Bookshelf
Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.
Literatura y minería en los Andes. Una lectura de los imaginarios extractivistas by Jack Martínez-Arias, assistant professor of Hispanic studies.
August 11, 2026
Tags Faculty Book
(Ediciones MYL, 2026).
(Literature and Mining in the Andes: A Reading of Extractivist Imaginaries)
This book explores the literary traditions of Bolivia and Peru, contextualizing how mining has shaped regional identities, labor, and landscapes from colonial times to the present. Based on close readings of literary and journalistic productions, the author explores how elite intellectuals of the late 19th century portrayed “extractivism” alongside their visions for a modern nation, specifically how it should be integrated into and benefit from an international market constantly hungry for the gold, silver, and other minerals of the Andean region.
Essentially, they defended the victims of that system: the indigenous communities forced to work in inhumane conditions. However, by promoting industrialization and capitalism, these intellectuals often concealed or omitted the equally miserable conditions of indigenous workers under the very systems they promoted as being just and offering equal opportunities.
At the dawn of the 20th century, influenced by the Russian Revolution and the adaptation of socialism to the specific reality of the Andes, major figures like César Vallejo and José Carlos Mariategui clearly denounced how indigenous peoples were victims of exploitation, illness, and death within the mining industry taking hold in the region. The book thus analyzes the critical transition of these narratives and the impact of these ideas on the configuration of modern Andean identity.
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Stacey Himmelberger
Editor of Hamilton magazine
