Publications
The Worlds of Junípero Serra: Historical Contexts and Cultural Representations ed. by Steven W. Hackel
Junípero Serra's early missionary career, particularly his work in Mallorca and Mexico City before his time in California, is revealed to have significantly shaped his approach to evangelization. This collection of essays, edited by Steven W. Hackel, challenges the dominant narrative that focuses primarily on Serra's California missions. It highlights his deep-rooted Franciscan traditions, his dual ministry to Indigenous peoples and Europeans, and the complex interplay between peaceful conversion and coercion in his missionary practices. The book also critically examines the 'Spanish Craze' in the U.S., where Serra was mythologized as a founding father, often at the expense of Mexican and Indigenous perspectives. This work provides a nuanced understanding of Serra's legacy, contextualizing it within broader historical and cultural representations.
The Worlds of Junípero Serra: Historical Contexts and Cultural Representations
This volume offers a nuanced exploration of Junípero Serra's life and legacy, challenging polarizing narratives by contextualizing his missionary career within the complex political, cultural, and religious landscapes of early modern Majorca, New Spain, and 19th-century United States. It reveals how Serra's use of baroque aesthetics shaped Catholic spaces on empire's fringes and highlights miscommunications between his paternal authority model and Native Californian practices, underscoring the intentional withholding of knowledge by Indigenous peoples. The collection also examines Anglo-American reappropriations of Serra while noting an opportunity to further explore Mexican interpretations and broader imperial contexts.
Pames, Jonaces, and Franciscans in the Sierra Gorda: Mecos and Missionaries
Robert H. Jackson's work, 'Pames, Jonaces, and Franciscans in the Sierra Gorda: Mecos and Missionaries,' offers a nuanced exploration of two centuries of interaction between Franciscan missionaries and the Pames and Jonaces, indigenous Chichimeca groups in Mexico's Sierra Gorda region. The study adopts a mission history and historical demography approach, focusing on the establishment and demographic impact of missions while also examining the transformation of sacred landscapes and native ways of life. Jackson contrasts his findings with earlier mission models from Michoacán and Oaxaca, revealing how missions were superimposed onto pre-Hispanic political structures. While the primary emphasis lies on mission buildings and congregations, the work provides valuable insights into the power dynamics between colonizers and indigenous populations during this period.
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