Harbinger of Modernity : Marcos Aguinis and the Democratization of Argentina

In __Harbinger of Modernity: Marcos Aguinis and the Democratization of Argentina__, Dalia Wassner presents an integrated analysis of the civic work and literary __oeuvre__ of Marcos Aguinis, who served as Secretary of Culture during Argentina s transition from dictatorship to democracy. Situating his writings in their historical and intellectual context, Wassner explores Aguinis s engagement with the dialectic of modernization as a Jewish public intellectual equally dedicated to fostering Argentine democracy and to inscribing himself in the annals of westernization. Encompassing intellectual history, literary criticism, Latin American history, and Jewish studies, Wassner s work illuminates the intersecting roles of Jews and public intellectuals in bringing democracy to post-dictatorship Argentina." Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Chapter 1 The Historical and Literary Context of the Argentine Public Intellectual 16 I. The History of the Public Intellectual in Global Context 16 II. Latin American Public Intellectuals 26 III. Marcos Aguinis 45 IV. Global Intellectuals Confront the Failures of Democracy 51 V. Aguinis and Latin American Cultural Democracy 53 Chapter 2 Aguinis and Alfonsín: Public Intellectuals and the Argentine Government 56 I. PRONDEC according to Aguinis 57 II. Aguinis, One of Many 70 III. PRONDEC after Aguinis 75 Chapter 3 Aguinis and the Essay: The Argentine Erasmus? 78 I. Elogio de la culpa 78 II. Anti-Semitism in Argentina 79 III. The Essay in Latin America 82 IV. The Chosen Tradition 84 V. Erasmus, Complicated 90 VI. Essays on Argentina’s Shortcomings 99 Chapter 4 Dialogue: Leading by Example 104 I. Dialogue Partner, Monseñor Laguna 105 II. Other Works of Dialogue in Latin America 108 III. The Mission of Dialogue in Latin America and Beyond 110 IV. Inside Aguinis and Laguna’s Work 113 V. Diálogos Completos: A Local Work, a Global Message 119 Chapter 5 Jews and the Novel: Aguinis’s Means to an End 122 I. Jewish Targets, National Victims 123 II. Aguinis, the New Latin American Intellectual 125 III. Themes and Methods 127 IV. Aguinis the Novelist Surrenders to Aguinis the Psychologist 140 V. Asalto in the Context of Aguinis’s Other Novels 141 Conclusion 152 Appendices 158 Appendix 1 Literary Works by Marcos Aguinis 160 Appendix 2 Newspaper Articles by Marcos Aguinis 161 Appendix 3 Scholarship on Marcos Aguinis 166 Bibliography 168 Index 180 In Harbinger of Modernity: Marcos Aguinis and the Democratization of Argentina, Dalia Wassner presents an integrated analysis of the civic work and literary oeuvre of Marcos Aguinis, who served as Secretary of Culture during Argentina's transition from dictatorship to democracy. Situating his writings in their historical and intellectual context, Wassner explores Aguinis's engagement with the dialectic of modernization as a Jewish public intellectual equally dedicated to fostering Argentine democracy and to inscribing himself in the annals of westernization. Encompassing intellectual history, literary criticism, Latin American history, and Jewish studies, Wassner's work illuminates the intersecting roles of Jews and public intellectual in bringing democracy to post dictatorship Argentina. Book jacket Harbinger of Modernity: Marcos Aguinis and the Democratization of Argentina provides an integrated analysis of Aguinis’s civic work and literary oeuvre, illuminating the intersection between the role of Jews and public intellectuals in a dialectic and transnational process of modernization.