Common Horizons: An Interview with Maristella Svampa

Abstract

In this interview, Maristella Svampa discusses the themes of her most well-known book, Debates latinoamericanos, originally published in 2016 and now a modern classic in Latin America. She also talks about some of the directions her more recent work has taken. A central theme that emerges is the importance of finding meaningful forms of living in community with other people and with nature, in an age centred on individual success and corporate activities. She is concerned with writing the intellectual history of a specifically Latin American tradition while also connecting it to broader global concerns, such as climate change. Svampa is interested in blurring the lines between academic and artistic work, with poetry, music, and the visual arts valued as forms of knowledge that incorporate both sensual and intellectual elements, capable of reflecting new challenges while creating spaces for change.