"This project was important because we understand crisis and renewal as two inextricably linked concepts in our societies. Spain, Argentina, Chile and Peru have in common that they share the Spanish language; they are all post-dictatorial countries; they all present social systems that are generally characterized by Western democracy, are post-Fordist, consumer-driven, and increasingly transnational. When this form of existence is in jeopardy, renewed sets of interests and values can be formulated along with projects to shape a new system. The 2008 crisis hit Spain with 25% unemployment, negative GDP and the highest percentage in the EU for perceived corruption affecting daily lives (63% while EU average is 26%) (EU Anti-Corruption Report 2014). Spain has been among the hardest hit countries in Europe, and exhibits the highest growth in social inequality over the 2007-2012 period. In this context, national protest movements, such as the Indignados (the Indignant), became very visible and have influenced the global #Occupy Movement around the slogan We are the 99%. Other responses to the crisis have given rise to cooperative and solidarity based organisations accompanied by intense cultural production and manifestations. The low impact of the current financial crisis upon most of Latin America, signals a new scenario of global interdependency rather than one of direct dependency, as was described in previous decades. Studying the cases of Argentina, Chile and Peru enable us us to interrogate cultural scenarios that have emerged after periods of deep social and economic crisis in earlier decades.
The overall objective of CRIC was to use different disciplinary approaches to analyze processes of cultural production in Spain, Argentina, Chile and Peru, around the notions of crisis and renewal. We used the category of ‘narrative’ to unravel cognitive strategies that operate in society, providing tools with which to understand, cope with, and move forward, imagining different configurations for social and economic relations, including changes in established gender, ethnic, and inter-generational relations. We have examined manifestations in literature, theatre, cinema, visual arts, photography and performance, as well as cultural and political representations and interpretations of relevant historical events by social movements, media, academic and political discourses. The secondments exchanges between European and Latin American scholars from diverse disciplines, allowed us to conduct comparative research.
We took a broad approach to the realm of cultural production, as embedded in the processes whereby we make sense of our lives and produce the meanings that configure our social worlds. The main objectives of the research were:
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