| Reforming Chile: Cultural Politics, Nationalism, and the Rise of the Middle Class Contributor(s): Barr-Melej, Patrick (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0807849197 ISBN-13: 9780807849194 Publisher: University of North Carolina Press OUR PRICE: $40.38 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2001 Annotation: Highlighting the crucial yet largely overlooked role played by society's middle layers in the historical development of Latin America, Patrick Barr-Melej provides the first comprehensive analysis of the rise of Chile's middle-class reform movement and its profound impact on that country's cultural and political landscapes. He shows how a diverse collection of middle-class intellectuals, writers, politicians, educators, and bureaucrats forged a "progressive" nationalism and advanced an ambitious cultural-political project between the 1890s and 1940s. Together, reformers challenged the power of elite groups and sought to quell working-class revolutionary activism as they endeavored to democratize culture and fortify liberal democracy. Using sources that range from archival documents and newspapers to short stories, novels, and school textbooks, Barr-Melej examines the reform movement's cultural ideas and their political applications, especially as they were articulated in the areas of literature and public education. In the process, he provides a new framework for understanding Chile's cultural and political evolution, as well as the complicated place of the middle class in a society experiencing the swift changes inherent in capitalist modernization. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Latin America - South America - Political Science | Public Policy - Social Policy |
| Dewey: 305.550 |
| LCCN: 00051218 |
| Lexile Measure: 1680 |
| Physical Information: 0.69" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" (1.05 lbs) 312 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Cultural Region - Latin America |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Highlighting the crucial yet largely overlooked role played by society's middle layers in the historical development of Latin America, Patrick Barr-Melej provides the first comprehensive analysis of the rise of Chile's middle-class reform movement and its profound impact on that country's cultural and political landscapes. He shows how a diverse collection of middle-class intellectuals, writers, politicians, educators, and bureaucrats forged a "progressive" nationalism and advanced an ambitious cultural-political project between the 1890s and 1940s. Together, reformers challenged the power of elite groups and sought to quell working-class revolutionary activism as they endeavored to democratize culture and fortify liberal democracy. Using sources that range from archival documents and newspapers to short stories, novels, and school textbooks, Barr-Melej examines the reform movement's cultural ideas and their political applications, especially as they were articulated in the areas of literature and public education. In the process, he provides a new framework for understanding Chile's cultural and political evolution, as well as the complicated place of the middle class in a society experiencing the swift changes inherent in capitalist modernization. |
Contributor Bio(s): Barr-Melej, Patrick: - Patrick Barr-Melej is professor of history at Ohio University. |