Fernando Purcell – författare

In the 1960s, twenty-thousand young Americans landed in South America to serve as Peace Corps volunteers. The program was hailed by President John F. Kennedy and by volunteers themselves as an exceptional initiative to end global poverty. In practice, it was another front for fighting the Cold War and promoting American interests in the Global South. This book examines how this ideological project played out on the ground as volunteers encountered a range of local actors and agencies engaged in anti-poverty efforts of their own. As they negotiated the complexities of community intervention, these volunteers faced conflicts and frustrations, struggled to adapt, and gradually transformed the Peace Corps of the 1960s into a truly global, decentralized institution. Drawing on letters, diaries, reports, and newsletters created by volunteers themselves, Fernando Purcell shows how their experiences offer an invaluable perspective on local manifestations of the global Cold War.

In the 1960s, twenty-thousand young Americans landed in South America to serve as Peace Corps volunteers. The program was hailed by President John F. Kennedy and by volunteers themselves as an exceptional initiative to end global poverty. In practice, it was another front for fighting the Cold War and promoting American interests in the Global South. This book examines how this ideological project played out on the ground as volunteers encountered a range of local actors and agencies engaged in anti-poverty efforts of their own. As they negotiated the complexities of community intervention, these volunteers faced conflicts and frustrations, struggled to adapt, and gradually transformed the Peace Corps of the 1960s into a truly global, decentralized institution. Drawing on letters, diaries, reports, and newsletters created by volunteers themselves, Fernando Purcell shows how their experiences offer an invaluable perspective on local manifestations of the global Cold War.

In the 1960s, twenty-thousand young Americans landed in South America to serve as Peace Corps volunteers. The program was hailed by President John F. Kennedy and by volunteers themselves as an exceptional initiative to end global poverty. In practice, it was another front for fighting the Cold War and promoting American interests in the Global South. This book examines how this ideological project played out on the ground as volunteers encountered a range of local actors and agencies engaged in anti-poverty efforts of their own. As they negotiated the complexities of community intervention, these volunteers faced conflicts and frustrations, struggled to adapt, and gradually transformed the Peace Corps of the 1960s into a truly global, decentralized institution. Drawing on letters, diaries, reports, and newsletters created by volunteers themselves, Fernando Purcell shows how their experiences offer an invaluable perspective on local manifestations of the global Cold War.

Los jóvenes voluntarios del Cuerpo de Paz de Estados Unidos son los grandes protagonistas de este libro. Inspirados en la épica de John F. Kennedy y comprometidos con la superación de la pobreza a nivel global, dejaron sus casas para trabajar por dos años en proyectos de desarrollo comunitario. Todo eso en el contexto de una década fascinante marcada por el idealismo, las tensiones ideológicas y los grandes conflictos de la Guerra Fría.Se rescatan aquí sus experiencias desde el entrenamiento inicial hasta sus años de servicio en comunidades urbanas y rurales sudamericanas. Lo íntimo y lo público de su labor se abordan a través de testimonios personales, cartas, diarios de vida, boletines, informes, prensa, evaluaciones y documentación inédita del Cuerpo de Paz.Una guerra contra la pobreza propone una mirada amplia del papel histórico del Cuerpo de Paz en Sudamérica. Se estudian aquí las iniciativas modernizadoras de Estados Unidos y el diálogo con los planes de acción de gobiernos e instituciones locales. En este marco se aborda la mediación que los voluntarios hicieron, en terreno, entre las distintas miradas sobre pobreza y desarrollo en Sudamérica.Se trata de un libro de interés para un público diverso que incluye a historiadores y cientistas sociales, así como un amplio espectro de profesionales vinculados a iniciativas públicas o privadas sobre pobreza y desarrollo. De igual modo, es un libro de lectura obligada para jóvenes voluntarios que trabajan en desafíos similares el día de hoy en América Latina.

Este libro busca contribuir al debate historiográfico en torno a las circulaciones y conexiones en el espacio americano. Si bien las tradiciones historiográficas latinoamericanas, en su afán por legitimar a las nuevas repúblicas, han resaltado la importancia de "la nación", es evidente que la historia de cada país nunca ha estado desvinculada de lo que acontece más allá de sus límites. Trascendiendo fronteras. Circulaciones y espacialidades en torno al mundo americano rescata el lado poroso de las fronteras, resalta las conexiones y circulaciones de personas, objetos, ideas, gustos, entre otros, que, lejos de permanecer confinados dentro de los contornos nacionales, son movedizos, se desplazan entre distintos espacios de lo que hoy concebimos como América Latina, incluso llegando más allá de la esfera continental. En la medida en que hoy el planeta parece más conectado que nunca, los científicos sociales no deben olvidar que sus objetos de estudio se hallan insertos en unas escalas espaciales más amplias y más fluidas que las locales o nacionales.