Event—Center for Renaissance Studies

A View from the Riverbank: The False River of Julian Poydras, 1770-1810

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A virtual talk exploring how an early modern man's view from a riverbank might illuminate life in colonial Louisiana.

A Plan of New Orleans, Philadelphia: 1804. Providence, John Carter Brown Library (Cabinet Cf804 1)

Description

In this talk, Katherine Ibbett explores some elements of the varied career of one Julien Poydras of False River, Louisiana: enslaver, terrible poet, defender of Roman law practices relating to the Mississippi. These elements have in common a particular relation to the bank of the river. Drawing on the history of the French term “riverain,” – literally dweller of the riverbank, but eventually coming to mean something more like “resident” – Ibbett asks how the view from Poydras’s riverbank might illuminate questions of residency, settlement and displacement in colonial Louisiana.

Registration Information

This Zoom talk is open to a limited number and registration in advance is required; registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom the day of the event.

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