Mutiny at the Orphanage. Reflections on the Meanings and Uses of Work. Buenos Aires, 1902

Abstract

The article aims to analyze the riot unleashed in the Orphanage (Asilo de Huérfanos) of Buenos Aires, on December 1902. The Charitable Society (Sociedad de Beneficencia), administrator of the institution, gathered at that time the journalistic articles and summaries of the investigations opened by the authorities. Drawing upon this collection of documents, an attempt will be made to reconstruct that fleeting episode of struggle, focusing primarily on the analysis of the labour experiences both inside and outside the asylum, and the expectations and antagonistic perceptions regarding the uses and meanings of the work of the children and young of the lower classes.