1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910819989703321

Autore

Giucci Guillermo <1954->

Titolo

The cultural life of the automobile [[electronic resource] ] : roads to modernity / / Guillermo Giucci ; translated by Anne Mayagoitia and Debra Nagao

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Austin, : University of Texas Press, Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, 2012

ISBN

0-292-74359-9

Edizione

[1st University of Texas Press ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (273 p.)

Collana

LLILAS Translations from Latin America series

Altri autori (Persone)

MayagoitiaAnne

NagaoDebra

Disciplina

388.3/42

Soggetti

Automobiles - Social aspects

Automobiles - History

Automobiles - Social aspects - United States

Automobiles - United States - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Translated from the Spanish.

Originally published in Portugese in 2004 as A vida cultural do automóvel : Percursos da modernidade cinética. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira. Published in Spanish in 2007 as La vida cultural del automóvil : Rutas de la modernidad cinética. Buenos Aire: Universidad Nacional de Quilmes.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Henry Ford : from popular inventor to legend -- Fordism and cultural circulation -- The transnational object -- Contradictions of mobility -- Mechanical actors -- Final remarks : kinetic modernity and the automobile.

Sommario/riassunto

From its invention in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century, the automobile crisscrossed the world, completely took over the cities, and became a feature of daily life. Considered basic to the American lifestyle, the car reflected individualism, pragmatism, comfort, and above all modernity. In Latin America, it served as a symbol of distinction, similar to jewelry or fine clothing. In The Cultural Life of the Automobile, Guillermo Giucci focuses on the automobile as an instrument of social change through its “kinetic modernity” and as an



embodiment of the tremendous social impact of technology on cultural life. Material culture—how certain objects generate a wide array of cultural responses—has been the focus of much scholarly discussion in recent years. The automobile wrought major changes and inspired images in language, literature, and popular culture. Focusing primarily on Latin America but also covering the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Giucci examines how the automobile was variously adapted by different cultures and how its use shaped and changed social and economic relationships within them. At the same time, he shows how the “automobilization” of society became an essential support for the development of modern individualism, and the automobile its clearest material manifestation.