The Americas in Early Modern Political Theory: States of Nature and AboriginalityThis book examines early modern social contract theories within European representations of the Americas in the 16th and 17th century. Despite addressing the Americas only marginally, social contract theories transformed American social imaginaries prevalent at the time into Aboriginality, allowing for the emergence of the idea of civilization and the possibility for diverse discourses of Aboriginalism leading to excluding and discriminatory forms of subjectivity, citizenship, and politics. What appears then is a form of Aboriginalism pitting the American/Aboriginal other against the nascent idea of civilization. The legacy of this political construction of difference is essential to contemporary politics in settler societies. The author shows the intellectual processes behind this assignation and its role in modern political theory, still bearing consequences today. The way one conceives of citizenship and sovereignty underlies some of the difficulties settler societies have in accommodating Indigenous claims for recognition and self-government. |
Contents
| 1 | |
Discovering and Inventing a New World PostColumbian Travel Literature | 17 |
Unsettling New World Scholastic Approaches to the Americas | 47 |
The Invention of the Natural Man in Political Theory Hobbess Leviathan | 69 |
The Inconvenience of America Lockes State of Nature | 94 |
Aboriginalism Representing Indigenous Peoples as UnCivil and UnCivilized | 115 |
Conclusion | 141 |
| 155 | |
| 164 | |
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The Americas in Early Modern Political Theory: States of Nature and ... Stephanie B. Martens No preview available - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
Aboriginality accounts actually American imaginaries Americas analysis arguments associated authors becomes Cambridge century chapter civilization colonization common conception concern condition Conquest considered contemporary critical culture deficient described discourse discussed distinction diverse Duke University early modern English English Studies Europe European figure Foucault Hobbes Hobbes’s human nature idea illustrations images important Indians indigenous individual instance intellectual interpretation issue John lack land languages later less Leviathan limited living Locke Locke’s logical mean moral myth Native natural law notes Orientalism original Pagden particular philosophy play political theory political thought populations possibility potential practices present question reality reason references relation relationship remains savage seen sense social contract theory social imaginary society term texts themes theorists tion traditional travel literature Treatises understanding University Press Vitoria Western World writings