Focuses on canonical foundational fictions from Latin America to deconstruct the discourses and practices that have produced the state and conceptualized the nation throughout the 19th Century. Intended to be an introduction to national archives and the political struggles involved in signifying and building a homogeneous identity in the public-sphere. By focusing on foundational fictions, we will be able to read the limitsand paradoxes of the nation-state building process. A critical reflection on Modernity as articulated in Latin America is, ultimately, what this class proposes as a challenge.