Individualized Learning Stories
Revealing Readings
Christina Hughes '12 and Professor Madera Allan
One might say that Christina Hughes’ summer research project had her traveling in a figurative time machine. The senior Spanish major from Ripon spent her days transcribing, editing and translating testimony from inquisitorial trials held in Lima—a task that transported her from modern-day Appleton to 17th-century Peru. The testimony was written in Spanish and Hughes was charged with transcribing and modernizing it.
Assistant Professor of Spanish Madera Allan studies inquisitorial trials as part of her ongoing scholarship. After seeing the work Hughes had done in the classroom, Allan approached her about assisting in the project. “She was an obvious choice because she is gifted at deciphering old texts and hard working,” Allan said. “In working with texts like these you need someone who is going to be fastidious, and she’s certainly been that.”
The goal is to use Hughes’ transcriptions to create editions that will be posted on a website linked to the Lawrence library. The site will provide historical content and explain legal terminology as well as cultural and religious practices that emerge in the trials. “These trial documents are sitting in archives in Madrid, hidden away, and no one is reading them,” Allan said. “They’re reading histories based on them, but not reading the actual texts. It’s nice that there will be a website that will be accessible to all sorts of people who would never see these texts otherwise.”
The historical significance of the project is immense; the testimony Hughes worked with had never been published before. Once the website is complete, Allan said it will be a valuable resource for history students, Spanish students and people interested in Jewish history.
“It’s been an extraordinary learning experience,” said Hughes. “Working with these documents clued me in to how dynamic every text really is, from the writer’s quirks to the loaded meanings of word choice to wrestling with the cultural implications of a translation. The independent nature of the work introduced me to the research process and necessitated a disciplined work ethic.”
Recently Hughes received a Harrison Symposium grant that will allow her to continue her “time travels.” She and Allan will pack their bags for Madrid in December to continue the research as part of an independent study project. “I’ll be doing hands-on research in the national archives and national library; until now I’ve only worked with photocopies of this material, and I’m looking forward to being surrounded by the originals in such a historic setting.”
