Springer Women, Travel, and Science in Nineteenth-Century Americas: The Politics of Observation (Palgrave Studies in Literature, Science and Medicine)

This book offers a new and insightful look at the interconnections between the United States, Brazil and Mexico during the nineteenth century. Gerassi-Navarro brings together U.S. and Latin American Studies with her analysis of the travel narratives of Frances Calderón de la Barca and Elizabeth Cary Agassiz. Inspired by the writings of Alexander von Humboldt these women, in their travels, expand his views on the tropics to include a social dimension to their observations on nature, culture, race, and progress in Brazil and Mexico. Highlighting the role of women as a new kind of observer as well as the complexity of connections between the United States and Latin America, Gerassi-Navarro interweaves science, politics, and aesthetics in new transnational frameworks. Review “This groundbreaking book remaps the field of American Studies as a hemispheric, indeed, a transnational endeavor, from the vantage of a distinguished Latin Americanist.  Women, Travel, and Science in Nineteenth-Century Americas models new ways of understanding cross-cultural exchange by exploring 19th century antecedents in the fascinating narratives of women travelers who traversed geographic and epistemological borders in multiple directions. Their proximity and distance from the centers of power yielded unique insights into the social, natural, and political worlds they came from and visited.  Gerassi-Navarro’s  richly-layered interdisciplinary approach reveals how travel writing shaped the production of scientific knowledge, the literary and visual arts, and the complex meanings of race and gender during a tumultuous period of national consolidation and fracturing across continents.” (Amy Kaplan, Edward W. Kane Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania, USA) “This fascinating book follows two spirited women who accompanied their husbands from Boston to Mexico (Frances Calderón de la Barca) and Brazil (Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz). Although their travel narratives are primarly known for their perceptive observations of daily life, Gerassi-Navarro shows that they are much more than that. Crossing geographical and disciplinary boundaries, she provides fresh insights into Life in Mexico (1843) and A Journey in Brazil (1868). Paying close attention to the contradictions and ambiguities of these texts as well as to the transnational historical contexts that framed them, she reveals how these women, despite their alleged marginalization from science and politics, used their writing to participate in the public debates of their day.” (Silvia Marina Arrom, Professor Emerita of History, Brandeis University, USA) From the Back Cover This book offers a new and insightful look at the interconnections between the United States, Brazil and Mexico during the nineteenth century. Gerassi-Navarro brings together U.S. and Latin American Studies with her analysis of the travel narratives of Frances Calderón de la Barca and Elizabeth Cary Agassiz. Inspired by the writings of Alexander von Humboldt these women, in their travels, expand his views on the tropics to include a social dimension to their observations on nature, culture, race, and progress in Brazil and Mexico. Highlighting the role of women as a new kind of observer as well as the complexity of connections between the United States and Latin America, Gerassi-Navarro interweaves science, politics, and aesthetics in new transnational frameworks. About the Author Nina Gerassi-Navarro teaches Latin American Literature and Culture at Tufts University, where she is also Director of the Latin American Studies Program. She has written extensively on nation building, women, outlaws, and visual culture.  Her books include Pirate Novels: Metaphors of Nation Building (1999) and the co-edited volume, Otros estudios transatlánticos: Lecturas desde lo latinoamericano (2009).