Improvised Continent: Pan-Americanism and Cultural Exchange
Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Beginning in the 1910s, both the U.S. federal government and various private associations began to organize and sponsor projects that brought Latin American “cultural ambassadors” to the United States to lecture about Latin American cultures and societies. These intellectuals promoted Pan-American feelings in the United States and, back in their home countries, disseminated information on their positive experiences in the North. Richard Cándida Smith's Improvised Continent succeeds admirably in bringing to life a vast number of diverse characters in this cultural and intellectual history. He also provides new insights on the general development of U.S.–Latin American relations during the twentieth century. Focusing on cultural exchange in the United States and Latin America, the book analyzes how the work of Latin American artists, intellectuals, and writers was received, reproduced, and understood in North America. The book studies official cultural exchange programs and the activities of philanthropic and cultural associations and institutions. The author moves between biographies, the history of ideas, politics, international relations, and art.
Source: Journal of American History
Author: Jussi Pakkasvirta
Institution: University of Helsinki
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2906227004