Buddy, Can you Spare a Paradigm?: Reflections on Generational Shifts and Latin American History

2001 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Weinstein

“So, just how did you get interested in Latin America anyway?” Latin Americanists who don't have a recognizably Spanish or Portuguese surname are routinely asked this question by acquaintances, distant relatives, recently hired colleagues, and even by that most dreaded of airline passengers, the garrulous fool in the next seat. I don't have a convenient response—I can't claim to be the daughter of missionaries (my last name is a dead giveaway on that account), nor of diplomats or corporative executives posted to São Paulo when I was a young girl. I did have two great aunts from Minsk who took a boat to “America” and ended up in Buenos Aires, but that's a rather slim biographical reed on which to rest my decision to become a Latin Americanist.

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Julio Arroyo

RESUMEN La noción de contemporaneidad se presenta como una condición necesaria pero de difícil comprensión, razón por la cual se propone tomar una posición tangencial con el fin de entender los procesos de la actualidad (el capitalismo financiero, informatización, etc.) que le dan entidad. Estos procesos representan un cambio importante en la subjetividad urbana, con modificaciones significativas en las formas de percibir y comprender el entorno. Del mismo modo, se propone reconocer a América Latina como una región de enormes intercambios en un mundo donde las dimensiones materiales, sociales y culturales se ven exacerbadas. Esto permite reconocer tres formas de entender la ciudad contemporánea: la ciudad como totalidad dialéctica, totalidad fragmentada y totalidad clausurada (escindida). Si bien todas estas formas son verificables en la actualidad, esta última es el que más fuertemente contribuye a construir un concepto de ciudad contemporánea en general y en América Latina en particular. Apelando a varios autores, se intenta hacer una reflexión sobre lo contemporáneo y sobre la manera en que las dimensiones físicas, sociales y culturales se articulan, a veces formando relaciones estructurales estables y otras, relaciones contingentes. Debido a esto, las categorías de ciudad, espacio público y paisaje son particularmente complejas, ya sea cuando se piensa o actúa con las mismas. Se concluye en la necesidad de hacer más flexibles los campos disciplinarios con el fin de analizar estas categorías con especial atención en las dislocaciones y disyunciones antes que en las regularidades y continuidades. Dislocaciones y disyunciones son, de hecho, la más clara manifestación de lo contemporáneo en la fenomenología de la ciudad. Situaciones emergentes de la Ciudad de México, São Paulo y Buenos Aires, como casos paradigmáticos de ciudades de América Latina, dan argumentos para hablar de la constitución intempestiva y paradójica de lo contemporáneo. PALABRAS CLAVE Contemporaneidad - Ciudad - Espacio público - Paisaje - Arquitectura  ABSTRACT The notion of contemporaneity is introduced as a necessary but not easy understanding concept, reason by which it is proposed to take a tangential position in order to understand the processes of the present time (financial capitalism, computerization, etc.) that give entity to it. These processes represent a major change in urban subjectivity, with significant modifications in the ways of perceiving and understanding the environment. Similarly, it is proposed to recognize Latin America as a region of tremendous exchanges in a world where material, social and cultural dimensions are exacerbated. These allow to recognize three ways of understanding the contemporary city: city as a dialectical totality (wholeness), fragmented totality and canceled totality. While all these forms are verifiable at present, the latter is the one that most strongly would contribute to buildingup a concept of the contemporary city in general and Latin American in particular. Appealing to several authors, it is intended a reflection on the contemporary and on the way in which the physical, social and cultural dimensions are articulated, sometimes forming stable structural relationships and some other ones, contingent relations. Because of this, the categories of city, public space and landscape are particularly complex either when thinking or acting them. It is concluded on the need of making more flexible our disciplinary fields in order to analyze these categories with particular attention to the dislocations and disjunctions rather than to regularities and continuities. Dislocation and disjunctions are, in fact, the most clear manifestation of the contemporary in the phenomenology of the city. Emerging situations from Mexico City, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, as paradigmatic cases in Latin America, give arguments to talk about the untimely and paradoxical constitution of the contemporary. KEY WORDS Contemporaniey – City – Public Space – Urbanscape– Architecture  RESUMO A noção de Contemporaneidade é apresentada como uma condição necessária, mas de difícil compreensão, razão pela qual se propõe a tomar uma posição tangencial com a finalidade de compreender os processos atuais (capitalismo financeiro, informatização, etc.)que lhe dão existência. Esses processos representam uma grande mudança na subjetividade urbana, com mudanças significativas nas formas de se perceber e compreender o seu entorno. Da mesma forma, propõe-se reconhecera América Latina como uma região onde ocorrem grandes intercâmbios, em um mundo onde as dimensões material, social e cultural são exacerbadas. Isso permite reconhecer três maneiras de compreender a cidade contemporânea: a cidade como totalidade dialética, como totalidade fragmentada e como totalidade encerrada (dividida). Ainda que todas estas formas sejam verificáveis ​​na atualidade, a última é a que contribui mais fortemente para a construção de um conceito de cidade contemporânea em geral e, na América Latina, em particular. Recorrendo a vários autores intenta-sefazer uma reflexão sobre o contemporâneo esobre o modo de como as dimensões física, social e cultural são articuladas formando, às vezes, relações estruturais estáveis ​​e,em outras, relações contingentes. Por esse motivo, as categorias de cidade, de espaço público e de paisagem são particularmente complexas, seja quando sepensa ou se age sobre as mesmas. Conclui-se que há necessidade de tornar mais flexíve isos campos disciplinares, com a finalidade de analisar essas categorias a partir dos deslocamentos e disjunções, ao invés de nos voltarmos para as regularidades e continuidades. Deslocamentos e disjunções são, de fato, a mais clara manifestação do contemporâneo na fenomenologia da cidade. Situações emergentes como da Cidade do México, de São Paulo e de Buenos Aires, são exemplos paradigmáticos de cidades latino-americanas, que fornecem argumentos para discutir-se a constituição intempestiva e paradoxal do contemporâneo. PALAVRAS-CHAVE Contemporaneidade - Cidade - Espaço Público - Paisagem - Arquitetura


