Cundill History Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 13 (2020) Winner
Camilla Townsend
カミラ・タウンゼンド
Kamira Taunzend
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1965-01-29 （New York City, New York, United States）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English, Nahuatl
- Residence History
- New York City, New York → Hamilton, New York → New Brunswick, New Jersey
Career
- Occupations
- historian, professor
- Active Years
- 1995-2024
- Affiliations
- Colgate University, Rutgers University
- Influenced By
- Samuel L. Baily
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryn Mawr College | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| Rutgers University | — | Comparative History | PhD | — | United States |
Bryn Mawr College
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
summa cum laude
Rutgers University
Comparative History
Degree:
PhD
Year of Graduation:
1995
Country:
United States
Thesis: Doing a day's business in a new nation: A comparative study of daily economic activity in two early republican port towns. Guayaquil, Ecuador, and Baltimore, Maryland, 1820-1835
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | Fellowship |
| 2020 | Cundill History Prize | Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs | — | McGill University | 受賞 |
Guggenheim Fellowship
2010
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
Fellowship
Cundill History Prize
2020
Work:
Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs
Organization:
McGill University
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs
2019 HistoryA new history of the Aztecs written from the Nahuas' own perspective, based on 16th- and 17th-century Nahuatl annals.
Aztec historyNahuatl annalsIndigenous perspectivesColonial era
Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma
2004 HistoryExplores the life of Pocahontas and the challenges faced by the Powhatan people.
Native AmericansColonial encounters
Malintzin's Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico
2006 HistoryExamines the role of Malintzin, an indigenous woman, in the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
Mexican conquestIndigenous women
Translations
- Translated to Spanish (Malintzin: Una mujer indígena en la Conquista de México)
Bibliography
- Tales of Two Cities: Race and Economic Culture in Early Republican North and South America
- Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma
- Malintzin's Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico
- American Indian History: A Documentary Reader
- Here in This Year: Seventeenth-Century Nahuatl Annals of the Tlaxcala-Puebla Valley
- Annals of Native America: How the Nahuas of Colonial Mexico Kept Their History Alive
- Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs
- Indigenous Life After the Conquest: The De la Cruz Family Papers of Colonial Mexico
Translations of Works
- Malintzin: Una mujer indígena en la Conquista de México (Spanish)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Primary source-drivenDirect use of indigenous languagesAccessible narrative
- Recurring Motifs
- Indigenous voicesCritique of colonialismOral history transcribed
Legacy
Renowned for her innovative Aztec history using Nahuatl primary sources, winner of the 2020 Cundill History Prize. Influential scholar in Native American and Latin American history.
Quotes
-
Of course, scholars must be scrupulous and thorough. But I think young historians should also learn some lessons from the greatest fiction writers and most talented detectives. Close your eyes from time to time. Let your mind roam among all the evidence you have. Make the leap — Try to imagine the world as it was then. It will be worth the effort.
Source: Cundill History Prize interview (2022)
Trivia
- Alumna of Stuyvesant High School in New York City.
- Took a summer course in Classical Nahuatl at Yale University.