The Classics in South America: Five Case Studies

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Description

This volume examines the long and complex history of the Greco-Roman tradition in South America, arguing that the Classics have played a crucial, though often overlooked, role in the self-definition in the New World. Chronicling and theorizing this history through a detailed analysis of five key moments, chosen from the early and late colonial period, the emancipatory era, and the 20th and 21st centuries, it also examines an eclectic selection of both literary and cinematographic works and artefacts such as maps, letters, scientific treatises, songs, monuments, political speeches, and even the drafts of proposals for curricular changes across Latin America. The heterogeneous cases analysed in this book reveal cultural anxieties that recur through different periods, fundamentally related to the 'newness' of the continent and the formation of identities imagined as both Western and non-Western a genealogy of apprehensions that South American intellectuals and political figures have typically experienced when thinking of their own role in world history. In tracing this genealogy, The Classics in South America innovatively reformulates our understanding of well-known episodes in the cultural history of the region, while providing a theoretical and historical resource for further studies of the importance of the Classical tradition across Latin America.

Reviews

A suitable introduction to novices in the growing field of South and Central American classical reception, for all the in-depth study it contains. * Greece & Rome Journal *
From the rising walls of Lima to the samba rhythms of Rio, Campos-Muoz opens up new vistas for Classical reception in South America that elucidate how Greek and Roman literature and culture were repurposed in order to help forge New-World identities. -- Seth A. Jeppesen, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Brigham Young University, USA

Author Bio

Germn Campos Muoz is Associate Professor of World Literature at Appalachian State University, USA.