Professor Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert and Kendal Simmons ‘23, Hispanic Studies Department

This summer I had the pleasure of working with Professor Paravisini-Gebert on the Oviedo Project. The goal of this project is to translate Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo’s Historia general y natural de las Indias or General and Natural History of the Indies. During the previous four semesters, students (including me) translated chapters that now need to be checked, edited, and then uploaded to the project’s website. My job this summer mainly focused on organizing those chapters, updating the website, and preparing for more chapters to be translated in the upcoming school year. I also got to try my hand at editing and I had the opportunity to take part in the overall decision-making process. 

The front page of the website.

One of the most rewarding parts of my job was looking for antique images and prints that accompanied each of the chapters I uploaded. By doing this, I learned about the flora, fauna, and political climate of colonial Latin America, right from primary sources. These images also give the Oviedo project a sense of both authenticity and creativity that I think perfectly reflects the personalities of the students who completed these translations.

With guidance and insight from Professor Paravisini-Gebert, I also learned about the translation process as a whole. For example, with so many chapters and so many students translating Oviedo’s work, certain steps need to be taken to maintain a sense of consistency. It raises questions like: How do we translate certain words? Do we leave them in Spanish to maintain authenticity and cultural significance? Or do we find an English equivalent that is more recognizable and easier for readers to digest? To answer these questions, we met several times with other members of the Oviedo team over Zoom, which allowed me to better understand the importance of everyone’s individual role in a project in such a large and complex project. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed working on the Oviedo Project under Professor Paravisini-Gebert. It is so exciting to see how much we were able to complete this summer and, even though there remains much to do this coming year, I cannot wait to see how it all unfolds!