This volume traces a genealogy of the varied conceptions and functions of alphabetic writing in Hispanic cultures of the pre-modern and early colonial periods. The historical junctures selected are those at which the written word (in grammatical, historical and legal discourse) assumed increased ideological importance for bolstering different kinds of 'imperial' power. In effect, Companion to Empire posits a constellation of historical scenarios, rather than a singular mythical origin, in which the alliance between writing and imperium might be discerned. The corpus of primary texts...

This book examines the archival aesthetic of mourning and memory developed by Latin American artists and photographers between 1997-2016.  Particular attention is paid to how photographs of the assassinated or disappeared political dissident of the 1970s and 1980s, as found in family albums and in official archives, were not only re-imagined as conduits for private mourning, but also became allegories of social trauma and the struggle against socio-political amnesia. Memorials, art installations, photo-essays, street projections, and documentary films are all considered as media for the...