Myths of Modernity

“Myths of Modernity is a superbly crafted work that will appeal to scholars of gender and class relationships in Latin American history.” — David Greenawalt, American Anthropologist

“Myths of Modernity is an important book that approaches mutations and contradictions of labor and land rights’ transformation within a distinct ethnographic context. I recommend this book to anyone interested in capitalist development in Latin America, as the author brilliantly presents her arguments. . .” — Valter Cvijić, Anthropology of Work Review

“A deeply researched, clearly argued case study of the intersection of class, ethnic, and gender identities . . . of interest to historians and graduate students interested not only in Nicaragua but all of Latin America.” — Alan McPherson, The Latin Americanist

“[I]nsightful and provocative. . . . Dore reminds us that history matters and that an accurate interpretation of social reality must always be predicated on a thorough understanding of the past.” — Debra Sabia, The Historian

“Dore has produced an admirable pioneering study well worth reading.” — Arthur Schmidt, International Labor and Working-Class History

“Dore provides us with a well researched and thorough descriptive analysis of the transformation of a complex and unusual community during an important formative period of modern Central American history. She shows how class, ethnicity, and gender are inextricably intertwined in the everyday life of a community such as Diriomo. She highlights several themes—patriarchy, the brutal struggles for land and forced labor, for example—that have widespread relevance in the history of Latin America, and that continue, like the ghosts of the past, to haunt Nicaraguan history and society to the present.” — James Phillips, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology

“Dore reminds us that history matters and that an accurate interpretation of social reality must always be predicated on a thorough understanding of the past. Myths of Modernity makes a meaningful contribution not only for understanding a part of Nicaragua’s past, but in providing tools for understanding its present and appreciating the likely complexities of Nicaragua’s future.” — Debra Sabia, The Historian

“Dore’s book is a model work of scholarship, combining theoretical insights with documents culled from archives as well as interviews with people who experienced the final stage of debt peonage. It makes contributions to the history and modern politics of Nicaragua as well as to academic debates in feminist studies, peasant studies, and the history of political economy.” — G.B. Paquette, Canadian Journal of History

“Dore’s contributions to the gendered history of Latin America and to the relations between gender, ethnicity and class, are spectacular and merit emulation.” — Justin Wolfe, Journal of Latin American Studies

“In Myths of Modernity: Peonage and Patriarchy in Nicaragua, Elizabeth Dore skillfully engages with several relevant theoretical, methodological, historical and political literatures and produces a solid contribution to the historiography of agrarian social relations in rural Nicaragua.” — Les W. Field, EIAL

“In this engaging study of how patriarchy impeded capitalist development during Nicaragua’s coffee revolution (1870–1930), perhaps Elizabeth Dore’s most exciting assertion is that ‘history matters’. . . . Well written and cogently argued. . . . [T]his fine-grained local history is one that will appeal to scholars of Central America and a broader audience interested in the past’s influence on the present.” — David Carey Jr., Hispanic American Historical Review

“This book is a real gem. . . . [It] is a model for students and scholars for the clarity of exposition, but above all for the nuanced theoretical analysis.” — Cristóbal Kay, Journal of Agrarian Change

“This book is an important contribution to the sparse archival based, regional historiography of Nicaragua. Based on impressive and extensive local archival and ethnographic sources, Myths of Modernity provides a detailed local history of coffee production, land, labor and gender relations in the village of Diriomo (Granada) between the mid 19th century and the early 20th.” — Aldo Lauria-Santiago, A Contracorriente

“This excellent book is thoroughly researched. It is conceptually sophisticated and touches upon pertinent and important theoretical matters. . . . It presents a wealth of empirical substance for the argument and provides attractive reading through a clear style and a plethora of demonstrative and telling cases and examples.” — Ton Salman, European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies

“This is a remarkable and fascinating book that successfully examines interactions of how class, race, and gender fostered the emergence of a unique type of agrarian capitalism in Latin America. The result is a volume well worth reading for those who are interested in a deeper understanding of economic underdevelopment in the Latin American countryside.” — Marc Becker, Agricultural History

“Those trying to understand agrarian change and rural society in Latin America, and elsewhere, can find much that is informative and useful in this marvelous book.” — Jim Handy, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“A skilled researcher and potent polemicist, Dore is at her best when she combines archival digging with colorful interviews to prove beyond doubt that political power and patronage, not market forces or the rule of law, have long determined who holds land in Nicaragua.” — Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs

“This book makes an important contribution to a growing literature on the contradictory nature of liberalism in Latin America. . . . The book is provocative, well written, and clearly argued. It will be essential reading for Latin American historians in general and those interested in gender, liberalism, and labor studies in particular.” — Ann Zulawski, American Historical Review

“This is a real gem of a monograph. Methodologically, Dore takes the combination of ethnography and archival work to a new level.” — Ben Fallaw, American Ethnologist