Currents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara Falls

Currents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara Falls

<p>The essay addresses the depiction of the Niagara Falls as an ambivalent symbol of progress in nineteenth-century Mexican travel accounts of the United States. At that time, various Mexican intellectuals spent some time in the USA. In diaries and travelogues, some of them articulated their v...

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Main Author: Astrid Haas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eScholarship Publishing, University of California 2019-12-01
Series:Journal of Transnational American Studies
Subjects:
niagara, travel writing, mexican travelers, united states, nineteenth century
Online Access:http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7hp561nv
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spelling doaj-5173d798448049b3aa88e162bcca86522020-12-15T08:16:48ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaJournal of Transnational American Studies1940-07642019-12-01102ark:13030/qt7hp561nvCurrents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara FallsAstrid Haas0Other<p>The essay addresses the depiction of the Niagara Falls as an ambivalent symbol of progress in nineteenth-century Mexican travel accounts of the United States. At that time, various Mexican intellectuals spent some time in the USA. In diaries and travelogues, some of them articulated their views of their host country but also reflected on their own society through the contrast with their northern neighbor. The Mexican visitors expressed a particular fascination with signs of modernity in the United States. Interestingly, such signifiers included not only political and social institutions and economic and industrial advancements, but also the Niagara Falls as a site of both natural and technological wonders. Examining the depiction of the Falls in major nineteenth-century Mexican travelogues of the United States, the essay illuminates some of the metaphorical “uses of nature” for articulating socio-political ideas as well as experiences of mobility.</p>http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7hp561nvniagara, travel writing, mexican travelers, united states, nineteenth century
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Astrid Haas
spellingShingle Astrid Haas
Currents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara Falls
Journal of Transnational American Studies
niagara, travel writing, mexican travelers, united states, nineteenth century
author_facet Astrid Haas
author_sort Astrid Haas
title Currents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara Falls
title_short Currents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara Falls
title_full Currents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara Falls
title_fullStr Currents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara Falls
title_full_unstemmed Currents of Progress, Toy Store for Tourists: Nineteenth-Century Mexican Liberals View the Niagara Falls
title_sort currents of progress, toy store for tourists: nineteenth-century mexican liberals view the niagara falls
publisher eScholarship Publishing, University of California
series Journal of Transnational American Studies
issn 1940-0764
publishDate 2019-12-01
description <p>The essay addresses the depiction of the Niagara Falls as an ambivalent symbol of progress in nineteenth-century Mexican travel accounts of the United States. At that time, various Mexican intellectuals spent some time in the USA. In diaries and travelogues, some of them articulated their views of their host country but also reflected on their own society through the contrast with their northern neighbor. The Mexican visitors expressed a particular fascination with signs of modernity in the United States. Interestingly, such signifiers included not only political and social institutions and economic and industrial advancements, but also the Niagara Falls as a site of both natural and technological wonders. Examining the depiction of the Falls in major nineteenth-century Mexican travelogues of the United States, the essay illuminates some of the metaphorical “uses of nature” for articulating socio-political ideas as well as experiences of mobility.</p>
topic niagara, travel writing, mexican travelers, united states, nineteenth century
url http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7hp561nv
work_keys_str_mv AT astridhaas currentsofprogresstoystorefortouristsnineteenthcenturymexicanliberalsviewtheniagarafalls
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