Facundo and the Concept of Argentinean Nation - Essay Example

Facundo and the Concept of Argentinean Nation Domingo Sarmiento not only served as the President of his nation but was also the of his nation. His ideology, contained in his various writings, served as the philosophical ground based upon which Argentina’s culture and history developed. Apart from the political and cultural development of his country, his thoughts also influenced the politics and history of Latin America as a region also. Facundo: Civilization and Barbarism is considered as one of the most important works of Sarmiento as he develops the ideology of how the country, its politics as well as culture will be defined. The book discusses different themes and also outlines, in length, different important concepts based upon which the future of the Argentinean politics is to be defined. What is critical is the extensive coverage of the concept of nation in the book and how interlinked the ethnicity, culture and nation with each other. Facundo also discusses at length as to who shall be taken into consideration while building the nation and who are to be left out while deciding upon how the culture and politics of a nation to be explored and understood. It is also critical to note as to how the concepts of civilization as well as barbarianism has been actually pitted against each other in defining the overall concept of nation. (Ludmer, 2002) This paper will choose topic 1 of the assignment and will discuss and explore the concept of nation as discussed in Facundo besides discussing as to who he considers as unwanted and need to be left. This paper will also discuss and explore some of the contradictions in his arguments. One of the key parts of the overall arguments in Facundo is how the author has actually been able to relate the culture and geography. By presenting a historical analysis of the geography of Argentina as well as its culture, Sarmiento actually has been able to demonstrate as to how the interaction of geography and culture is important for defining what a nation is and what should be its future orientation. By presenting a historical analysis of the geography and the people, Facundo has been able to demonstrate as to who are the people who have been the cause of the problem for the nation in past. It is critical to note that Sarmiento updated Facundo in its different versions and editions hence actually outlining as to what is his vision for the nation. As such the overall contents of the book depended upon the circumstances prevailing at that time and Sarmiento seem to have driven lot of power and ideological ground through this book when he assumed the Presidency. As such, the concepts outlined in the book are considered as important from the perspective of how the modernization will actually take place in the country. Sarmiento sees gauchos as the people who are the cause of much of the problems of the country and therefore banishes them in terms of building the nation and set it future course of direction for modernization in the country. Another important theme discussed in the book regarding the concept of nation is the use of word savages. (Sarmiento, 2003). It is also where Facundo actually makes a distinction between the civilization and the barbarianism. He therefore suggests that only way to build a nation and defeat barbarianism is to actually improve the education system within the country. Facundo therefore argues that one of the key pillars of the nation building is how the education system of the country is developed and what role it can play in ensuring that nation is driven towards modernization. Sarmiento therefore gives a lot of importance to the public schools and how they can actually help improve the local languages. As per Sarmiento, the one who does not speak our language is not among us and as such suggests that those speaking local language as well as adapting local culture can be integral part of the nation. A key theme of the book is to actually decide whether to be a savage or not and Sarmiento himself suggests that the actually theme of this book is based upon making a distinction between the savages and others. By highlighting savages as the ones who need to be left, Sarmiento actually has been able to classify the society between those who are acceptable as its just and important citizens and the ones whose presence can actually have a negative impact on the society and its development and progress towards modernization. He however, suggests that education can actually turn savages into acceptable citizens. (Chasteen & Wood, 2004) He however, seems to left out African Americans who were part of the Argentinean society and his views about the indigenous people is also considered as genocidal in nature. As such, it is clear that Sarmiento has left out savages, African Americans and other indigenous population from nation and only focused on a narrow spectrum of people. (Goodrich, 1992). There are contradictions in his overall approach also as he suggests that European migration is the solution to Argentina’s problems. However, despite this focus, he seems to have fought the war against the colonialism thus negating his own views on the issue of what can bring in more prosperity and change in the region. This therefore suggests a contradiction in his views as he attempted to focus only on people who were politically significant for him. His arguments are clearly racial in nature when it comes to the issue of dealing with the issue of indigenous people. He suggests the example of US and indicates that the only reason as to why US is rich because it killed its indigenous population and allowed European immigrants to settle. What is critical to note however, is the fact that Sarmiento actually opposes European immigrants and modernization and favors other local population to replace the Europeans to build Argentina as a nation. (Hanway, 2003) There are certain contradictions or weak linkages in terms of the overall text of Facundo are concerned. It is relatively difficult to actually suggest as to whether Facundo is a novel or a grand narrative on the history of Argentina and Latin America. Bibliography Chasteen, J. C., & Wood, J. A. (2004). Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations : Completely Revised and Updated. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Goodrich, D. S. (1992). From Barbarism to Civilization: Travels of a Latin American Text. American Literary History , 4 (3), 443-463. Hanway, N. (2003). Embodying Argentina: Body, Space and Nation in 19th Century Narrative. New York: McFarland Ludmer, J. (2002). The Gaucho Genre: A Treatise on the Motherland. New York: Duke University Press. Sarmiento, D. F. (2003). Facundo: Civilization and Barbarism : the First Complete English Translation. California: University of California Press. Read More