the Middle Ages—wonder is a sign of a remarkably tolerant recognition of cultural difference. Marvelous Possession is not only a collection of the odd and exotic through which Stephen Greenblatt powerfully conveys a sense of the marvelous, but also a highly original extension of his thinking on a subject that has occupied him throughout his career. The book reaches back to the ancient Greeks and forward to the present to ask how it is possible, in a time of disorientation, hatred of the other, and possessiveness, to keep the capacity for wonder from being poisoned? "A marvellous book. It is also a compelling and a powerful one. Nothing so original has ever been written on European responses to 'The wonder of the New World.'"—Anthony Pagden, Times Literary Supplement "By far the most intellectually gripping and penetrating discussion of the relationship between intruders and natives is provided by Stephen Greenblatt's Marvelous Possessions."—Simon Schama, The New Republic "For the most engaging and illuminating perspective of all, read Marvelous Possessions."—Laura Shapiro, Newsweek |
Hvad folk siger - Skriv en anmeldelse
Anmeldelserne verificeres ikke af Google, men Google tjekker indholdet og fjerner det, hvis det er falsk.
MARVELOUS POSSESSIONS: The Wonder of the New World
Brugeranmeldelse - KirkusA witty and erudite study of early American explorers and their sensibilities, by Greenblatt (English Lit./Univ. of Cal. at Berkeley; Sir Walter Raleigh, 1973). The capacity for simple wonder (and ... Læs hele anmeldelsen
Andre udgaver - Se alle
Almindelige termer og sætninger
actually already America appears authority become believe Bernal Díaz body called captive century Christian claim close Columbus Columbus's Conquest Cortés culture describes Diario difference discourse discovered discovery early effect encounter English European example exchange experience fact figure formal give given gold hand hence Herodotus Holy human images imagine important Indians interest interpreter island John kind king land language least letter linguistic linked live Mandeville Mandeville's Travels marks marvelous means natives natural never notes objects observed once original personally possession possible practices present Press principal question readers record relation remarkable reports representation rhetorical ritual seems seen sense serve signs simply Spain Spanish speak strange suggests taken things thought told took trans translation Travels truth turn understand University voyage whole witnessed wonder writes
Henvisninger til denne bog
Bibliografiske oplysninger
| Titel | Marvelous Possessions: The Wonder of the New World Carpenter Lectures |
| Forfatter | Stephen Greenblatt |
| Udgave | revideret |
| Udgiver | University of Chicago Press, 2008 |
| ISBN | 0226306577, 9780226306575 |
| Længde | 216 sider |
| Eksporter henvisning | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |