Abstract

MEJIA, Sergio. The Histories of Bartolomé Mitre: Nationalistic Operation to the liking of Argentineans. hist.crit. [online]. 2007, n.33, pp.98-121. ISSN 0121-1617.

After discussing the 1864 criticism of Bartolomé Mitre’s Historia de Belgrano written by Juan Bautista Alberdi, the article discusses the main reviews of the work, stretching from its publication to the present; one theme is common to them all: their expressed gratitude to the historian. Mitre’s work is presented here as the matrix of a flattering national discourse for its Argentinean readers, one of the reasons for its wide diffusion and persistence in the heart of Argentinean national discourse. This type of analysis is proposed as a contribution to recent debates on the phenomena of nationalism, national discourses and national identity. Finally, the importance of living in a country is highlighted as the best way to understand, in daily life, the matrix that provides the images and words of its national discourse.

Keywords : Nineteenth-century Latin American histories; Argentinean historiography; "classical histories" (in the Argentinean expression); Bartolomé Mitre; nationalism; national identity; history of Argentina.

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