José Enrique Rodó: las distintas modulaciones de la voz del maestro. José Enrique Rodó: the different modulations of the theacher's voice.

Resumen

A cien años de la muerte de José Enrique Rodó (1871-1917), se analiza su papel como maestro de juventudes y como defensor de un proyecto educativo humanista capaz de permitir a las nuevas generaciones consolidar un “parlamento del espíritu” con autoridad moral en las sociedades latinoamericanas. Se expone cómo a través de sus escritos se logró forjar una representación distintiva de la figura del maestro, a la vez que la palabra del ensayista se combinó con las distintas modulaciones de la voz del maestro en un imaginario ligado al libro y la lectura. Se procura hacer una interpretación relacional de la figura de Rodó que permita entender los amplios alcances de su prédica laica en defensa de los valores morales del ciudadano y el rico diálogo con sus pares y discípulos. Se plantea como hipótesis que los sectores a que iba dirigido su mensaje pertenecían a las capas medias urbanas y letradas en crecimiento, que vieron en el proyecto arielista y en la promoción del diálogo intelectual una nueva forma de inserción en el ámbito cultural de su época.

Abstract: One hundred years after the death of José Enrique Rodó (1871-1917), this article analyzes his role as a teacher of the youth and as a defender of a humanist educative project that would make it possible for future generations to consolidate a “parliament of the spirit” with moral authority in Latin American societies. It studies the way a distinctive representation of his person as a professor was forged, as well as how his voice as an essayist was combined with the different modulations of the voice of the teacher in an imaginary that was linked to the book and to reading. This article is intended to offer a relational interpretation of Rodó, one that might offer an understanding of the far-reach of his lay preaching in defence of the moral values of the citizen, as well as the rich dialogue with his peers and disciples. The hypothesis in this text, is that his message was aimed at urban and learned strata that saw in the Arielist project, and the promotion of the book and reading, a new means of insertion in the cultural atmosphere of the time.