“Zonas de contacto y fricción”: Convivialidad y desigualdad en el tránsito moderno según Ezequiel Martínez Estrada

El artículo analiza el tránsito urbano e interurbano como un teatro privilegiado de la interdependencia social, donde convivialidad y desigualdad se articulan de forma visible, especialmente en las ciudades de América Latina. Desde una perspectiva socioantropológica y mediológica, las infraestructuras de movilidad —vehículos, paradas, estaciones y vías de circulación— se conciben como zonas de contacto atravesadas por relaciones de poder asimétricas, en las que interactúan actores humanos y actores técnicos. A partir de aportes de Georg Simmel, Norbert Elias, Ivan Illich, Bruno Latour y Roberto DaMatta, se examina cómo la motorización intensifica jerarquías y conflictos viales, transformando la calle en un espacio estratificado. El trabajo se centra en la literatura argentina para mostrar cómo ensayos y ficciones vehiculares tematizan el transporte como espacio compartido, observatorio móvil y dispositivo afectivo. El análisis de textos de Ezequiel Martínez Estrada y Elvio Gandolfo pone de relieve encuentros efímeros entre actores dispares y la tensión estructural entre movilidad moderna y desigualdad social

La Vida Simple (Simple Life): A Maroon Vision on Development

Global practices shaped by colonization and modernity have disrupted humanity’s intrinsic connection to nature, resulting in ecological and social crises. Rooted in the colonization of the Americas, colonial inhabitation imposed exploitative relationships with nature and marginalized communities, laying the foundation for the imperial mode of living. Superficial frameworks like green capitalism fail to address this crisis, perpetuating colonial ecocide. In contrast, Afro-Ecuadorian Maroon communities, through la vida simple – a philosophy grounded in African traditions and marronage – offer transformative insights for ecological sustainability and climate justice. This worldview emphasizes harmonious coexistence with nature, as Maroon communities adapted to “uninhabitable” spaces and fostered mutual care with their environment. This paper asks: How can the Afro-Ecuadorian concept of la vida simple inform contemporary approaches to sustainability and climate justice? By examining la vida simple as a counter-hegemonic framework, this study highlights its potential to reshape ecological movements and promote social progress

The Inca Civil War

This book provides a thorough reconstruction of the Inca civil war, examining this most consequential conflict in Inca history by drawing on major 16th- and 17th-century historical narratives. Starting with the reign of Guayna Capac and his campaigns in Ecuador, it explores the familial, political and courtly contexts that shaped the struggle for succession between Guayna Capac’s sons, Guascar and Atagualpa. Particular focus is given to Guascar‘s relations with the Inca elite following his father‘s death, his political strategies for consolidating power, and the implications of his reform attempts. The situation in Cuzco is contrasted with Atagualpa’s position in Quito, examining his diplomatic manoeuvres, evolving political objectives, and subsequent military response. The account of the military confrontation and its complexities concludes with an examination of the final political measures taken by the victor, Atagualpa, and his potential plans for the future of the empire

Cosmopolitismo desde los márgenes: Revistas para mujeres y páginas para mujeres en revistas culturales latinoamericanas (1880-1930)

Este libro reúne contribuciones al estudio de las publicaciones culturales periódicas latinoamericanas entre 1880 y 1930, con especial atención en la historia del género. La expresión Cosmopolitismo desde los márgenes que da título se retoma con el fin de examinar el lugar que ocupan las mujeres en ciertos formatos de revistas en el período respectivo. El objeto de investigación son las revistas culturales, y a estas habría que añadir las revistas para mujeres, ambos géneros considerados como espacios dinámicos constituidos en una intensa transformación y recontextualización de ideas importadas de culturas tanto ajenas como locales. Los textos aquí reunidos ofrecen distintas perspectivas de investigación desde los estudios literarios y culturales, la traductología, la lingüística y las ciencias de la comunicación. Contribuyen a un enfoque geográfico amplio del libro para ilustrar el papel de las revistas femeninas, de la autoría y la edición femenina, y de los procesos de cambio social y modernización

Care, Inequalities, and Conviviality: The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Berlin, Buenos Aires and Mexico City

Care, long overlooked by mainstream political and academic actors, seemed to have become one of the most urgent issues of our time amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While recognizing that the crisis of care is far from a new phenomenon, we use the pandemic as a magnifying glass to analyse its impact on both social inequalities and patterns of living together, i.e., conviviality. Our empirical analysis focuses on the cases of Argentina, Mexico, and Germany, based on original surveys conducted in the largest city of each country: Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Berlin. We provide an analytical framework that assesses the impact of the pandemic by comparing diverse social groups and societies in which care is organized differently. The analysis shows that different models of care provision translated into heterogeneous levels of support for the population during the crisis, and that unequal access to care services determined, to a large extent, the unequal impact of the pandemic and its containment measures on specific social groups

Sorcery in Amazonia: A Comparative Exploration of Magical Assault

Although shamanism has become a well-developed and expansive topic within the anthropology of Amazonia, the ethnographic literature focusing on sorcery has been sporadic and sparse by comparison. This has particularly been the case since the death of Neil L. Whitehead in 2012. However, as this volume shows, sorcery is often of great importance in the lives and cosmologies of many people in different parts of lowland South America. Across the region, it takes a variety of forms and involves a diverse range of practices. This edited volume comparatively re-examines the topic of sorcery in Amazonia with particular emphases on local ontological frameworks, issues of embodiment, and related uses of sound. It highlights ethical approaches to research concerning sorcery and discusses the ethics within local communities of sorcery practices and accusations