Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis This subject studies the contribution made by women writers to contemporary Latin American culture. Centred on five key literary figures - Isabel Allende (Chile), Angeles Mastretta (Mexico), Cristina Peri Rossi (Uruguay), 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%