The Age of Youth in Argentina - by Valeria Manzano (Paperback)

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Book Synopsis

This social and cultural history of Argentina's "long sixties" argues that the nation's younger generation was at the epicenter of a public struggle over democracy, authoritarianism, and revolution from the mid-twentieth century through the ruthless military dictatorship that seized power in 1976. Valeria Manzano demonstrates how, during this period, large numbers of youths built on their history of earlier activism and pushed forward closely linked agendas of sociocultural modernization and political radicalization.

Focusing also on the views of adults who assessed, and sometimes profited from, youth culture, Manzano analyzes countercultural formations -- including rock music, sexuality, student life, and communal living experiences -- and situates them in an international context. She details how, while Argentines of all ages yearned for newness and change, it was young people who championed the transformation of deep-seated traditions of social, cultural, and political life. The significance of youth was not lost on the leaders of the rising junta: people aged sixteen to thirty accounted for 70 percent of the estimated 20,000 Argentines who were "disappeared" during the regime.

Review Quotes

"A study that decisively introduces Argentina into debates about the Global Sixties even as it opens up new vistas onto a key period in national history." -- American Historical Review

"An important addition to the growing historiography that studies the lives and experiences of young people and is a must read for Argentine scholars dedicated to the twentieth century." -- Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth

"Manzano's in-depth investigation of youth culture during a period of profound change in Argentina is an outstanding contribution to the scholarship on modern Argentina and youth movements around the world. . . . Highly recommended." -- CHOICE

"One of the more interesting to appear recently on Argentine history. . . . Makes its own important contribution to its subject and also opens new areas of research on the history of youth elsewhere in the country." -- Hispanic American Historical Review

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