Argentine Literature as Part of the Latin-American: Debates, Characteristics and Dialogues

Abstract

The article will suggest that the texts and ways of reaching some materials and perspectives in Argentina, remains at a national level. It is important to notice that in order to read criticism and theory regarding Latin American literature, Spanish from Río de la Plata separates at some point the fields. In that regard, one of the greatest assets and achievements of Argentinian literary research concerns the relationship between politics and fiction. In connection with this it might be asked how we can think of Argentinian literature without linking it to the social discourse? How can we think of the comparative field of Latin-American and Argentinian literature as one academic area of studies? In our view, comparatism seems to be one of the loneliest areas of studies in terms of the fields of theory, fiction and criticism. We thus suggest that in Argentina, literary research and criticism in general are strictly concerned with only one option: the national culture. Thus, exclusively, western theoretical frames are chosen to read literature and comparative perspectives are mostly applied to European studies. That is why I insist on the fact that comparative literary research is not represented institutionally at all.