Argentine history in the twentieth century was that of a country polarized around antagonistic options that successively undermined institutional stability and its possibilities for sustained development. A clear expression of these antagonisms were the recurrent breakdowns of the constitutional order, initiated in 1930, which ended up making the Armed Forces a central actor in the political life of the country. Toward the sixties, however, this institutional instability—which alternated between civil governments of reduced legitimacy and military governments supported by civilian sectors—failed to temper the optimism of Argentines who tended to see the future as a horizon of auspicious possibilities. For some, that optimism was rooted in expectations of progress and modernization; for others, it was related to the promises that the Cuban Revolution had opened. Public opinion surveys in the mid-1960s reported that the majority of Argentines believed that the future would be better than the present and the past.
That optimism began to crack during the seventies. In the context of the late cold war, the traditional antagonistic options that characterized the Argentine twentieth century renewed and sharpened their opposition. This radicalization of the positions unnerved broad social sectors of the population. With a long tradition in the country, political violence between the different protagonists of the social struggle (unions, guerrillas, Armed Forces, etc.) acquired an unprecedented intensity in the first half of the seventies. In the second half, terrorism exercised from governmental spheres ended up assuming the form of a State policy with the arrival of the “Proceso de Reorganización Nacional” (National Reorganization Process) (1976-1983), the last and most bloody military coup in Argentine history. The study of this convulsive period is important to understand not only the past but also, to a large extent, the present of Argentine society.
In this course, we will analyze the historical process that goes from the mid-sixties to the end of the last military dictatorship attending to four narrative genres: literature, film, journalistic stories, and academic essays. Together, these four genres have collaborated to elaborate many of the social representations shared by argentines about their recent past.
That optimism began to crack during the seventies. In the context of the late cold war, the traditional antagonistic options that characterized the Argentine twentieth century renewed and sharpened their opposition. This radicalization of the positions unnerved broad social sectors of the population. With a long tradition in the country, political violence between the different protagonists of the social struggle (unions, guerrillas, Armed Forces, etc.) acquired an unprecedented intensity in the first half of the seventies. In the second half, terrorism exercised from governmental spheres ended up assuming the form of a State policy with the arrival of the “Proceso de Reorganización Nacional” (National Reorganization Process) (1976-1983), the last and most bloody military coup in Argentine history. The study of this convulsive period is important to understand not only the past but also, to a large extent, the present of Argentine society.
In this course, we will analyze the historical process that goes from the mid-sixties to the end of the last military dictatorship attending to four narrative genres: literature, film, journalistic stories, and academic essays. Together, these four genres have collaborated to elaborate many of the social representations shared by argentines about their recent past.
- Teacher: Sebastian Carassai