This course examines the history of Latin America from the sixteenth century to the present through an alternative approach. The examination of objects and their place in the global history of trade, exchange, and transfer will be used to analyse the impact of Latin America and its objects on the history of the world. Objects including chocolate, silver, the body, ships, the horse, maps, and cochineal will form thematic lectures that outline wider global histories of food, medicine, slavery, and more.
The lecture series differs significantly from previous courses on the history of Latin America by organising each week thematically and by covering ideas and concepts that have not been examined in previous Latin American history classes at the National Library. Moreover, this new approach examines Latin American history from a global perspective, showing how several natural and man-made objects have connected the American continent to European, Asian, and African histories since the sixteenth century, such as the potato in 19th-century Ireland, American silver in the creation of a global trade system, and Asian, European and American animals in conquest, colonisation, and trade, among many other ideas.
This lecture series differs significantly from previous courses on the history of Latin America by organising each week thematically and by covering ideas and concepts that have not been examined in previous Latin American history classes. Moreover, this new approach examines Latin American history from a global perspective, showing how several natural and man-made objects have connected the American continent to European, Asian, and African histories since the sixteenth century, such as the potato in 19th-century Ireland, American silver in the creation of a global trade system, and Asian, European and American animals in conquest, colonisation, and trade, among many other ideas.  This unique approach to understanding Latin America through objects allows us to rethink Latin America and its place at the centre of global history from the early modern period to the present. Examples of other objects to be examined are tobacco, gold, coca, guns, sugar, coffee, books, pearls, and more. Previous knowledge of Latin American history is not required for this course.