Oscar Terán (1938–2008)
Author of Historia de las ideas en la Argentina. Diez lecciones iniciales, 1810-1910 (Spanish Edition)
About the Author
Series
Works by Oscar Terán
Historia de las ideas en la Argentina. Diez lecciones iniciales, 1810-1910 (Spanish Edition) (2008) 14 copies
Nuestros años sesentas : la formación de la nueva izquierda intelectual en la Argentina, 1956-1966 (1991) 12 copies
Ideas en el siglo. Intelectuales y cultura en el siglo XX latinoamericano (Spanish Edition) (2004) 6 copies
Vida intelectual en el Buenos Aires fin-de-siglo (1880-1910): derivas de la "cultura científica" (2000) 6 copies
Positivismo y nación en la Argentina 2 copies
José Ingenieros : pensar la nación 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Terán, Oscar
- Birthdate
- 1938
- Date of death
- 2008-03-21
- Nationality
- Argentina
- Birthplace
- Carlos Casares, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Places of residence
- Carlos Casares, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Mexico City, Mexico
Members
Reviews
Awards
Statistics
- Works
- 18
- Members
- 66
- Popularity
- #259,059
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 2
- ISBNs
- 15
Who are these big shots? Miguel Cané, José María Ramos Mejía, Carlos Octavio Bunge, Ernesto Quesada, and José Ingenieros. Each one gets his own chapter, and each chapter builds a detailed representation of their place in wider intellectual currents during a time when there were a great deal of new ideas and theories floating around. These gentlemen were united not only by their use of scientific/"scientific" discourses, but also by a tendency to figure out ways to guide Argentine society into a future wherein they would retain their elite position. The chapter on Cané, for instance, links his thought with a tradition that also includes José Enrique Rodó's Ariel, whereby democracy is a concept viewed with apprehension, because of the perceived social levelling or mediocritization of civil society if everyone is given an equal lot in the leadership of the nation. The masses are also viewed with apprehension: Ramos Mejía, inspired by the anthropological criminology of Cesare Lombroso, wrote extensively on their psychology and how the multitude might be effectively understood and guided as his country absorbed hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Finally, Argentineity is another common preoccupation among all the intellectuals studied by Terán. Especially as the centennial celebrations approached, all of the men studied in this book ruminated on what it meant to be Argentine.
This was a very satisfying read, and helpful in its focus: the ideas of these men were often misguided, and sometimes downright reprehensible. Nonetheless, they were calling the intellectual shots on the national level in those days, founding the various departments of the national university and participating in international dialogues on important issues. Furthermore, their books are nearly always available on Google Books these days, so their ideas and theories are available to study here in the 21st century. Sometimes, really innovative things can be done with their works: Augusto Roa Bastos, for example, surely drew heavily from Ramos Mejía's psychological profile of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia when he wrote Yo, el Supremo, even if the methodology used in his Neuroses de los hombres célebres en la historia argentina is completely untenable these days (I'm pretty sure).
Basically, I think I just enjoy reading about the bad ideas and bad theories proposed by people in the past. It's a good change of pace, and I like learning about stuff that decidedly hasn't stood the test of time. Terán is a gifted writer and is great at weaving together all the different intellectual currents that inspired these men's work. He's sympathetic when he needs to be, and he's creative in his study of people whose ideas he sometimes abhors. His chapter on Bunge, for example, sort of builds you up to the really horrible racist theories, while giving you subtle hints that it's coming in future pages.
So it was an enjoyable read and it helped me better understand how European thought penetrated Argentine intellectual life in elite circles. It's a valuable book to any student of Argentine intellectual history, and I'll keep it on my bookshelf until the library makes me bring it back.… (more)