Claudio Lomnitz Knihy

"A riveting exploration of the intersecting lines of Jewish and indigenous Latin American thought and culture, by way of a family memoir. In Our America, eminent anthropologist and historian Claudio Lomnitz traces his grandparents' exile from Eastern Europe to South America. At the same time, the book is a pretext to explain and analyze the worldview, culture, and spirit of countries such as Peru, Colombia, and Chile, from the perspective of educated Jewish emigrants imbued with the hope and determination typical of those who escaped Europe in 1920s. Lomnitz's grandparents, who were both trained to defy ghetto life with the pioneering spirit of the early Zionist movement, became intensely involved in the Peruvian leftist intellectual milieu and its practice of connecting Peru's indigenous past to an emancipatory internationalism that included Jewish culture and thought. After being thrown into prison supposedly for their socialist leanings, Lomnitz's grandparents were exiled to Colombia, where they were subject to its scandals, its class system, its political life. Through this lens, Lomnitz explores the almost negligible attention and esteem that South America holds in US public opinion. The story then continues to Chile during World War II, Israel in the 1950s, and finally to Claudio's youth, living with his parents in Berkeley, California, and Mexico City. Writing in a vivid, engaging style, Lomnitz creates an intellectual space that transcends the family memoir genre, where the exploration of one past, origin, and culture is placed in a dialectical relationship with the background of a renowned anthropologist specializing in Latin American history and culture"-- Provided by publisher

Este libro reúne trece ensayos (diez de los ensayos de este libro fueron escritos originalmente en inglés; el resto en espanol), y un bonus ensayo, sobre México en la era del neoliberalismo y la globalización, mancomunando temas que van desde Ayotzinapa, Mamá Rosa, Oscar Lewis, el sismo del 1985, Octavio Paz, las repetidas crisis económicas, Carlos Chávez, y Memín Pinguín, entre otras

Set against the backdrop of the Mexican revolution, this narrative explores themes of anarchy, cooperation, and betrayal. It delves into the untold stories of individuals navigating the chaos of a tumultuous period, highlighting the complexities of human relationships and the struggle for power and survival. The unique perspective sheds light on lesser-known events and characters, offering a fresh take on a pivotal moment in history.

Claudio Lomnitz proposes a new theorization of the Mexican state in relation to extreme violence, showing how the current crisis represents a fundamental shift in the relationship between the state and the economy in which the rule of law has eroded.

"A riveting study of the intersections between Jewish and Latin American culture, this immigrant family memoir recounts history with psychological insight and the immediacy of a thriller. In Nuestra América, eminent anthropologist and historian Claudio Lomnitz traces his grandparents' exile from Eastern Europe to South America. At the same time, the book is a pretext to explain and analyze the worldview, culture, and spirit of countries such as Peru, Colombia, and Chile, from the perspective of educated Jewish emigrants imbued with the hope and determination typical of those who escaped Europe in the 1920s. Lomnitz's grandparents, who were both trained to defy ghetto life with the pioneering spirit of the early Zionist movement, became intensely involved in the Peruvian leftist intellectual milieu and its practice of connecting Peru's indigenous past to an emancipatory internationalism that included Jewish culture and thought. After being thrown into prison supposedly for their socialist leanings, Lomnitz's grandparents were exiled to Colombia, where they were subject to its scandals, its class system, its political life. Through this lens, Lomnitz explores the almost negligible attention and esteem that South America holds in US public opinion. The story then continues to Chile during World War II, Israel in the 1950s, and finally to Claudio's youth, living with his parents in Berkeley, California, and Mexico City"-- Provided by publisher

"Death and the Idea of Mexico is the first social, cultural, and political history of death in a nation that has made death its tutelary sign. Examining the history of death and of the death sign from sixteenth-century holocaust to contemporary Mexican-American identity politics, anthropologist Claudio Lomnitz's innovative study marks a turning point in understanding Mexico's rich and unique use of death imagery. Unlike contemporary Europeans and Americans, whose denial of death permeates their cultures, the Mexican people display and cultivate a jovial familiarity with death. This intimacy with death has become the cornerstone of Mexico's national identity." "Based on a stunning range of sources - from missionary testimonies to newspaper cartoons, from masterpieces of artistic vanguards to accounts of public executions and political assassinations - Death and the Idea of Mexico moves beyond the limited methodology of traditional historiographies of death to probe the depths of a people and a country whose fearless acquaintance with death shapes the very terms of its social compact."--Jacket