Modernity at gunpoint: firearms, politics, and culture in Mexico and Central America
Introduction: Firearms as symbols of insurgency and modernity -- Carbines and cartridge belts : affirming one's presence -- Pistols and paredón : violent politics of affect and modernity -- Riddled by bullets : weaponry, militancy, and the people in arms as desire and enigma -- Songs of guerril...
| Resumo: | Introduction: Firearms as symbols of insurgency and modernity -- Carbines and cartridge belts : affirming one's presence -- Pistols and paredón : violent politics of affect and modernity -- Riddled by bullets : weaponry, militancy, and the people in arms as desire and enigma -- Songs of guerrilla warfare and enchatment : popularizing and legitimizing armed struggle -- Hidden arsenals : demobilized combatants and the postwar state of mind -- Golden AK-47s and weapon displays : the props of the drug war -- Epilogue: The long shadow of the rifle "Modernity at Gunpoint provides the first study of the political and cultural significance of weaponry in the context of major armed conflicts in Mexico and Central America. In this highly original study, Sophie Esch approaches political violence through its most direct but also most symbolic tool: the firearm. In novels, songs, and photos of insurgency, firearms appear as artifacts, tropes, and props, through which artists negotiate conceptions of modernity, citizenship, and militancy. Esch grounds her analysis in important rereadings of canonical texts by Martín Luis Guzman, Nellie Campobello, Omar Cabezas, Gioconda Belli, Sergio Ramirez, Horacio Castellanos Moya, and others. Through the lens of the iconic firearm, Esch relates the story of the peasant insurgencies of the Mexican Revolution, the guerrilla warfare of the Sandinista Revolution, and the ongoing drug-related wars in Mexico and Central America, to highlight the historical, cultural, gendered, and political significance of weapons in this volatile region"-- |
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| Descrição do item: | Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Descrição Física: | 1 Online-Ressource (xii, 284 pages) |
| ISBN: | 0-8229-8613-2 978-0-8229-8613-3 |
