Los cortejos del fin. Una aproximación a dos ensayos de Beatriz Sarlo y Josefina Ludmer

Abstract

This essay traces the idea of the end, considered as a diagnosis and prognosis of literary
knowledge, from the texts of two Argentinean critics: Beatriz Sarlo’s ‘Escenas de
la vida posmoderna’ (1994) and Josefina Ludmer’s ‘Literaturas posautónomas’ (2006).
The topic of the end, conceived at the crossroads between literature, criticism and theory,

allows us to postulate questions about the validity of practices, roles, notions
and definitions of the literary. Through the productivity of funeral metaphors, the
dialogue between the proposals of Sarlo and Ludmer (but also those of Marcelo
Topuzian, Jorge Panesi, Luis Chitarroni, César Aira) aims to illuminate not only a
historical debate but also its potential eloquent remains for the cultural conditions
of the 21st century.