{"product_id":"everyday-reading","title":"Everyday Reading","description":"Starting in the late nineteenth century, the region of South America known as the Rio de la Plata (containing modern-day Uruguay and Argentina) boasted the highest literacy rates in Latin America. In \u003ci\u003eEveryday Reading,\u003c\/i\u003e William Acree explores the history, events, and culture that gave rise to the region's remarkable progress. With a specific focus on its print culture, in the form of newspapers, political advertisements and documents, schoolbooks, and even stamps and currency, Acree creates a portrait of a literary culture that permeated every aspect of life.\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEveryday Reading\u003c\/i\u003e argues that the introduction of the printing press into the Rio de la Plata in the 1780s hastened the collapse of Spanish imperial control and played a major role in the transition to independence some thirty years later. After independence, print culture nurtured a new identity and helped sustain the region through the tumult of civil war in the mid-1800s. Acree concludes by examining the role of reading in formal education, which had grown exponentially by the early twentieth century as schoolchildren were taught to fulfill traditional roles in society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUltimately, \u003ci\u003eEveryday Reading\u003c\/i\u003e humanizes literary culture, demonstrating its unrecognized and unexpected influence in everyday lives.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57502155833717,"sku":"9780826517890","price":80.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780826517890.jpg?v=1786780976","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/everyday-reading","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}