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Winner of Modern Language Association's Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize. Darker Side of weaves together literature, semiotics, history, historiography, cartography, geography, and cultural theory to examine role of language in colonization of New World. Walter D. Mignolo locates privileging of European forms of literacy at heart of New World colonization. He examines how alphabetic writing is linked with exercise of power, what role the has played in colonial relations, and many connections between writing, social organization, and political control. It has long been acknowledged that Amerindians were at a disadvantage in facing European invaders because native cultures did not employ same kind of texts (hence knowledge) that were validated by Europeans. Yet no study until this one has so thoroughly analyzed either process or implications of conquest and destruction through sign systems. Starting with contrasts between Amerindian and European writing systems, Mignolo moves through such topics as development of Spanish grammar, different understandings of book as object and text, principles of genre in history-writing, and an analysis of linguistic descriptions and mapping techniques in relation to construction of territoriality and understandings of cultural space. Darker Side of Renaissance will significantly challenge commonplace understandings of New World history. More importantly, it will continue to stimulate and provide models for new colonial and post-colonial scholarship. . . a contribution to studies of first order. The field will have to reckon with it for years to come, for it will unquestionably become point of departure for discussion not only on foundations and achievements of but also on effects and influences on colonized cultures. -- Journal of Hispanic/ Latino Theology Walter D. Mignolo is Professor in Department of Romance Studies and Program in Literature, Duke University.