In this important new book Jorge Larrain examines the trajectories of modernity and identity in Latin America and their reciprocal relationships. Drawing on a large body of work across a vast historical and geographical range, he offers an innovative and wide-ranging account of the cultural transformations and processes of modernization that have occurred in Latin America since colonial times. The book begins with a theoretical discussion of the concepts of modernity and identity. In contrast to theories which present modernity and identity in Latin America as mutually excluding phenomena, the book shows their continuity and interconnection. It also traces historically the respects in which the Latin American trajectory to modernity differs from or converges with other trajectories, using this as a basis to explore specific elements of Latin America's culture and modernity today. The originality of Larrain's approach lies in the wide coverage and combination of sources drawn from the social sciences, history and literature. The volume relates social commentaries, literary works and media developments to the periods covered, to the changing social end economic structure, and to changes in the prevailing ideologies. This book will appeal to second and third-year undergraduates and Masters level students doing courses in sociology, cultural studies and Latin American history, politics and literature. .

A notable collection of complementary essays, largely culled from the pages of Comparative studies in society and history, examine the ways in which power (exerted by capital, markets, peasants, women, elites, and States) and culture (expressed in official policy, institutions, and communal life) h

In Argentina, Colombia, and Peru, there has been an out-pouring of popular-performative activities that have asked citizens to pose questions about the social order and about the memories of recent atrocities. Cala Buendía looks at ways in which cultural producers adapted or developed strategies as resources for social actors to use for change.

In Consumers and Citizens, Nestor Garcia Canclini, the best-known and most innovative cultural studies scholar in Latin America, maps the critical effects of urban sprawl and global media and commodity markets on citizens and shows that the complex results mean not only a shrinkage of certain traditional rights (particularly those of the welfare or client state), but also new openings for expanding citizenship. Garcia Canclini focuses on the diverse ways in which democratic societies recognize markets of citizen opinions, however heterogeneous and dissonant, as in the fashion and entertainment industries. He shows how identity issues, brought to the fore by the aligning of citizenship and consumption, can no longer be understood strictly within the purview of territory or nation. Defining a new space structured along the lines of markets, Garcia Canclini seeks to formulate a participatory and critical approach to consumption in which national culture, far from being extinguished, is reconstituted in transnational, cultural interactions.

Since the appearance of the first edition of this text in 1974, the book has stimulated an ongoing debate about the nature of the Latin American development process. Although the essays discuss a wide range of historical, economic, political, and social issues, they are unified in arguing that the Latin American experience of development is subject to special imperatives of analysis and interpretation not generally offered in the Western literature on development and social change. Arguing that West ern models are often inappropriate when applied to Latin America, the authors explore alternative approaches to understanding the Latin American pattern of development and change. The third edition retains classic essays from earlier editions but has been extensively revised to take account of the dramatic changes in the region over the last ten years. Looking particularly at the challenges presented by redemocratization and the new pluralism, the book raises the question of whether a "distinct tradition" still remains. New readings discuss the implications of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, the changing role of the church, the process of democratization, and human rights issues and speculate on the permanence of Latin America's more pluralistic political structures.

New edition of a pioneering exploration of Latin American politics and political culture.

While recognizing its origins and scope, Alejandro A. Vallega offers a new interpretation of Latin American philosophy by looking at its radical and transformative roots. Placing it in dialogue with Western philosophical traditions, Vallega examines developments in gender studies, race theory, postcolonial theory, and the legacy of cultural dependency in light of the Latin American experience. He explores Latin America's engagement with contemporary problems in Western philosophy and describes the transformative impact of this encounter on contemporary thought.