The People of the So-called New World and the Practice of Othering in Czech Written Sources of the 16th Century

Abstract

Abstract The article deals with the issue of representation and the practice of othering of the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas – the so-called Indians – in selected Czech written sources from the 16th century. Using the concept this/that/the other by literary historian John Barrell, it examines how the practices of othering, i.e., the production of signs of difference, are produced in analysed sources and identifies key discourses for their formation. Applying the concept to concrete textual passages, the article explores its benefits as a tool in textual analysis. It enables to categorise different types of otherness, among which it identifies the interrelationships, and the way power is distributed. Othering is produced through discourses of civilization and barbarism, religious discourse, and the discourse of power. Textual discourses are based on existing European literary production, strongly dominated by Christian discourse and the resulting Eurocentric interpretation of the world. European ideas about society and its organization are also transmitted to the New World.