[Hum_events] [CMRS EVENT] Lecture by Prof. Jaime Lara on Feb 9 | "Rethinking the Spiritual Conquest of Mexico: the Visual Texts of a Medieval Renaissance"

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            Please mark your calendars!

The UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies presents a lecture
entitled "Rethinking the Spiritual Conquest of Mexico: the Visual Texts
of a Medieval Renaissance" by CMRS Distinguished Visiting Scholar Jaime
Lara (Associate Professor of Christian Art & Architecture, and Chair,
Program in Religion and the Arts, Yale University), on Thursday,
February 9, 2006 at 4:00 pm in Royce Hall 314.

Most histories of Mexico and Latin America focus on the military
exploits of the conquistadors and the subjugation of native peoples by
the Spanish landowners, as if that were sufficient to explain the
development of a mestizo (and Christian) consciousness that has entered
into the making of a Latin-American identity. In this audio-visual
presentation, Professor Lara challenges that view and suggests the real
"conquest" may have been a more peaceful one of the native imagination.
By replacing the stories and metaphors of the peoples of central Mexico,
commonly known as the Aztecs, the Catholic missionaries and their elite
native assistants preserved much of the ancient culture while at the
same time transforming it into something else. By looking at the
material culture of Aztec Christianity and the grand architectural
"stage sets of the imagination" created by and for baptized native
peoples, an alternative story to the conquest is told, one that is
colorful, indigenous, attractive, and even entertaining.

Advance registration is not required. No fee. Seating is limited and
available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please sign in at the
door. Parking permits may be purchased for $8 from any UCLA Parking
Services kiosk. Be sure to mention that you are here to attend
"Professor Jaime Lara's lecture in Royce Hall." You will be directed to
park in the nearest available lot.

 

For more information, please contact the UCLA Center for Medieval and
Renaissance Studies at cmrs at humnet.ucla.edu
<mailto:cmrs at humnet.ucla.edu>  or call 310-825-1880.

 

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