New Books in Latin American Studies Camilla Townsend, "Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs" (Oxford UP, 2019)
24 snips
Feb 5, 2021 Camilla Townsend, author of 'Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs', challenges long-held assumptions about the Aztecs, tells their story from their perspective, and debunks misconceptions about their beliefs. She discusses unique sources used to study the Aztecs and her approach of starting each chapter with a vignette about a single person to create a cohesive narrative. Townsend also mentions her ongoing project on the Lenape Indians in New York and her plans to return to studying the Aztecs in the future.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Path to Latin American Studies
- Camilla Townsend's interest in Latin America began with the Nicaraguan Revolution.
- Her foster daughter, who was Latin American, further solidified this interest.
Shift in Research Focus
- Townsend's first book was a comparative study of Baltimore and Guayaquil.
- Her interest in indigenous history developed while working on biographies of Malintzin and Pocahontas.
Terminology
- The term "Aztec" was coined later; the people called themselves "Mexica".
- Townsend uses various terms to represent specific groups accurately.