La construcción del "ser nacional": usos de lenguajes psicológicos en la ensayística argentina (1910-1955)

Abstract

Abstract: Two decades after Dr. Hugo Klappenbach’s (2006) proposed periodization of Psychology in Argentina, this article aims to commemorate its impact on the professionalization of local historiography while simultaneously proposing an analytical framework for its critical expansion. While the original model allowed for the organization of the discipline's development based on political, institutional, and academic criteria, we observe that during the pre-professional stage of psychology, the analysis of Argentine national identity and the use of psychological ideas as its foundation do not persist beyond the first period analyzed by the author. Thus, in the present work, we argue that the inquiry into the "Argentine being" and the use of psychological ideas undergo a discursive metamorphosis beyond the first decade of the 20th century. To achieve this, we propose—from an intellectual history perspective—an analysis that integrates the contributions of social essays and intellectual discourses from the early 20th century. The goal is to examine how psychological categories continued to function as fundamental tools for describing Argentine identity, understanding that a comprehensive history allows for the incorporation of institutional formation, key actors, psychological ideas, and the discipline's role as expert knowledge in the construction of collective representations of our identity.