South American Independence: Gender, Politics, Text: 7 (Liverpool Latin American Studies) - Hardcover

This book offers an appealing blend of history and literary criticism, with the added benefit on an important focus on women and gender, a theme long neglected in studies of South American Independence. It could be used successfully in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in history, literature and Latin American studies. And it goes without saying that for scholars of the independence era it is an important addition to bibliographies and book-shelves. Latin American Studies, Volume 41 The authors should be praised for in covering several hitherto unknown or forgotten texts, mainly those written by women, as well as for a cautious analysis of these and the scholarly literature written on the subject. ...a valuable contribution to the study if gender roles and female agency in the first half of the nineteenth century in Latin America, and a fine example of the important of an interdisciplinary approach to Latin American independence. Hispanic American Historical Review, Volume 88, No. 3 A novel, original, suggestive, and profoundly thought-provoking study of Latin American independence. I genuinely think this is a classic in the making. Will Fowler, University of St Andrews

The struggles for independence in Latin America during the first half of the nineteenth century were accompanied by a wide-ranging debate about political rights, nationality and citizenship. In South American Independence, Catherine Davies, Claire Brewster and Hilary Owen investigate the neglected role of gender in that discussion. Examining women writers from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Colombia, the book traces the contradictions inherent in revolutionary movements that, while arguing for the rights of all, remained ambivalent, at best, about the place of women. Through studies of both published and unpublished writings, South American Independence reveals the complex role of women in shaping the vexed ideologies of independence.