Description | In La ciudad letrada (1984), Ángel Rama offers a sweeping interpretation of Latin American cultural history, in which he traces the disproportionate influence wielded by urban intellectuals – or letrados – in the struggles to implement political projects. Central to his argument is the notion that writing not only served as an essential medium for those disputing power, but also regulated, sanctioned, or suppressed alternative cultural practices. Recent scholarship on the nineteenth century, however, has challenged the limits of this argument by examining the involvement of diverse social actors in the transition from colonies to nation-states. In this context, this presentation focuses on how new visual technologies played a role in the dissemination of political modernity, well beyond the confines – and express aims – of the so-called lettered city. ABOUT BRENDAN LANCTOT: Brendan Lanctot is an Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at University of Puget Sound and a recipient of the 2019 ACLS Burkhart Award. |
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