Macaronesia

Ontological and Epistemological Tensions of a Name

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51427/com.jcs.2024.05.0005

Keywords:

Macaronesia, island studies, archipelagity, geosocial, Atlantic history

Abstract

This essay undertakes a multifaceted exploration of the name 'Macaronesia'. Particularly focused on decoding the geological dimensions of some of the identity-forming processes at the macro-archipelago level, the essay nonetheless refrains from definitively answering the question "what is Macaronesia?". The analysis begins by exploring the ways in which the noun acts in the formulation of forms of belonging at the geo-local level, questioning its origins and applicability, drawing on Island and Archipelagic Studies to understand it. It also recognizes the existence of foundational geological conditions that shape the sense of place the name geo-localizes. Finally, it reflects on two divergent geological identities that underpin two historiographical directions: the first endogenous, resulting from a relationship with the use of land, and the second exogenous, imperial, and exoticizing, constructed around the sense of isolation that the oceanic distance of the territories from the continent suggests.

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Author Biography

Francisco C. Marques, Centre for Comparative Studies, University of Lisbon, Portugal

Francisco C. Marques is a student in the Doctoral Program in Comparative Studies at the University of Lisbon, under a scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. He is also a junior member of the Centre for Comparative Studies of the same university where he co-authored the Digital Encyclopedia of Island Studies, an ongoing project developed between that University, the University of Madeira, and the University of Malta. His current research interests are related to islands, insular literatures, archipelagic studies, and the epistemology and practice of comparativism.

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Published

2024-06-28

How to Cite

Marques, Francisco C. 2024. “Macaronesia: Ontological and Epistemological Tensions of a Name”. Compendium: Journal of Comparative Studies | Revista De Estudos Comparatistas, no. 5 (June). Lisboa, Portugal:64–81. https://doi.org/10.51427/com.jcs.2024.05.0005.

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