Intellectual Trends in Latin AmericaReview by: Isaac J. CoxThe American Historical Review, Vol. 52, No. 3 (Apr., 1947), pp. 536-537Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1859916 .

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536 Reviews of Books future work on the slave trade will be complete without making use of his study.

Dr. Lopes is now working on a volume that will deal with the role of Portugal in the suppression of the slave trade, and still another on the abolition of slavery in the Portuguese colonies. When these are completed, the learned world, judging by what the author has already achieved, will have an authoritative account of Portugal's intimate connection with Negro slavery.

Catholic University of America MANOEL CARDOZO

INTELLECTUAL TRENDS IN LATIN AMERICA. [The University of Texas, Institute of Latin-American Studies, Latin-American Studies, I.] (Austin: University of Texas Press. 1945. PP. 148.)

IN personnel this conference represents both banks of the Rio Grande. Three of the speakers claim Mexico as a residence and two Texas. Further geographical distribution is assured by one representative each from Brazil and Spain and five from other North American institutions outside of Texas. Eight devote their papers to Latin America as a whole, while four confine their offerings to specific countries; to Mexico, two; to Brazil and Central America, one each. About half the par- ticipants are men that we should expect to find at these conferences; the other half seem to be less well known in their respective fields, but all their contributions are specific and enlightening, both to the casual reader and to the specialist, and rep- resent a sincere effort in constructive Pan Americanism.

Four of the diverse offerings belong in the social sciences; one each to philos- ophy, education, the theater, and music; three treat of specific literary themes while one, that of Professor Fernando de los Rios, fittingly and effectively sum- marizes the intellectual contributions of his fellow Spanish refugees throughout Latin America. Scholars of all types will appreciate his discriminating catalogue of important names and book titles-a feature that also marks the other essays.

Intellectual Latin America, as might be inferred, is based primarily on a Euro- pean cultural background. This culture has been modified in specific localities by physical background, by African and native population elements, and by the course of political development. Within the last half century French, German, North American, and Iberian currents of thought have also affected literary expression. Today, however, there is a general tendency to emphasize a nationalistic spirit and equally strong reaction to the positivist philosophy that before I900 pervaded all educational and literary effort.

Separate mention cannot be given to the individual essays. Among the more general trends one notes that there is a growing ferment in education, that poetry creates a cult as recognizable and as universal as that of the conquerors and libera- tors of other days, and that the theater below the Rio Grande is in a "state of slump," largely because dramatist and stage director fail to work together. Music and folklore show traces of African and pre-Columbian influence and hence favor

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Intellectual Trends in Latin America 537 the writing of short stories over longer works of fiction. In Central America, how- ever, Carlos Wyld Ospina and his fellows have produced novels that are com- parable to the poetry of Rub6n Dario, and in the Os Serto'es of Euclides de Cunha, now available in English, we have a vivid picture of the Brazilian backlands. The philosophy of Mexico, as exemplified by Antonio Caso, Jose Vasconcelos, and Alfonso Reyes, gives a spiritual flavor to present-day thought in all Latin America. These are some of the intellectual offerings that merit recognition on this side of the Rio Grande. One must also mention with approval the scholarly comparisons drawn by those from the United States who discuss the social sciences. Newberry Library, Chicago ISAAC J. Cox

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