In the Land of the Lacandon by Richard Ivan Jobs

In the Land of the Lacandon by Richard Ivan Jobs

In the mid-1930s the amateur French ethnographer and filmmaker Bernard de Colmont ventured into the mountainous state of Chiapas to study the Lacand n people and broadcast their way of life to a curious European public. Considered a lost tribe, the Lacand n were thought to be the closest living relatives of the ancient Maya. De Colmont became a celebrity explorer whose adventures generated considerable attention. The Lacand n themselves, however, were silenced in his tale. Nearly a century later, Richard Ivan Jobs and Steven Van Wolputte have taken up this story in all its complexity, creating a graphic history from de Colmont's narratives and images in the form of a heroic adventure comic. An essay contextualizing and historicizing the tale follows, as does an evocative, reflective poem by Tsotsil writer Manuel Bolom Pale, which offers an Indigenous perspective on the encounter. A captivating experiment in form, the book puts an immersive new spin on studying the past. In the Land of the Lacand n illuminates de Colmont's expedition against the backdrop of late imperialism on the eve of the Second World War in Europe. It investigates the history of exploration, science, and media, revealing how these narratives represented and constructed Indigenous peoples for the public - and how such representations continue to resonate.

“In the Land of the Lacandón brings us into the world of the 1930s adventurer and amateur anthropologistIt does so creatively as well as critically. Its intertextual strength lies in the comic genre, the historical analysis, and the Indigenous contributions.” Bernard Perley, author and illustrator of Going Native

“An innovative and enjoyable project that enriches our understanding of the popular impact of European ethnographic discourse.” Brian Gollnick, author of Reinventing the Lacandón: Subaltern Representations in the Rain Forest of Chiapas

“I’ve seen very few graphic novels that cover this space. Its story is notably transnational and touches on themes related to colonialism in a clear way. It is an excellent addition to the teaching toolkit for this subject.” Samuel J. Redman, author of Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology

“This captivating graphic history is a wonderful teaching tool, showing how historians today can work with unpalatable materials inherited from colonialism.” Alice Conklin, author of In the Museum of Man: Race, Anthropology, and Empire in France, 1850–1950

Richard Ivan Jobs is professor of European history at Pacific University.

Steven Van Wolputte is professor of anthropology at KU Leuven.

Manuel Bolom Pale is a translator, researcher, and Tsotsil poet from Huixtán, Chiapas, Mexico.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780228024767
ISBN 10	0228024765
Title	In the Land of the Lacandon
Author	Richard Ivan Jobs
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	McGill-Queen's University Press
Year published	2025-05-20
Number of pages	168
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.