Beyond Imagined Communities
Reading and Writing the Nation in Nineteenth-Century Latin America
John Charles Chasteen editor Sara Castro-klaren editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Johns Hopkins University Press
Published:27th Jan '04
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Every Latin Americanist will welcome the insight provided by this book into Latin America's complex heterogeneity. -- Mario J. Valdes, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Toronto
Next, four critics examine production of cultural objects: Fernando Unzueta investigates novels; Sara Castro-Klaren, archeology and folklore; Gustavo Verdesio, suppression of unwanted archeological evidence; and Beatriz Gonzalez Stephan, national literary histories and international expositions.How did the nationalisms of Latin America's many countries-elaborated in everything from history and fiction to cookery-arise from their common backgrounds in the Spanish and Portuguese empires and their similar populations of mixed European, native, and African origins? Beyond Imagined Communities: Reading and Writing the Nation in Nineteenth-Century Latin America, discards one answer and provides a rich collection of others. These essays began as a critique of the argument by Benedict Anderson's highly influential book Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Anderson traces Latin American nationalisms to local circulation of colonial newspapers and tours of duty of colonial administrators, but this book shows the limited validity of these arguments. Instead, Beyond Imagined Communities shows how more diverse cultural influences shaped Latin American nationalisms. Four historians examine social situations: Francois-Xavier Guerra studies various forms of political communication; Tulio Halperin Donghi, political parties; Sarah C. Chambers, the feminine world of salons; and Andrew Kirkendall, the institutions of higher education that trained the new administrators. Next, four critics examine production of cultural objects: Fernando Unzueta investigates novels; Sara Castro-Klaren, archeology and folklore; Gustavo Verdesio, suppression of unwanted archeological evidence; and Beatriz Gonzalez Stephan, national literary histories and international expositions.
The anthology gives scholars intelligently argued, well-supported, and novel approaches in the search for the origins and spread of nationalism. Histoire Sociale - Social History 2005 This collection of essays is essential reading for all who work on questions of 'reading' and 'writing' the nation in Latin America. -- William G. Acree, Jr. Hispanofila 2006 An excellent volume for historians and literary scholars... all those interested in the process leading to the construction of nations in Latin America, as well as the multitudes of those who have been captivated by Anderson's groundbreaking work, will find the volume most rewarding. -- May E. Bletz Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 2007
ISBN: 9780801878534
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 19mm
Weight: 363g
280 pages