Photo by Deb Dowd on Unsplash.
“Many mainstream representations of the Amazon are produced outside the region, primarily by Europeans and other Latin Americans who often overlook the diverse literary and cultural expressions originating there. This initiative intends to highlight contemporary narratives by Amazonian peoples.”
Congratulations to Dr. Kim Beauchesne (Principal Investigator), Patricio Robles, Emily Ng, and Willow Volkert for receiving the UBC Public Humanities Research Seed Grant, Arts Undergraduate Research Award (AURA), and SSHRC Explore Grant for research projects related to “Green Narratives: Literary Voices from the Amazon Rainforest.”
About the research project:
“Green Narratives: Literary Voices from the Amazon Rainforest” is a collaborative project aimed at creating a virtual space to disseminate and discuss Amazonian literatures. The project stems from the realization that many mainstream representations of the Amazon are produced outside the region, primarily by Europeans and other Latin Americans who often overlook the diverse literary and cultural expressions originating there. This initiative intends to highlight contemporary narratives by Amazonian peoples, raise awareness about their cultures, and promote public discussions around them. Our method emphasizes collaboration, mainly with Amazonian Indigenous writers, artists, cultural creators, scholars, and other stakeholders.
Homepage of the Green Narratives website, which is currently under production. Permission was granted from the website authors to publish this image.
The project’s website comprises several sections, such as a comprehensive Digital Archive that contains a variety of genres (novels, poems, plays, podcasts, videos, interviews, etc.). To promote worldwide debates about Amazonian literatures, our website also features a moderated public forum, in addition to a blog dedicated to the analysis of Amazonian literary works. Other central components consist of an interactive map that displays Amazonian authors—thus offering a dynamic summary of their cultural production and their location—a list of resources (like bookstores, institutes, and organizations), as well as educational tools (for example, quizzes, interactive images, memory games, and crossword puzzles) to help deconstruct myths about the Amazon. Our future plans include expanding collaborations with local and international partners, organizing public talks and events, exploring non-traditional outputs, and engaging with a broader audience.
Written by Patricio Robles
