Women's writing in Latin America today
A Kenwood
8 points * 2 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton
This subject studies the contribution made by women writers to contemporary Latin American culture. Centred on four key literary figures - Isabel Allende (Chile), Elena Poniatowska (Mexico), Marta Traba (Argentina) and Luisa Valenzuela (Argentina) - the subject (a) sets the prescribed reading materials in their historical and cultural context; (b) surveys the changing roles of women in contemporary society, their quest for identity and the causes and consequences of their increasing political and social activism; and (c) seeks the sources of the literary techniques used to emphasise these concerns in surrealism, feminism, ideological and psychoanalytic theories.
Assessment
One seminar paper (1500 words): 25% * One essay (1500 words): 25% * One assignment (3000 words) or one examination (3 hours): 50%
Prescribed texts
Allende I Eva Luna Penguin, 1987
Poniatowska E Dear Diego Pantheon, 1978 (available from the course coordinator)
Traba M Mothers and shadows Readers' International, 1989
Valenzuela L Lizard's tail Serpent's Tail, 1983
Valenzuela L He who searches Dalkey Archive Press, 1977 (available from the course coordinator)