Overview

Urban life has long intrigued Indigenous Amazonians, who regard cities as the locus of both extraordinary power and danger. Modern and ancient cities alike have thus become models for the representation of extreme alterity under the guise of supernatural enchanted cities. This volume seeks to analyze how these ambiguous urban imaginaries—complex representations that function as cognitive tools and blueprints for social action—express a singular view of cosmopolitical relations, how they inform and shape forest-city interactions, and the history of how they came into existence. Featuring analysis from historical, ethnological, and philosophical perspectives, contributors seek to explain the imaginaries’ widespread diffusion, as well as their influence in present-day migration and urbanization. Above all, it underscores how these urban imaginaries allow Indigenous Amazonians to express their concerns about power, alterity, domination, and defiance. Contributors Natalia Buitron Philippe Erikson Emanuele Fabiano Fabiana Maizza Daniela Peluso Fernando Santos-Granero Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen Robin M. Wright

Full Product Details

9780816556625

Table of Contents

Reviews

“The important aim of the book is to subvert the idea that 'Indigeneity' is naturally rooted in rural territories and automatically lost in cities. To do so, the contributions to the volume emphasize how Amazonian Indigenous peoples have used complex images to creatively reflect on their experience and perception of urbanization. Urban imaginaries are then historically constructed mental representations”—Agathe Faure, Journal of Anthropological Research “Overall, the book presents differentiated perspectives on the Amazon and the relationship between indigenous peoples and urban spaces. It is therefore a worthwhile book for anthropologists, urbanists, and regional scientists.”—Clara-Luisa Weichelt, Anthropos “Together, the texts that make up the book offer a powerful ethnographic counterpart to the consolidated discoveries of archaeology regarding the existence of a dense system of urban centers prior to the European invasion of the Americas, complicating the images we have of both ancient Amazonian history and contemporary indigenous experiences of urbanity.”—Amanda Horta, A ILHA - Revista de Antropologia ""This edited volume provides a nuanced approach to urban imaginaries in Amazonia and its implications for self-determination and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. Drawing attention to the importance of considering Indigenous worldviews and livelihoods in the face of settler colonialism, this volume complicates what we understand by cityscapes in Latin America. This book is for anyone interested in better understanding urban ecologies and landscapes in Amazonia.""—Laura Zanotti, author of Radical Territories in the Brazilian Amazon

""The important aim of the book is to subvert the idea that 'Indigeneity' is naturally rooted in rural territories and automatically lost in cities. To do so, the contributions to the volume emphasize how Amazonian Indigenous peoples have used complex images to creatively reflect on their experience and perception of urbanization. Urban imaginaries are then historically constructed mental representations""--Agathe Faure, Journal of Anthropological Research ""Overall, the book presents differentiated perspectives on the Amazon and the relationship between indigenous peoples and urban spaces. It is therefore a worthwhile book for anthropologists, urbanists, and regional scientists.""--Clara-Luisa Weichelt, Anthropos ""Together, the texts that make up the book offer a powerful ethnographic counterpart to the consolidated discoveries of archaeology regarding the existence of a dense system of urban centers prior to the European invasion of the Americas, complicating the images we have of both ancient Amazonian history and contemporary indigenous experiences of urbanity.""--Amanda Horta, A ILHA - Revista de Antropologia ""This edited volume provides a nuanced approach to urban imaginaries in Amazonia and its implications for self-determination and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. Drawing attention to the importance of considering Indigenous worldviews and livelihoods in the face of settler colonialism, this volume complicates what we understand by cityscapes in Latin America. This book is for anyone interested in better understanding urban ecologies and landscapes in Amazonia.""--Laura Zanotti, author of Radical Territories in the Brazilian Amazon

""The important--aim of the book is to subvert the idea that 'Indigeneity' is naturally rooted in rural territories and automatically lost in cities. To do so, the contributions to the volume emphasize how Amazonian Indigenous peoples have used complex images to creatively reflect on their experience and perception of urbanization. Urban imaginaries are then historically constructed mental representations""--Agathe Faure, Journal of Anthropological Research ""Overall, the book presents differentiated perspectives on the Amazon and the relationship between indigenous peoples and urban spaces. It is therefore a worthwhile book for anthropologists, urbanists, and regional scientists.""--Clara-Luisa Weichelt, Anthropos ""Together, the texts that make up the book offer a powerful ethnographic counterpart to the consolidated discoveries of archaeology regarding the existence of a dense system of urban centers prior to the European invasion of the Americas, complicating the images we have of both ancient Amazonian history and contemporary indigenous experiences of urbanity.""--Amanda Horta, A ILHA - Revista de Antropologia ""This edited volume provides a nuanced approach to urban imaginaries in Amazonia and its implications for self-determination and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. Drawing attention to the importance of considering Indigenous worldviews and livelihoods in the face of settler colonialism, this volume complicates what we understand by cityscapes in Latin America. This book is for anyone interested in better understanding urban ecologies and landscapes in Amazonia.""--Laura Zanotti, author of Radical Territories in the Brazilian Amazon

Author Information

Fernando Santos-Granero is a senior staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He is the author of Slavery and Utopia and the editor of Images of Public Wealth or the Anatomy of Well-Being in Native Amazonia and The Occult Life of Things. Emanuele Fabiano is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra in Portugal and lecturer at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

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