2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-392
Author(s):  
Vincent Peloso

Stanley J. Stein, Walter Samuel Carpenter III Professor of Spanish Civilization and Culture and Professor of History, Emeritus, at Princeton University, is a lifelong Latin Americanist. Together with his late wife Barbara, herself an accomplished bibliographer and historian of the region, Professor Stein wrote several books and articles that put their stamp on methods of writing the social history of modern Latin America, specifically on the impact of colonialism and industrialism in Mexico and Brazil in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is fair to say that no one who studied Latin American history over the last 35 years would have failed to engage the slim, elegantly written synthesis, The Colonial Heritage of Latin America: Essays on Economic Dependence in Perspective (1970). Recipients of grants and fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, singly or together, the Steins were honored for their path-breaking studies with the CLAH Robertson and Bolton prizes, the Conference on Latin American History Distinguished Service Award (1991), and the American Historical Association Award for Scholarly Distinction (1996).


2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (03) ◽  
pp. 379-392
Author(s):  
Vincent Peloso

Stanley J. Stein, Walter Samuel Carpenter III Professor of Spanish Civilization and Culture and Professor of History, Emeritus, at Princeton University, is a lifelong Latin Americanist. Together with his late wife Barbara, herself an accomplished bibliographer and historian of the region, Professor Stein wrote several books and articles that put their stamp on methods of writing the social history of modern Latin America, specifically on the impact of colonialism and industrialism in Mexico and Brazil in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is fair to say that no one who studied Latin American history over the last 35 years would have failed to engage the slim, elegantly written synthesis, The Colonial Heritage of Latin America: Essays on Economic Dependence in Perspective (1970). Recipients of grants and fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, singly or together, the Steins were honored for their path-breaking studies with the CLAH Robertson and Bolton prizes, the Conference on Latin American History Distinguished Service Award (1991), and the American Historical Association Award for Scholarly Distinction (1996).


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 47-67
Author(s):  
Dr. Aldo Mascareño

Abstract Populism has been one of the most outstanding features of Latin American politics throughout the 20th century. By controlling political and economic operations and appealing to the semantic construction of pueblo (the people), populism has succeeded in shaping a regional variant of functional differentiation. This process is analyzed along three phases of Latin American history, the pre-populist age of caudillos, the classic populism in the 20th century, and the neo-populist period in the 21st century. The article concludes with a reflection on the consequences of populism for the institutional framework in Latin America.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasem Bisharat

The Palestinian diaspora and Arab communities in Latin America, especially in Brazil, have contributed significantly to the Palestinian cause in Latin America. The convergence between these communities and union and left parties encouraged the left to include the Palestinian cause on its agenda. Brazil may be considered a model in this respect because of the influence of its Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party—PT), which led the Latin American left after the founding of the São Paulo Forum in 1992. The Palestinian community has an even greater role to play today, the more so since the PT’s exclusion from power favors Israel at the expense of the Palestinian cause. A diáspora palestina e as comunidades árabes na América Latina, especialmente no Brasil, teem contribuído significativamente para a causa palestina na América Latina. A convergência entre essas comunidades, sindicatos e partidos de esquerda levou a esquerda a incluir a causa palestina em sua agenda. O Brasil pode ser considerado um modelo nesse aspecto devido à influência do Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), que liderou a esquerda latino-americana após a fundação do Fórum de São Paulo em 1992. A comunidade palestina tem uma relevância ainda maior já que a perda de poder do PT favorece Israel em detrimento da causa palestina.


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