Posted: September 13th, 2017

Mexican, Southern Cone, and Central American state and gender violence

Mexican, Southern Cone, and Central American state and gender violence

We have examined representations of Mexican, Southern Cone, and Central American state and gender

violence in a variety of cultural texts. We have also focused on the official discourses that these nations

set forth and how these cultural texts serve as counter-narratives that challenge these official accounts.

Another central component to our course was discussing the politics of human rights and the challenges

inherent in achieving justice for the violations committed during these Latin American “Dirty Wars”.

Please choose one of the following options for your final paper:

1) Write an 8-10 pp. essay that comparatively analyzes *one* cultural text from *two* different nations

Readings:”Massacre in Mexico” by Elena Poniatowska (Mexico); “A Single, Numberless Death”(Argentina)

ISBN: 9780813921310 or “Camps” (Argentina); Pia Barros’ short stories (Chile);  “Senselessness”(Guatemala)

ISBN: 9780811219846

Films: (Mexico) “Flor en Otomi”; (El Salvador) “Innocent Voices”, (Chile) “The Pinochet Case”

As you write your paper, consider the following questions to help guide your analysis:

o    Beyond just representing forms of violence either visually (through film or photographs) or

textually (through written forms such as first-person testimonial accounts, literature, poetry, and so

forth), what are these texts trying to accomplish and what is at stake in these works? What are the

central message(s) of the texts? Why is it important to consider these forms of violence in a

transnational context? In your analysis of the two texts from two different nations, why is it critical to

do a comparative assessment of these works?

o    How do the various genres of these texts (documentary film, feature film, testimony, fiction)

inform the overarching message(s) of these works? Consider the various literary and visual techniques

we assessed in class to help center your analysis (e.g. the structure of the novel, language, symbolism,

metaphor, textual layout, table of contents, camera angles, lighting, soundtrack, and so forth). What do

these specific techniques relay about the cultural text you are analyzing and how does it connect back

to the central message of this text (and how does it connect to your main argument)?

o    What are the gender politics that emerge in these texts? More specifically, why is it critical to

analyze the gender dynamics present in these works? What do these gender dynamics indicate about

the specific historical, political, and social contexts to which these texts refer? How are these gender

relations specifically described or presented in these works? How are women’s narratives archived and

represented in these texts?

o    How do these cultural texts challenge or reinforce the official, historical narratives of Argentina,

Mexico or Chile? How do these texts represent the legacies of violence and state terror and post-

dictatorship, transitional eras?

2) Write an 8-10 pp. essay that analyzes *one* cultural text (Mexico: Flor en Otomi or Massacre in

Mexico; Argentina: A Single, Numberless Death or “Camps”; Chile: Pia Barros’ short stories or The

Pinochet Case; Guatemala: Senselessness; El Salvador: Innocent Voices) and the official human rights

report from *one* of the Latin American nations (Nunca más, The Rettig Report, or the National Security

Archives’ Report on Mexico’s Dirty War, Guatemala Never Again!, El Salvador Truth Commission) which

will serve as a counterpoint of comparison to your analysis of the cultural text.

As you write your paper, consider the following questions to help guide your analysis:

o    How is the cultural text in conversation with the human rights report? More specifically, does the

cultural text cover an issue that is omitted in the official human rights report? Do the texts complement

one another or does the cultural text contest the official human rights report?

o    What are the gender politics that emerge in these texts? More specifically, why is it critical to

analyze the gender dynamics present in these works? What do these gender dynamics indicate about

the specific historical, political, and social contexts to which these texts refer? How are these gender

relations specifically described or presented in these works? How are women’s narratives archived and

represented in these texts? Is gender represented differently in the cultural text than from the official

human rights text?

o    Do these texts rely on or challenge universal human rights discourse? What are the limitations and

possibilities of universal human rights discourse? What type of justice do these texts envision and how is

this represented in these works? How do the politics of human rights and the main debates over

universal human rights present in these various texts?

o    In your analysis of the official human rights report, what type of discourse is used when

documenting these crimes against humanity? How does gender and human rights intersect in the

formation of the official report? How are the testimonies of human rights victims framed in the report?

?    NOTE: do NOT attempt to answer all these questions or write a laundry-list essay in response to

these questions – these are merely to serve as a guide as you brainstorm your paper topic.

?    You must include a total of at least three secondary theoretical sources to support your analysis

of the texts. (Remember: always introduce the quotation, explain it and connect it back to your main

argument.)

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 🙂