On Tuesday, August 25, the English translation of Modernity and Independence. Essays on the Hispanic Revolutions, the book of François-Xavier Guerra, was presented on Mexico City. 

The English translation of this book is part of the “Latin American Intellectual History Series”, a joint initiative of Prismas Ediciones (Center for Intellectual History, National University of Quilmes) and LASA Press. The series is part of LASA Press’s existing collection, “In Translation: Key Books in Latin American Studies,” with a more specific goal: the translation into English of works of significance to the field of Latin American intellectual history. 

The event took place at the Octavio Paz branch of the Fondo de Cultura Económica in Mexico City and featured the participation of Geneviève Verdo, Erika Pani, Natalia Majluf and Gabriel Entin. 

About Modernity and Independence

The publication of this book marked a “turning point” in Spanish American historiography. Guerra offers a comprehensive reinterpretation of the revolutions that shook Spanish America between 1808 and 1825. The central thesis of Modernity and Independence is based on the radical transformation of social and political imaginaries triggered by the Napoleonic invasion of Spain in 1808. By approaching the revolutions as a complex and multidimensional phenomenon within a shared Euro-American cultural space, Guerra explores the tension between “tradition” and “modernity,” rethinking how individualism, sociability, and the public sphere redefined the Latin American world. 

The following people participated in the event: 

Geneviève Verdo, historian, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Erika Pani, historian, El Colegio de México.

Gabriel Entin, historian, Centro de Historia Intelectual (UNQ) and El Colegio de México.

Moderator: Natalia Majluf, historian, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Learn more about Historia Intelectual Latinoamericana |
Latin American Intellectual History Series.