Christopher Columbus, The Four Voyages (1492-1504)
Edition used: Penguin
Faculty: Jon Beasley-Murray
Lecture date: October 29, 2012
Theme: Monster in the Mirror
Format: Powerpoint (.pptx)
Format: Powerpoint (.pdf)
- Explore the relationship between mastery and slavery in Columbus’s writings.
- “The world of land and sea [. . .] is like a round ball, on part of which is something like a woman’s nipple.” Analyze the role of gender in Columbus’s encounters with new lands and peoples.
- Discuss the different rationales and justifications that Columbus presents for Empire.
- “The map appears to us more real than the land” (D. H. Lawrence). How do Columbus’s expectations shape his understanding and/or representation of the experience of the New World?
- What relationship does Columbus envision between Europe and the newly-discovered lands?
- Analyze Columbus’s interpretation of the peoples he encounters on his voyages.
- In what sense (if any) are Machiavelli and/or Columbus “modern”?
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