Research Explorer

Project

A genealogy of testimony in 16th century travel writing and cosmography
Code
01D30518
Duration
01 October 2018 → 30 September 2023
Funding
Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • History and foundations not elsewhere classified
  • Humanities and the arts
    • History of ideas
    • General philosophy of science
    • Ethics not elsewhere classified
    • Other philosophy, ethics and religious studies not elsewhere classified
Keywords
historical epistemology genealogy testimony travel writings history of cosmography
 
Project description
 

During the 16th century, the demarcation between ‘history writer’ and ‘tale teller’ was at stake. In the chaos of information, returning from the discoveries and spreading rapidly, due to the printing press, a new epistemological ideal arose: the eyewitness. By studying 16th century travel writings and their circulation in cosmographic works, I will investigate how that ideal took shape.