Citizenship and Redemption: A History of Race, Gender and Nation in Liberal Ecuador

FAIN: FT-59233-11

Nicola Foote
Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565)

This project explores the intersections of ideas of race, gender and national identity in early twentieth century Ecuador. The book traces the development of Liberal policy in four key areas: economic and infrastructural policies aimed at the integration of national resources; social policy; land legislation; and military service and examines resistance to liberalism from both above and below. By taking a fully comparative approach to race, and examining black and indigenous groups (including both Andean and Amazonian communities) in conjunction, the book advances our understanding of the operation of racial categories in Latin America, and makes significant new arguments about the positioning of blackness within ideologies of mestizaje. By bringing a neglected case study into close engagement with nationalist theory, the book makes a contribution to humanities knowledge beyond Latin America.