This thesis focuses on the rhetorical methods Guaman Poma implements in his 17th century text, El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno. Written as a letter to the King of Spain in 1615, Guaman Poma attempts to expose the evils of colonialism while providing a written record of the culture and history of the Andean people. By evaluating the way he creates his narrative authority in a text written with the voice of an Incan man to the King of Spain amidst colonization, we can consider the ways this subaltern subject authorizes his voice so as to allow himself to critique colonization. Motivated by a desire to preserve Andean history and culture in the face of the Spanish colonizers, Guaman Poma creates a narrative voice that reflects the Christian values of his colonial readers. In creating a narrative voice that reflects colonial values, Guaman Poma becomes a narrator his readers could relate to, giving him the tools to make bold claims about the consequences of colonialism and ultimately resist and rewrite the colonial discourse that justified the oppressive practice and paved the way for its destructive consequences. The thesis will then go on to consider the intentional ways in which Guaman Poma implements this Christian narrative voice in his rhetoric. By claiming to be a true Christian and offering evidence of the Christian practices in the pre-colonial Incan Empire, Guaman Poma constructs an argument that employs the colonial discourse and its values in its resistance to it. Through a series of close readings and comparative translation, we will see how Guaman Poma constructs a narrative voice that allows for him to argue against colonization by arguing for the preservation of Christianity. By choosing to demonstrate to his colonial readers the evils of colonization with a focus on the damage it's done to Christianity in the region, Guaman Poma demonstrates an ability to manipulate the dominant discourse to argue against oppression using colonial logic.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 24107