The Invention of Humboldt

The Invention of Humboldt is a game-changing volume of essays by leading scholars of the Hispanic world that explodes many myths about Alexander von Humboldt and his world.

Rather than ''follow in Humboldt''s footsteps,'' this book outlines the new critical horizon of post-Humboldtian Humboldt studies: the archaeology of all that lies buried under the Baron''s epistemological footprint. Contrary to the popular image of Humboldt as a solitary ''adventurer'' and ''hero of science'' surrounded by New World nature, The Invention of Humboldt demonstrates that the Baron''s opus and practice was largely derivative of the knowledge communities and archives of the Hispanic world. Although Humboldtian writing has invented a powerful cult that has served to erase the sources of his knowledge and practice, in truth Humboldt did not ''invent nature,'' nor did he pioneer global science: he was the beneficiary of Iberian natural science and globalization. Nor was Humboldt a p