From a static village to a fast city: literary representations regarding the process of urbanization in the city of Medellin (1911-1929)

Abstract

This paper analyzes, from a Cultural History perspective, literary images concerning movement and modern life in Medellin, during the 1911-1929 period. The analysis takes as its starting point the hermeneutical possibility of the understanding of history -linked in this case to the city- from the analysis of cultural products -in this case literature- which emerge as particularities within general social conditions (capitalism) and specific conditions (its introduction in the region of Antioquia, Colombia). Therefore, a central aspect of the modernization process is addressed through the literary production, in particular, movement as an image in an imaginary whose social significance began to crystallize in both the physical structure of the city and the practices of its inhabitants.