In Occiduis Terris: Jesuit Archives and Latin Literature in Early Modern Canada

FRCT Jesuit Centre Lunch-hour Lecture

  • Map of New France

  • Wednesday, February 8th, 2023
    225 St. Paul's College

    Speaker: Dr. Zachary Yuzwa

    Dr. Zachary Yuzwa is Assistant Professor and Department Head of History at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan. He received his PhD in 2014 from Cornell University and his recent work focuses on the reception of classical literature in early modern Canada. He is the principal investigator of a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research council of Canada that aims to explore the use of ancient literature and history in the writings of Jesuit missionaries in New France.

ABOUT THE LECTURE: 

When Jesuit missionaries to early modern Canada describe their experience in the so-called new world, they rely on classical literature and ancient history to make sense of it. This is a product of how they think about the past and its role in the present. In this talk, we will explore the historical vision of these 17th-century Jesuit missionaries, especially in order to interrogate the relationship between colonization and classical literature. We will consider this relationship through the lens of a short Latin poem written in 1663 and preserved in two different manuscripts housed in colonial archives.