Research line Travel and the gendered geographies of Enlightenment
This research line will approach travel narratives to try to understand how gender and nation-building intertwined during the 18th century in the production of stereotypes about “national characters”, which not only tended to reinforce previous judgments, but also interrogated more openly the scope and origin of cultural differences. The Hispanic case is particularly relevant because of its paradoxical condition as a huge colonial empire, which became both a picturesque destination for visitors from the North and a point of origin for travelers who traveled the world struggling between adherence to cosmopolitanism and national vindication. We are particularly interested in analyzing the cultural construction of Southern Europe in the accounts of trips to Spain, the Italian territories and Portugal, and the views of Peninsular travelers on the American territories.
