Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Terms of Use

© 2010 Annika Bockius-Suwyn. All rights reserved. Access to this work is restricted to users within the Swarthmore College network and may only be used for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes. Sharing with users outside of the Swarthmore College network is expressly prohibited. For all other uses, including reproduction and distribution, please contact the copyright holder.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

History Department

First Advisor

Diego Armus

Abstract

Bockius-Suwyn explores how the literature written in and about Buenos Aires in 1880-1940 captured the transformative nature of a period marked by rapid urbanization and social change. Through an examination of the works of four authors— Eugenio Cambaceres, Fray Mocho, Evaristo Carriego, and Roberto Arlt—Bockius-Suwyn explores the reactions of different classes to the changing social and urban landscape. While the elite class’s apprehension of increasing social mobility and the growing middle class was reflected in the xenophobic portrayal of European immigrants, the increase of literary works both written by and directed towards the middle class reflected the rise in literacy and the decline of the elite as the absolute cultural power. The author further explores the rise of “new journalism” and the “professional writer” as a vehicle for middle-class writers to establish themselves and reach an increasingly literate popular audience.

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