Project description
Shaping cultures through Jesuit libraries
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Jesuit missions in the Iberian borderlands introduced writing and new media to Indigenous communities, largely through libraries. However, the historical narrative surrounding these libraries has often focused on their role in spreading European science and art, overlooking their deeper impact. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the JesLibSouth project aims to shift this perspective by examining how these libraries served as tools of cultural transformation. Through an approach that combines book history, media studies, and digital techniques, the project will reveal how these books, largely focused on Catholic discipline, shaped both Jesuits and Indigenous peoples. It highlights a complex interplay of education, introspection, and emotional influence in shaping societies.
Objective
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Society of Jesus played a key role in the evangelisation of Indigenous peoples, particularly in the borderlands of the Iberian empires, and contributed to the development of what may be called Catholic and Iberian globalisation. One important aspect of this activity was the creation of libraries, which helped introduce writing and new media technologies to these regions. Over the last thirty years, international research on the Jesuits has increased significantly, with global history-based perspectives analysing the Society of Jesus as a worldwide network for the circulation of science and art and as a key interlocutor with non-European populations. By focusing on the books and libraries that existed in actual Jesuit missions, my project proposes that this image is biasedas it does not accurately reflect the religious objectives of the Jesuits, which were aimed at a complete transformation of culture and society. JesLibSouth then suggests that books and libraries served simultaneously as tools of discipline and subjectification, influencing both Jesuits and Indigenous people. Most of the books in these libraries were far from the types of knowledge that have interested recent Jesuit global history; instead, they largely consisted of pragmatic-normative content, focused on reinforcing Catholic behaviours while encouraging voluntary engagement through introspection, sensory training, and emotional stimulation. The sources for the project include the inventories of the missions, which contain lists of the remarkable number of around 25,000 books in the libraries, as well as descriptive chronicles, histories, and the books themselves. For analysing these documents, I have developed an original and innovative methodology inspired by book history, media studies, and digital humanities, which will involve using databases, statistical techniques, web publishing, data visualisation tools, and algorithmic information processing.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- humanities history and archaeology history
- social sciences other social sciences development studies development theories global development studies globalization
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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28040 Madrid
Spain
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