Chile - Psychedelic Chile: Youth, Counterculture, and Politics on the Road to Socialism and Dictatorship. By Patrick Barr-Melej. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017. Pp. 362. $34.95 paper.
Americas July 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1017/tam.2018.23 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractDuring the 1960s and 1970s, Chilean youth built a counterculture that blended psychedelic aesthetics, rock music, and leftist politics, challenging traditional social norms and authoritarian structures. This movement emerged alongside the rise of Salvador Allende's socialist government and later faced brutal repression under Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. The book traces how young Chileans used cultural rebellion to express political dissent, creating alternative communities and identities that intersected with broader struggles for social change. It argues that this counterculture was not merely a foreign import but a distinctly Chilean phenomenon rooted in local political tensions and generational conflict, ultimately shaping the country's trajectory toward both socialism and dictatorship.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Chilean youth counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s |
| Keywords | Political science Sociology History |
| Key finding | Argues that psychedelic culture in Chile was a significant force that shaped youth identity and political activism, intersecting with the country's path toward socialism and dictatorship. |
Abstract
Chile - Psychedelic Chile: Youth, Counterculture, and Politics on the Road to Socialism and Dictatorship. By Patrick Barr-Melej. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017. Pp. 362. $34.95 paper. - Volume 75 Issue 3