Tramas tnmunttartas en la moderntdad chihena: Raza, salud y porvenir en Raza Chilena de nicolás palacios y Casa Grande de Luis Orrego Luco

The following article explores Raza chilena (1904) by Nicolás Palacios and Casa grande (1908) b Luis Orrego against the background of the cultural crisis experienced in Chile in the early twentieth century. The article proposes that the two texts articulate a necessity for immimity designed to safeguard the threatened national body. This threat, which both texts confront - following a diagnosis and therapy organized around mechanisms proper of modern bio-pol itics - is part of the contradictory ways in which modernity is experienced in Chile. The natioiial project, articulated and defended by the enlightened elite, is critically revisited by both authors, putting into play new terminologies and concepts towards enabling the survival of the community.