The Allure of the Foreign:
Imported Goods in Post-Colonial Latin America
"…subtly reveals the role of imports as markers of cultural and
social superiority, among unconquered Indian nations as well as in the
capitals of the new republics. A collection rich in new and persuasive
insights on the complex and turbulent early history of societies groping
toward their self-definition as modern nations."
--Tulio Halperin, History, University of California
at Berkeley
"This collection offers some fascinating glimpses of the links
between national identity, modernity, and material life. It thus contributes
to the valuable conversation between anthropology and development economics
while anchoring our sense of the postcolonial in a refreshing picture of
the empire of commerce. In addition, by placing Latin American modernities
in a wider comparative frame, it contributes richly to the cultural study
of the logic of demand. The essays are a welcome sign of the revitalization
of economic anthropology."
--Arjun Appadurai, Anthropology, University
of Chicago
"This is a uniquely important collection. Not only does it provide
fascinating detail on the significance, dynamics, and political implication
of European goods, but it demonstrates the importance of recognizing the
centrality of a key symbol--in this case 'Europe'--in the pragmatics and
politics of value. These authors have demonstrated across a useful range
of case studies that economic analysis must always attend to the political
context in which goods acquire moral and social meaning. I would urge both
Europeanists and specialists in Latin America, but also scholars interested
in the shifting significance of 'Europe' in the world, to read this book
with close attention to its marvelously telling details as well as to these
broader concerns."
--Michael Herzfeld, Anthropology, Harvard University