Entre la literatura indianista y la narrativa neo-indigenista identidad y modernidad /

by Dewey-Montefort, Jamie Arlene.

Federico Chalupa, Advisor This study examines representations of indigenous people and cultures in Peruvian literature from the 1850s to the 1950s in: Lima: Apuntes históricos, descriptivos, estadísticos y de costumbres (1867) by Manuel Fuentes, Aves sin nido (1889) by Clorinda Matto de Turner, Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (1928) by José Carlos Mariátegui and Los ríos profundos (1958) by José María Arguedas, and analyzes how ideas about modernity influenced these portrayals, what the authors were likely hoping to achieve with these depictions, and the implications of these characterizations for their indigenous subjects. The first chapter discussed the theoretical base of the study and presented the concept of racial project as defined by Michael Omi and Howard Winant. The second chapter described the influence of positivism in racial projects in Latin America and the notions of mestizaje and whitening, and then analyzed Lima by Fuentes, an example of a racial project aligned with the interests of the dominant groups in Peruvian society. The third chapter contrasted Lima by Fuentes and Aves sin nido by Matto, two nineteenth- century racial projects. The final chapter contrasted Mariátegui’s essays and Arguedas’ Los ríos profundos, two twentieth-century racial projects. The study concluded that it would be problematic to focus solely on the representation of indigenous peoples and a relation with the literary currents of indianismo, indigenismo or neoindigenismo without considering the influence of ideas about modernity and the desire for a homogenous national identity for Peru in the representations. The study indicated that while iii Matto, Mariátegui and Arguedas all challenged the dominant racial projects with their representations of indigenous people by exposing exploitation of this group, the projects differed significantly in that 1) while Matto defended the capacity to learn of indigenous people and their right to receive an education she did not propose a redistribution of property and 2) Mariátegui and Arguedas both proposed a redistribution of resources however Arguedas was the only author in this study who sought to vindicate contemporary indigenous culture and who did not to propose that Peru try to emulate the foreign ideas about modernity. iv Agradezco y dedico este estudio a mi esposo Javier por su paciente apoyo en esta empresa, desde el inicio de la misma hasta imprimir la copia final. v