Engaging with Total Reality. The Third Anachronistic Importation of Sartrean Ideas and Their Infiltration into Argentine Surrealism (1958-1967)

Abstract

The introduction of Sartrean thought into Argentina exemplifies a case of cultural importation that illustrates how ideas transform upon contact with a new cultural landscape and discursive universe. Having occurred in distinct stages characterized by varying conditions of both the reception context and the philosopher's own evolving notions and positions, it activated different spheres of this interaction. This study focuses on the specific period when Sartre's ideas became “popularized” among the Argentinean intelligentsia and infiltrated the discourse of Argentinean surrealists between the late 1950s and the 1960s. To achieve this, the paper first examines the concept of cultural importation, providing a reflective framework. Then it analyzes how these ideas originated and coexisted within their original French context to better comprehend the anachronisms and displacements resulting from their importation. Finally, the study scrutinizes three short-lived journals associated with the Argentinean surrealist group, which demonstrate the convergence of these ideas and the discursive environment in which they circulated: Boa (1958-1960), Cero (1964-1967), and La Rueda(1967).