Resonances of El Chavo del Ocho in Latin American Childhood, Schooling, and Societies

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

El Chavo del Ocho is one of the most influential pieces of popular culture to have hit Latin America in the last 50 years, having, at the peak of its popularity in the mid-1970s, reached an approximate audience of 350 million across the Americas. It is also a rare example of a cultural product that has travelled through Latin America, leaving a lasting impact for several decades. Resonances of El Chavo del Ocho in Latin American Childhood, Schooling, and Societies analyses the phenomenon of El Chavo, and its images of schooling and childhood, Latin American-ness, class and experience. With contributions from scholars emerging from or based in countries including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia and the US, the book combines reflections from a variety of international perspectives without attempting to compare or reach consensus on any ultimate meaning(s) of the work. The book explores themes such as images of schooling and childhood, romantization of poverty, the prevalence of non-traditional families and the bordering cynicism towards the economic structures and inequalities which, some argue, make the show transgressive and quite uniquely Latin American. Investigating the connection between visual culture studies and transcultural curriculum studies, this innovative title provides scholars with original new insights into conceptualizing childhood, schooling and society in Latin America.

Reviews

Resonances of El Chavo del Ocho in Latin American Childhood, Schooling, and Societies presents theoretically kaleidoscopic views on notions of childhood and schooling from brilliant scholars working across the Americas. The book will undoubtedly appeal to those working in childhood studies, cultural studies, curriculum studies, international education, and media studies. * Lesley Bartlett, Professor in Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA *
An eye-opening examination of a 1970s Mexican sitcom about the tribulations of an orphan boy and his friends in a low-income housing complex that became the most-watched TV series in Latin America and a shared reference for several generations. The editors rhizomatic perspective gives the volume a level of intellectual coherence rare in edited books and a limpid analytical framework to explore themes of childhood (complicated by the fact that children were played by adults in the series), schooling, media, social class, Latin American-ness, and transnationalism. The clarity and richness of the analysis makes this a model for multidisciplinary cultural studies in general. * Jos C. Moya, Professor of History and Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies, Columbia University, USA *

Author Bio

Daniel Friedrich is Associate Professor of Curriculum at Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. He is the author of Democratic Education as a Curricular Problem (2014) and co-editor of a special issue of Education Policy Analysis Archives on the global network Teach For All (with Rolf Straubhaar). Erica Colmenares is a doctoral researcher in the department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University, USA.