'Punto de Vista' and the Argentine Intellectual Left

This book is the first comprehensive account of the Argentine magazine Punto de Vista (1978–2008), a cultural review that gathered together prominent Argentine intellectuals throughout the last quarter of the twentieth century. Directed by cultural historian and public intellectual Beatriz Sarlo, the story of the magazine serves as a lens to study the evolution of Argentine intellectuals from the leftist mobilization of the 1960s through periods of military dictatorship and then the shifting politics of democratization in the 1980s and 1990s. The book argues that the way in which the Argentine intellectual left negotiated the political and cultural transformations of the late twentieth century can be understood as the history of two political defeats: that of the revolutionary utopias of the 1960s and 1970s and that of the social democrat project in the 1980s. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this book encompasses a wide range of debates taking place in Argentina, from the years prior to the dictatorship to the postdictatorship period.

“In this engaging and fluently written work, informed by extensive archival research and the oral testimonies of the main protagonists, Sofía Mercader explores the influence of one of Latin America’s most important late twentieth century magazines on Argentina’s politics and culture. An interdisciplinary study of the highest order.”

— John King, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick, Author of Sur: A Study of the Argentine Literary Journal (1986) and The Role of Mexico’s Plural in Latin American Literary and Political Culture (2007)

“One of the great vehicles of Argentine thought, Punto de Vista was and continues to be required reading in order for us to grasp the power of social debate and artistic innovation. Mercader carefully narrates this history of crisis, resilience, and challenge, and signals Punto de Vista as an indispensable reference point for modern critical thought.”

— Francine Masiello, Ancker Distinguished Professor in the Humanities Emerita, University of California at Berkeley. Author, most recently, of The Senses of Democracy: Perceptions, Politics, and Culture in Latin America (Texas, 2018).

Sofía Mercader is Postdoctoral Researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark. She holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from the University of Warwick, UK.