Modern Latin America

G. Antonio Espinoza studies the intersection of politics, society, and education in Modern Latin America. Espinoza's current book project is a study of Peruvian Indigenismo, its relationship to Pan-Americanism, and its influence on rural education policies. Adopting an actor-centered approach, Professor Espinoza analyses the impact of modernizing and nationalistic ideas on public schooling geared toward peasant communities in Peru during the second half of the 20th century. As it was the case in other Latin American countries, rural schooling had unexpected outcomes such as fostering rural-to-urban migration, and, in some cases, the political radicalization of teachers.

Professor Espinoza's first book, "Education and the State in Modern Peru, Primary Schooling in Lima 1821-c. 1921" was published by Palgrave-Macmillan in 2013. In this landmark study, Professor Espinoza examines primary education as a key piece in the construction of the modern state and nation in his native country. Espinoza reconstructs the slow but gradual expansion of schooling in the Lima region, and explains it as the result of the combined action of national and local governments and the demand by various social groups. To understand how these two forces interacted with each other, Professor Espinoza analyzes schooling patterns, official educational ideas and policies, political dynamics surrounding schools, and school culture, in the urban and rural areas of the Lima region.

Professor Espinoza obtained his Ph.D. in Latin American history at Columbia University in New York, and his Licenciatura in History at the Catholic University of Peru in Lima. He has published more than a dozen articles and book chapters on intellectual and educational history in Peru and Latin America.