"The Incas of Peru: A Personal Approximation, based on Two Buildings, A Bridge, A Walk, and a Book" (SELCS Society talk)

Join the UCL SELCS Society for our first talk of the year from the amazing Dr Adrian Pearce!

"The Incas of Peru: A Personal Approximation, based on Two Buildings, A Bridge, A Walk, and a Book"

This talk approaches the Inca empire in (hopefully) an attractive way, though personal experiences of: two Inca sun temples, one in a provincial setting and the other in Cuzco (the Inca capital); the remote remains of what was once the greatest of the Inca rope bridges; a walk to Machu Picchu, down the so-called 'Sacred Valley'; and a recently published book on the sole surviving garment woven for an Inca emperor. Each of these places, objects, or experiences reveals key things about the Inca empire (the greatest indigenous empire to develop in South America prior to the coming of Europeans), in its culture and its statecraft. More importantly, I make the case here for the relationship between research and practical experience, not only as mutually enriching, but as inseparable from one another.

Adrian Pearce is Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American History. He has written on a wide range of topics, from Spanish rule in Peru during colonial times to the Falklands War of 1982, but the native peoples of the Americas have been an abiding interest. He teaches a final-year module titled, "Mayas, Aztecs, Incas: The Native Peoples of the Americas prior to the European Invasions", and is currently writing a short book on the Inca empire, jointly with the historical-comparative linguist Dr Paul Heggarty.

Please do not hesitate to contact me (Danilo, President of SELCS Society) if you have any questions at all or if there is any way that the event can be more accessible and enjoyable to you!