About the project

Both the “Mediterranean World” and the “Atlantic” have been identified as supranational geographical and cultural spheres where various traditions intermingle and dynamically transform each other. In contrast, since early modernity the Amazon has been a global intercultural space that has received little academic attention so far. This seminar seeks to highlight the cultural diversity of the region during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, to insist on the importance of the Amazon basin as a site of artistic innovation. While acknowledging the violent and unequal power relations that characterized the colonial period, the project seeks to emphasize the importance of the images and objects that were produced at the convergence of multiple cultural traditions, both local and imported. By highlighting geographic fluidity and cultural interconnectedness, the project aims to study the region beyond political borders and linguistic barriers, as a meeting place for South American scholars whose countries are linked by the Amazon River and its tributaries. From a historical perspective, this project brings together 18 graduate students, specialists, and local communities to study the Amazon collectively for the purpose of exchanging knowledge and ideas while building a regional network.