By focusing on quantitative and qualitative research in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, this book expands on the notion of "therapeutic culture." Usually considered a global phenomenon disseminated from North to South, and associated to "modern" forms of "psychologized" subjectivity, "therapeutic culture" has become a key notion to understanding contemporary culture. However, this path-breaking research, grounded in a bottom-up perspective that follows specific therapeutic narratives, shows that the concept of the "therapeutic" should be extended to encompass a diversity of practices, both "secular" and "religious," "modern" and "traditional," that are deemed as therapeutic by the actors involved, although they are overlooked as such by most of the current literature. Pentecostal and Afro-Brazilian religions as well as New Age practices coexist and interact with "conventional" therapeutic techniques such as Psychoanalysis, conforming complex and hybrid therapeutic networks associated to different (also hybrid) forms of subjectivity. Although the book draws upon two cases from the "Global South," its theoretical conclusions are applicable to the analysis of the realm of the therapeutic at large. The book is aimed at university students (both graduate and undergraduate) and at the general public interested in the notion of the therapeutic and, specifically, in Latin American culture.

The regime of Juan Per-n is one of the most studied topics of Argentina's contemporary history. This new book_an English translation of a highly popular, critically acclaimed Spanish language edition_provides a new perspective on the intriguing Argentinian leader. Mariano Plotkin's cultural approach makes Per-n's popularity understandable because it goes beyond Per-n's charismatic appeal and analyzes the Per-nist mechanisms used to generate political consent and mass mobilization. Ma-ana es San Per-n is the first book to focus on the cultural and symbolic dimensions of Per-nism and populism. Plotkin also presents important material for the study of populism and the modern state in this region.

Ma-ana es San Per-n explores the creation of myths, symbols, and rituals which constituted the Peronist political imagery. This political imagery was not designed to reinforce the legitimacy of a political system defined in abstract terms, but to assure the undisputed loyalty of different sectors of society to the Peronist government and to Per-n himself. The evolution of the institutional framework that made the creation of this symbolic apparatus possible is also discussed.

This well-researched book shows the methods designed by the Per-nist regime to broaden its social base through the incorporation and activation of groups which had traditionally occupied a marginalized position within the political system-non-union workers, women, and the poor. Plotkin investigates how Per-n used the education system to build his popularity. He examines the public assistance programs financed through the Eva Per-n Foundation, and demonstrates how they were used to politicize women for the first time. He explains how Eva Per-n and the Per-nist regime not only tried to gain the support of women as voters but also as potential 'missionaries' who would spread the Per-nist word in the privacy of their homes.

This well-written and engaging account of one of Latin America's most colorful and appealing leaders is an excellent resource on Argentina and Latin American history and politics.

This is a fascinating history of how psychoanalysis became an essential element of contemporary Argentine culture--in the media, in politics, and in daily private lives. The book reveals the unique conditions and complex historical process that made possible the diffusion, acceptance, and popularization of psychoanalysis in Argentina, which has the highest number of psychoanalysts per capita in the world. It shows why the intellectual trajectory of the psychoanalytic movement was different in Argentina than in either the United States or Europe and how Argentine culture both fostered and was shaped by its influence.
The book starts with a description of the Argentine medical and intellectual establishments' reception of psychoanalysis, and the subsequent founding of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association in 1942. It then broadens to describe the emergence of a "psy culture" in the 1960s, tracing its origins to a complex combination of social, economic, political, and cultural factors. The author then analyzes the role of "diffusers" of psychoanalysis in Argentina--both those who were part of the psychoanalytic establishment and those who were not.
The book goes on to discuss specific areas of reception and diffusion of psychoanalytic thought: its acceptance by progressive sectors of the psychiatric profession; the impact of the psychoanalytically oriented program in psychology at the University of Buenos Aires; and the incorporation of psychoanalysis into the theoretical artillery of the influential left of the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, the author analyzes the effects of the military dictatorship, established in 1976, on the "psy" universe, showing how it was possible to practice psychoanalysis in a highly authoritarian political context.

This is a fascinating history of how psychoanalysis became an essential element of contemporary Argentine culture--in the media, in politics, and in daily private lives. The book reveals the unique conditions and complex historical process that made possible the diffusion, acceptance, and popularization of psychoanalysis in Argentina, which has the highest number of psychoanalysts per capita in the world. It shows why the intellectual trajectory of the psychoanalytic movement was different in Argentina than in either the United States or Europe and how Argentine culture both fostered and was shaped by its influence.
The book starts with a description of the Argentine medical and intellectual establishments' reception of psychoanalysis, and the subsequent founding of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association in 1942. It then broadens to describe the emergence of a "psy culture" in the 1960s, tracing its origins to a complex combination of social, economic, political, and cultural factors. The author then analyzes the role of "diffusers" of psychoanalysis in Argentina--both those who were part of the psychoanalytic establishment and those who were not.
The book goes on to discuss specific areas of reception and diffusion of psychoanalytic thought: its acceptance by progressive sectors of the psychiatric profession; the impact of the psychoanalytically oriented program in psychology at the University of Buenos Aires; and the incorporation of psychoanalysis into the theoretical artillery of the influential left of the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, the author analyzes the effects of the military dictatorship, established in 1976, on the "psy" universe, showing how it was possible to practice psychoanalysis in a highly authoritarian political context.