LASA/EANLAS: Rethinking Trans-Pacific Ties: Asia and Latin America

“​​Diplomacy and Historical Representation”

• In Event: “Imagining the Trans-Pacific, part 1: Encounters, Movement, and Representations”

Abstract

This paper examines a collection of Portuguese diplomatic correspondences and scientific expeditions written during the nineteenth century in regards to trade and labor migration between Asia and the Américas. Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats such as Eça de Queiroz and Aluísio Azevedo were also prominent authors, and each wrote fictions and non-fictions about China and Japan during the rise of diplomatic relations among Brazil, Japan, and China. I examine their diplomatic writings and fictional works to question how their narratives shape our understanding of historical context when scientific discourse and sociohistorical frames blur as related literary genres.

Author

• Ana Paulina Lee, American University of Paris