ABSTRACT
This article aims to discuss how the French traveler Paul Walle narrates the Brazilian Amazon, its inhabitants and its cultures. At the beginning of the 20th century, Walle’s reports were written based on Eurocentric principles anchored in assumptions of racial, moral, cultural and economic superiority. The focus of the article is on the problematization of Walle’s ‘look’ upon the Amazon region, considering the theoretical formulations of the Cultural Studies with emphasis on the Stuart Hall’s perspective in which “systems of representation are the systems of meaning by which we represent the world to ourselves and to others.” Also, the article takes into account some authors that enable to reflect on colonial/decolonial relations in ‘Latin’ American and Amazonian contexts.
Keywords:
Paul Walle; travel reports; imaginary; Amazon