"Two centuries ago, Villemain described literature as an expression of society; one century later Benedetto Croce replied that what really counts is that literature is always expression. Proving both right, Francine Masiello has written a much-needed book that brings back the aesthetic dimension to a study of current Spanish American literary production grounded on her exceptionally insightful understanding of the current turn in the history of the region."--Tulio Halperin-Donghi, author of "The Contemporary History of Latin America"

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
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Introduction
Part I. Masks
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1. In Search of a Subject: Latin American Intellectuals at Century’s End
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2. The Spectacle of “Difference”

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Part II. Maps
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3. Gender Traffic on the North/South Horizon
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4. Bodies in Transit: Travel, Translation, and Sexuality
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Part III. Markets
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5. The Politics of the Test: Experience, Representation, and the Return of lo popular
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6. From Museum to Street: Poetry for the New Millennium
Notes
Works Cited
Index

Francine Masiello is Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of several books, including Between Civilization and Barbarism: Women, Nation, and Literary Culture in Modern Argentina.