José Eduardo González, Appropriating Theory: Angel Rama’s Critical Work

Abstract

Ángel Rama (1926-83) is known in North American academic circles for research on Spanish American modernismo, conceptualizations of narrative transculturation, and literacy and power. His work has also been criticized for overemphasizing the role of intellectuals in societal transformation and for minimizing the violence of subaltern assimilation. Many readers have concluded that Rama’s writings have become outdated in the time of neoliberal-administered globalization, when intellectuals and literature have ceded their erstwhile hegemonic positions.