Scott Hawkins Lecture

Presented by the Departments of Anthropology and History

Southern Methodist University

John Sullivan

Professor of the Graduate Program in Colonial History

Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (Mexico)

Reviving the Historic Nahuatl (Aztec) Language of Mexico

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
DeGolyer Library
6404 Hilltop Lane at McFarlin
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

6:30 pm reception

7:00 pm lecture  
 

The introduction of alphabetic writing in Nahuatl, soon after the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, opened up a new mode of communication to speakers of the language. During the next three hundred years, thousands of works were written in multiple genres. This tradition is currently being reactivated at the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, where indigenous students are participating in the preparation of a monolingual dictionary and grammar of Modern Huastecan Nahuatl. These reference materials will serve as the foundation for a program of college level academics conducted within the perspective of the native speaker's language, history, and world view. Students and professors will collaborate in activities, including the study of Colonial Nahuatl manuscripts, the critique of related Western scholarship, original research, and projects designed to promote the extended use of indigenous languages in urban society.