Writing in the Wake of Exploration: Documents from the Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Expedition to the Pantanal, 1540-1555

FAIN: RQ-50285-07

Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5200)
Catherine J. Julien (Project Director: November 2006 to October 2011)
Pablo Pastrana-Pérez (Project Director: October 2011 to April 2016)

Preparation of an edition of the documents, Commentaries, and narrative of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca's exploration of the Paraguay River. (17 months)

NEH funding is requested to support preparation of two hardcover volumes that will include both Cabeza de Vaca's narrative accounts of travel in South America (the General Account [1545] and the Commentaries [1555]), together with a broad selection of documents internal to his expeditions as well as reports intended for recipients in Spain. The hardcover edition, to be published by the University of Nebraska Press, will include a CD-ROM with paleographic versions of the documents for scholars. The publication of an affordable paperback of the English translation of the Commentaries (by Nebraska) will follow. The Spanish versions of the document will be encoded (in conformance with TEI Guidelines) and released online through the Early Americas Digital Archive. The various forms of publication will make an important corpus of documents on exploration available to historians, anthropologists, literary scholars, linguists, and the public.

Associated Products

History of the Spanish Language (SPAN 6600) (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: History of the Spanish Language (SPAN 6600)
Author: Pablo Pastrana-Pérez
Abstract: A selection of facsimiles of documents pertaining to Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's exploration of South America was added to the course content in order to show the scribal practices of different notaries and scribes. They illustrate the different and personalized scribal techniques of sixteenth century Chancillería shorthand and the use of notarial jargon.
Year: 2008
Audience: Graduate

• Topics in Spanish Culture: Origins and Evolution of the Spanish Language (SPAN 5400) (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: • Topics in Spanish Culture: Origins and Evolution of the Spanish Language (SPAN 5400)
Author: Pablo Pastrana-Pérez
Abstract: A selection of facsimiles of documents pertaining to Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's exploration of South America was added to the course content in order to show the scribal practices of different notaries and scribes. They illustrate the different and personalized scribal techniques of sixteenth century Chancillería shorthand and the use of notarial jargon.
Year: 2010
Audience: Undergraduate

The Commentary genre: From Classic Antiquity to Early Modern Times (SPAN 7100) (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: The Commentary genre: From Classic Antiquity to Early Modern Times (SPAN 7100)
Author: Pablo Pastrana-Pérez and Jerusa Carvajal
Abstract: Using Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's 1555 imprint of his expeditions in both the North American and South American continents, titled "Comentarios," this independent study course follows the history of the commentary as a literary genre from classical antiquity into early modern Spain. Graduate student Jerusa Carvajal produced a term paper on the subject and served as the stepping stone to her pursuing doctoral studies with emphasis on the Spanish literary production of 16th- and 17th-century Spain. She is currently writing a Ph.D. dissertation on early modern Spanish drama of historical material.
Year: 2011
Audience: Graduate

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