Description
Book SynopsisFocused on Venezuela but relevant to the rest of Latin America, this is a genealogical investigation of the intrinsically populist "monumental governmentality" that in response to this predicament began to take shape in that nation at the time of independence.
Trade Review"I found this book spellbinding. It has a wildly original thesis (of 'monumentalization') to expound. It is staggeringly erudite in terms of Venezuelan history. And it has a marvelously relaxed writing style-ironic, easy, witty, and rounded. Like a mature wine composed of various blends, it brings wonderfully well-wrought ideas to the reader's attention, and while it seems to bear the gravitas of a life's work assiduously distilled, it retains the sparkle of fresh discoveries. Rarely have anthropology and history, events and theory, been so beautifully entwined as here, not to mention the shocking relevance of the past to the present. I know of no publication like this." -- -Michael Taussig Columbia University "Indispensable reading for any serious student of contemporary Latin American populism." -- -Claudio Lomnitz Columbia University
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Populist Governmentality Overture 1 Archeologies 2 Bullying for Independence 3 Statues and Statutes 4 Theater for the Masses 5 Monumental Governmentality 6 The French Repertoire 7 Scenes of the Imaginary: I/The Fragile Collection 8 Scenes of the Imaginary: II/Bolivar Superstar 9 The (Bolivarian) People is in the Army 10 Conclusion: "In my image and likeness" 11 Works cited
