Eyes on Amazonia transnational perspectives on the rubber boom frontier

Wednesday, October 23, 2024 | 03:30 pm Latin American and Iberian Institute (801 Yale Blvd NE) 801 Yale Blvd NE (campus building #165) About: Join the UNM Latin American and Iberian Institute for a presentation of Dr. Jessica Carey Webb’s book, Eyes on Amazonia: Transnational Perspectives on the Rubber Boom Frontier. Eyes on Amazonia is a fascinating exploration of how Latin American, European, and US intellectuals imagined and represented the Amazon region during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This multifaceted study, which draws on a range of literary and nonliterary texts and visual sources, examines the complex ways that race, gender, mobility, empire, modernity, and personal identity have indelibly shaped how the region was and is seen. In doing so, the book argues that representations of the Amazon as a region in need of the civilizing influence of colonialism and modernization served to legitimize and justify imperial control. Dr. Jessica Carey-Webb is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, as well as the Coordinator of the Portuguese Program here at UNM. Her research specializes in environmental cultural studies of Latin America. In particular, she focuses on the historical development, environmental representation, and sustainable future of the Brazilian Amazon. She has published in a variety of policy and literary outlets, as well as presented her work at international conferences. Dr. Carey-Webb holds a PhD in Spanish and Portuguese Cultural Studies from the University of Texas, Austin, as well as a BA in Comparative Literature, Spanish, and Latin American Studies from the University of Michigan. Previously, she was a Mellon/ACLS public fellow for the Natural Resources Defense Council working on advocacy and policy related to the environment throughout Latin America, including grassland protection in Mexico, water issues in Chile, and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Notes: This event is free and open to the public.