DEPT/SUBJECT AREA - Latin American Studies, Department of Languages, Translation and Communication
SUPERVISOR(S) - Dr L.H. Davies & Dr A. Williams
RESEARCH DEGREE (PhD/M.Phil/MA by Research) - PhD
THESIS TITLE - Redefining testimonio: The enduring significance of testimonial production in contemporary Argentina
Latin American testimonial literature, known in Spanish as testimonio, generated much discussion amongst critics in the 1980s in particular, when production of this new genre of literature reached its peak.
This thesis proposes that a significant body of works has been and continues to be produced in contemporary Argentina which challenge established notions of testimonio and traditional concepts of how traumatised societies remember, particularly through literary production.
Concepts such as post-memory and language as ideology are explored in addition to examples of perpetrator testimony, guerrilla memoirs, Jewish-Argentine writing and contemporary poetry and the argument made that contemporary Argentine literature not only redefines our understanding of testimonio as a genre but also highlights the enduring significance of testimonial production in post-conflict societies the world over.
