How Long to Read Mestizo Nations

By Juan E. De Castro

How Long Does it Take to Read Mestizo Nations?

It takes the average reader 3 hours and 13 minutes to read Mestizo Nations by Juan E. De Castro

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Nationality in Latin America has long been entwined with questions of racial identity. Just as American-born colonial elites grounded their struggle for independence from Spain and Portugal in the history of Amerindian resistance, constructions of nationality were based on the notion of the fusion of populations heterogeneous in culture, race, and language. But this rhetorical celebration of difference was framed by a real-life pressure to assimilate into cultures always defined by Iberian American elites. In Mestizo Nations, Juan De Castro explores the construction of nationality in Latin American and Chicano literature and thought during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Focusing on the discourse of mestizajeÑwhich proposes the creation of a homogenous culture out of American Indian, black, and Iberian elementsÑhe examines a selection of texts that represent the entire history and regional landscape of Latin American culture in its Western, indigenous, and neo-African traditions from Independence to the present. Through them, he delineates some of the ambiguities and contradictions that have beset this discourse. Among texts considered are the Indianist novel Iracema by the nineteenth-century Brazilian author JosŽ de Alencar; the Tradiciones peruanas, Peruvian Ricardo Palma's fictionalizations of national difference; and historical and sociological essays by the Peruvian Marxist JosŽ Carlos Mari‡tegui and the Brazilian intellectual Gilberto Freyre. And because questions raised by this discourse are equally relevant to postmodern concerns with national and transnational heterogeneity, De Castro also analyzes such recent examples as the Cuban dance band Los Van Van's use of Afrocentric lyrics; Richard Rodriguez's interpretations of North American reality; and points of contact and divergence between JosŽ Mar’a Arguedas's novel The Fox from Up Above and the Fox from Down Below and writings of Gloria Anzaldœa and Julia Kristeva. By updating the concept of mestizaje as a critical tool for analyzing literary text and cultural trendsÑincorporating not only race, culture, and nationality but also gender, language, and politicsÑDe Castro shows the implications of this Latin American discursive tradition for current critical debates in cultural and area studies. Mestizo Nations contains important insights for all Latin Americanists as a tool for understanding racial relations and cultural hybridization, creating not only an important commentary on Latin America but also a critique of American life in the age of multiculturalism.

How long is Mestizo Nations?

Mestizo Nations by Juan E. De Castro is 192 pages long, and a total of 48,384 words.

This makes it 65% the length of the average book. It also has 59% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Mestizo Nations Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 4 hours and 24 minutes to read Mestizo Nations aloud.

What Reading Level is Mestizo Nations?

Mestizo Nations is suitable for students ages 10 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Mestizo Nations?

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