Lost Worlds: Latin America and the Imagining of Empire

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Focusing on the portrayal of Latin America, Kevin Foster analyzes how stereotypes like cocaine and chaos have shaped Western perceptions over the last two centuries. He argues that Latin America has become an imaginary landscape for the English-speaking world to confront its aspirations and fears. By examining various literary works, from Southey to Kerouac, Foster reveals the region's influence on Western moral and political dilemmas throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, highlighting its complex role in shaping cultural narratives.