Reading Columbus


ID : 2307   

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ClassGraphic Upon returning from his first voyage to the New World, Columbus wrote a letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella describing the lands and peoples he "discovered." Together, we will identify the claims he made (many contradictory) about the native Taino inhabitants and assess the reliability of those claims. This exercise will allow us to understand elements of Columbus's late Medieval world view and to appreciate how the radical newness of encounters with New World peoples changed Europe as much as it did the Americas. Delving into the past might encourage each of us to ponder our own cultural blinders/biases and how they impact our relationships with "others," past and present.
 
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Class Details

1 Session(s)
Fri

Location
OLLI

Instructor
Susan Besse 

 

Notice

Please read:  Christopher Columbus's Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, 1493. A PDF of the reading will be sent to registered participants or CLICK HERE to find it online. Please print out a copy and bring it with you to the class. If you are unable to access a copy online, please contact the OLLI office to request a hard copy.To compare this translation to the original Spanish text and/or to read a literal English translation of the text, CLICK HERE. 

Suggested Reading:
Tzvetan Todorov, The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other (1984) Read the "Columbus and the Indians" chapter in Part I, Discovery, pp. 34-50. Click one of these links. 
Margarita Zamora, “’If Cahonaboa learns to speak...’: Amerindian Voice in the Discourse of Discovery,” Colonial Latin American Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, 1999, pp. 192-205. Available online.  

Assignment for the first class: Read Christopher Columbus's Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, 1493 and bring a printed copy with you to the class.

 

Tuition:  $15.00

Registration Closes On
Thursday, October 8, 2026 @ 12:00 AM

Schedule Information

Date(s) Class Days Times Location Instructor(s) Instructional Method
10/9/2026 Fri 09:30 AM - 11:00 AM Kingston, OLLI  Map Susan Besse  ClassRoom

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