After the ‘End of History’
After the ‘End of History’ is a podcast about International Relations Theory and History.
After the ‘End of History’
Literary Realism 2: Alejo Carpentier - "El Siglo de las Luces"
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Welcome back to our jaunt through Alejo Carpentier’s “El siglo de las luces”, a maritime escapade in the Americas at the time of the French Revolution. With some of the literary theory covered already in episode 1, where we made the case for why this is a unique example of historical realism, we finally enjoy retelling the arc of the story and reading sections of its lurid prose. A deserted island boar feast, a guillotine being rowed into Guadalupe’s bay by starlight, former revolutionaries reimposing slavery amidst the malarial swamp of Guyane… this one’s got it all.
[Recorded December 2025]