Ashley Elizabeth Kerr's monograph examines racial science, Indigenous peoples, and nation building in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Argentina through the lens of gender. As she notes, this period of Argentine history has been studied by many scholars and from many different angles. Kerr contributes to this existing literature through her multifaceted focus on gender, which she argues has been largely absent in previous scholarship and prompts a reevaluation of the scientists and literary authors whose work she highlights. Kerr compellingly demonstrates the value of gender analysis here, and although the book contains some missed opportunities in terms of engagement with existing scholarship, it makes a valuable contribution to the field that will interest historians and literary scholars alike.
Some particularly strong analytical cases here include Kerr's examination in chapter 2 of Lucio V. Mansilla's Una excursión a los indios ranqueles, in which she offers a thought-provoking reading of...
