Approaches to Teaching the Works of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
- Editors: Christian Fernández, José Antonio Mazzotti
- Pages: 280
- Published: Spring 2022
- ISBN: 9781603295581 (Paperback)
- ISBN: 9781603295574 (Hardcover)
“This edited volume describes ways to incorporate excerpts from Inca Garcilaso de le Vega’s works in translation and tie them to topics ranging from Indigeneity to linguistics.”
—Hispania
The author of Comentarios reales and La Florida del Inca, now recognized as key foundational works of Latin American literature and historiography, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega was born in 1539 in Cuzco, the son of a Spanish conquistador and an Incan princess, and later moved to Spain. Recalling the family stories and myths he had heard from his Quechua-speaking relatives during his youth and gathering information from friends who had remained in Peru, he created works that have come to indelibly shape our understanding of Incan history and administration. He also articulated a new American identity, which he called mestizo.
This volume provides guidance on the translations of Garcilaso’s writings and on the scholarly reception of his ideas. Instructors will discover ideas for teaching Garcilaso’s works in relation to indigenous thought, European historiography, natural history, indigenous religion and Christianity, and Incan material culture. In essays informed by postcolonial and decolonial perspectives, scholars draw connections between Garcilaso’s writings and contemporary issues like migration, multiculturalism, and indigenous rights.
“A much-needed addition to the MLA’s Approaches to Teaching World Literature series.”
—Eyda M. Merediz, University of Maryland, College Park
“This excellent collection of essays . . . provides valuable insights for students today, especially for many Latinx students whose bicultural and bilingual experiences resonate with Inca Garcilaso’s life and world.”
—Luis Fernando Restrepo, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
