Cultures and Religions

The course explores the institutional, political, economic, and cultural history of Latin America during the colonial period. The first part focuses on the processes of settlement in the Americas, the rise and diffusion of Indigenous civilizations up to the moment of the colonial encounter, and provides an overview of the stages of the Spanish conquest across different regions of the continent. The second part adopts a monographic approach and is devoted to the study of Mexico’s so-called “third root”—the population of African descent. It examines the causes and consequences of the process of invisibilization that affected Afro-descendants in Spanish America, with a specific focus on the colonial Mexican context. Topics include the presence of African conquistadors in Spanish expeditions, the formation of colonial Mexican society, and the social groups that inhabited it. Special attention will be paid to the cultural and social influence of Afro-descendants in shaping the new colonial order, particularly through the study of magical practices, the construction of social hierarchies, the emergence of the concept of race, and the spread of discriminatory practices. The course will also address the institutionalization and consolidation of European legal power in the Americas, taking the Mexican Inquisition as a case study. Through an interdisciplinary methodological approach, it will highlight the relevance of inquisitorial documentation for the study and recovery of Afro-descendant populations. Drawing on these sources, students will examine the development of the nuevohispano caste system and the pictorial genre of the pinturas de castas, concluding with a reflection on contemporary dynamics of inclusion/exclusion of Afro-descendant populations within modern Mexican policies.

There are no specific prerequisites for attending the course, which is open to all students. However, participants are expected to be willing to read academic texts in English and, to a lesser extent, in Spanish.

Required readings (for attending and non-attending students): - Serge Gruzinski, La macchina del tempo. Quando l’Europa ha iniziato a scrivere la storia del mondo [The Time Machine. When Europe Began to Write the History of the World], Milan, Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2018. - Matthew Restall, I sette miti della conquista spagnola [Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest], Milan, 21 Editore, 2016. Additional required text (for non-attending students only): - Matteo Lazzari, I colori della malafede. Afromessicani, Inquisizione e razza in Nuova Spagna (1570–1650), Rome, Viella, 2023. One text to be chosen (for both attending and non-attending students) from the following list: - David Abulafia, La scoperta dell’umanità. Incontri atlantici nell’età di Colombo [The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus], Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010. - Alfred W. Crosby, Lo scambio colombiano. Conseguenze biologiche e culturali del 1492 [The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492], Turin, Einaudi, 1992. - Massimo Donattini, Dal Nuovo Mondo all’America. Scoperte geografiche e colonialismo (secoli XV–XVI), Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014. - John H. Elliott, Imperi dell’Atlantico. America britannica e America spagnola, 1492–1830 [Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America 1492–1830], Turin, Einaudi, 2010. - Matteo Lazzari, I colori della malafede. Afromessicani, Inquisizione e razza in Nuova Spagna (1570–1650), Rome, Viella, 2023. - María Elena Martínez, Genealogical Fictions: Limpieza de Sangre, Religion, and Gender in Colonial Mexico, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2008. - Anthony Pagden, La caduta dell’uomo naturale. L’indiano d’America e le origini dell’etnologia comparata [The Fall of Natural Man: The American Indian and the Origins of Comparative Ethnology], Turin, Einaudi, 1989. - Flavia Tudini, Governare una diocesi nella Monarchia spagnola. Gli arcivescovi di Lima, la Corona e Roma (1541–1606), Rome, Viella, 2024.

Attendance is recommended

Oral examination (100%) The assessment will consist of an oral exam aimed at verifying the knowledge acquired during the course, through questions on the reference bibliography and topics discussed in class. The instructor is available, via e-mail and during office hours, to arrange a personalized program for students wishing to further develop specific academic or research interests.

Classes will be primarily lecture-based and complemented by supplementary materials to be read, viewed, discussed, and analyzed in class, in order to foster knowledge acquisition and comprehension skills. Lectures will be delivered by the instructor. Some sessions will take the form of seminars, with the participation of guest lecturers, to explore specific topics introduced during the course. The program also includes sessions involving the viewing of audiovisual materials or attendance at events relevant to the course content.