Guest Lecture: „Diese vorgeblichen Weisen“ - Der Afrikareisebericht des Abbé Proyart (1776) als Aufklärungskritik Guest Lecture: „Diese vorgeblichen Weisen“ - Der Afrikareisebericht des Abbé Proyart (1776) als Aufklärungskritik

On January 22nd, Jutta Wimmler will speak in Kim Siebenhüner’s research colloquium at the University of Jena about the French abbot Abbé Proyart’s 1776 book on the African Loango Coast. She argues that Proyart – who had never been to Africa himself – uses the reports of the recent Capuchin missions to the Loango coast in the ideological struggle against the “modern philosophes” – today better known as “Enlightenment thinkers.” She not only contextualizes his arguments within the broader debates of the time, but also illustrates how these arguments impact the picture he paints of Loango society.