Writing Without Words: Alternative Literacies in Mesoamerica and the

The history of writing, or so the standard story goes, is an ascending process, evolving toward the alphabet and finally culminating in the "full writing" of recorded speech. Writing without Words challenges this orthodoxy, and with it widespread notions of literacy and dominant views of art and literature, history and geography. Asking how knowledge was encoded and preserved in Pre-Columbian and early colonial Mesoamerican cultures, the authors focus on systems of writing that did not strive to represent speech. Their work reveals the complicity of ideology in the history of literacy, and offers new insight into the history of writing. The contributors--who include art historians, anthropologists, and literary theorists--examine the ways in which ancient Mesoamerican and Andean peoples conveyed meaning through hieroglyphic, pictorial, and coded systems, systems inseparable from the ideologies they were developed to serve. We see, then, how these systems changed with the European invasion, and how uniquely colonial writing systems came to embody the post-conquest American ideologies. The authors also explore the role of these early systems in religious discourse and their relation to later colonial writing. Bringing the insights from Mesoamerica and the Andes to bear on a fundamental exchange among art history, literary theory, semiotics, and anthropology, the volume reveals the power contained in the medium of writing.Contributors. Elizabeth Hill Boone, Tom Cummins, Stephen Houston, Mark B. King, Dana Leibsohn, Walter D. Mignolo, John Monaghan, John M. D. Pohl, Joanne Rappaport, Peter van der LooElizabeth Hill Boone is Director of Pre-Columbian Studies at Dumbarton Oaks.Walter D. Mignolo is Professor in the Department of Romance Studies and the Program in Literature at Duke University.

Writing Without Words: Alternative Literacies in Mesoamerica and the

The history of writing, or so the standard story goes, is an ascending process, evolving toward the alphabet and finally culminating in the "full writing" of recorded speech. Writing without Words challenges this orthodoxy, and with it widespread notions of literacy and dominant views of art and literature, history and geography. Asking how knowledge was encoded and preserved in Pre-Columbian and early colonial Mesoamerican cultures, the authors focus on systems of writing that did not strive to represent speech. Their work reveals the complicity of ideology in the history of literacy, and offers new insight into the history of writing. The contributors--who include art historians, anthropologists, and literary theorists--examine the ways in which ancient Mesoamerican and Andean peoples conveyed meaning through hieroglyphic, pictorial, and coded systems, systems inseparable from the ideologies they were developed to serve. We see, then, how these systems changed with the European invasion, and how uniquely colonial writing systems came to embody the post-conquest American ideologies. The authors also explore the role of these early systems in religious discourse and their relation to later colonial writing. Bringing the insights from Mesoamerica and the Andes to bear on a fundamental exchange among art history, literary theory, semiotics, and anthropology, the volume reveals the power contained in the medium of writing.Contributors. Elizabeth Hill Boone, Tom Cummins, Stephen Houston, Mark B. King, Dana Leibsohn, Walter D. Mignolo, John Monaghan, John M. D. Pohl, Joanne Rappaport, Peter van der Loo

Elizabeth Hill Boone is Director of Pre-Columbian Studies at Dumbarton Oaks.

Walter D. Mignolo is Professor in the Department of Romance Studies and the Program in Literature at Duke University.

SKU: 9780822313885

×

Check out now

Shipping info

We offer a combined shipping flat rate of just $10 Australia-wide. All books must be purchased in a single transaction.

We offer Free Local Pickup from our warehouse in Tullamarine 3043.

Additional delivery notes

LOCAL PICK UP NOW AVAILABLE

Our items are available for pick-up. Pick up procedure is as follows:

  1. Purchase the item through eBay
  2. Once you receive confirmation, you can collect your item from our Tullamarine warehouse (5/101 Keilor Park Drive Tullamarine). We are open Mon-Fri 8am-4pm. Remember to bring your 6-digit code!
  3. Email usif you have any questions.

PAYMENT


Immediate payment is required upon selecting "Buy It Now" or upon checking out through the cart.

We accept payment via All Major Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover), Google Pay, PayPal, & Apple Pay (on mobile & eBay App).

Thank you for shopping with us on eBay!

Additional Information

Book Grocer has been selling and buying books in Australia for 25 years.

Ask seller a question

To contact our Customer Service Team, simply click the button here and our Customer Service team will be happy to assist.

Ask seller a question

© Book Grocer

We offer combined shipping - just $10 across Australia. Ensure you put your items in the cart and check out as a single order. Click the Shipping & Payments tab above the listing description for more info

Accepted Payment Methods

Immediate payment is required upon selecting "Buy It Now" or upon checking out through the cart.

We accept payment via all major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX), Google Pay, PayPal, & Apple Pay (on mobile & eBay App).

Thank you for shopping with Book Grocer on eBay!

Returns are accepted

Items must be returned within 30 days .

Buyer will pay for return shipping.