Critical Essayism and the Transnationalisation of Latin-Americanism in the Southern Cone (1990-2000)

Abstract

This article focuses on the way the theoretical debate about transnationalized critical Latin- Americanism (latinoamericanismo crítico) at the end of the twentieth century intersects with critical essayism in the Southern Cone. More in particular, it studies how critical essayism is transformed into a discursive device to create a difference regarding the uses and critical reason of academic discourses on Latin American literature in the first phase of globalization. Special emphasis is placed on the essayism of the cultural journals Punto de Vista (Argentina) and Revista de Crítica Cultural (Chile), and their editors, Beatriz Sarlo and Nelly Richard, respectively.