Testimonial Writing in Modern Latin America

SPLA30872 Testimonial Writing in Modern Latin America 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 3 Jose Valentino Gianuzzi Unit coordinator Spanish, Portuguese and Latin 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' First part HE study/Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 In Latin America, testimonial writing (often called by its Spanish name, testimonio) has produced several works which have had a significant influence in both shaping and promoting artistic, socio-cultural and political developments in modern Latin America. This mode of life-writing aims to give voice to politically oppressed communities through an individual’s representative life story, which is often expressed orally by the informant and then turned into a text by an editor. This course examines key texts from this hybrid but rich genre which has garnered increasing attention in the academic world in recent years. The course explores the diverse ways in which testimonial writing interacts and responds to literary, political and social contexts, and how, although blurring the boundaries between history and fiction, it also aims to bear witness to key socio-historical events at a grassroots level. The course thus also examines the questions and contradictions which arise from the genre, and which have underpinned critical work in the past 20 years: whose voice and visions are being represented, and for whom? What strategies are used to present a convincing narrative of historical/political events, and what are the associated risks? This course examines key texts from a hybrid but rich genre which has only recently receivedcritical attention but which has had a significant influence in both shaping and promotingartistic, socio-cultural and political developments in modern Latin America. The courseexplores the diverse ways in which testimonial writing interacts and responds to literary,political and social contexts, and how, although blurring the boundaries betweenhistory and fiction, it also aims to bear witness to key socio-historical events at a grassrootslevel. The course thus also examines the questions and contradictions which arise from thegenre, and which have underpinned critical work in the past 20 years: whose voice andvisions are being represented, and for whom? What strategies are used to present aconvincing narrative of historical/political events, and what are the associated risks? <ul> <li> deepen the students’ knowledge of contemporary Spanish language;</li> <li> enhance their understanding not only of Latin American history, politics and culture but also of the relationships between practice, theory and criticism</li> <li> train them to handle complex materials with focus, precision and perspective.attune them to the different rationales behind various interpretations and types of reception.</li> </ul> <ul> <li> understand the textual and critical trajectory of a much-debated, hybrid and contested mode of representation</li> <li> gain an overview of the social, political and cultural context in modern Latin America</li> <li> gain an integrated and multi-disciplinary understanding of an important corpus</li> </ul> <ul> <li> read and analyse selected texts in detail and in close relation to specific cultural, political and historical contexts</li> </ul> <ul> <li> analyse selected texts and apply this understanding to other cultural practices</li> <li> reflect on modes of self- and life-writing</li> </ul> <ul> <li> Work effectively in collaboration with other students, and sustaining written and oral arguments coherently.</li> <li> Combine theoretical notions with live practice.</li> </ul> <ul> <li> Work effectively in group environments and collaborate in group discussions</li> <li> Design and develop a small research project and see it to completion</li> <li> Reflect on the ethical aspects of analysis and interpretation</li> <li> Acquire advanced conceptual skills</li> </ul> Analytical skills Group/team working Oral communication Research Written communication Lecture and seminar –group discussion; textual analysis seminars; individual and group tutorials on essay writing. 0 Other 10% 1 Written exam 40% 2 Written assignment (inc essay) 50% <ul> <li> Formative feedback throughout the course regarding conclusions of seminar discussions and of Q and A component of lectures.</li> <li> Written and oral formative feedback after each seminar presentation</li> <li> Oral feedback tutorials on essay planning</li> <li> Written summative feedback on essay.</li> <li> Additional one-to-one detailed formative feedback (during the consultation hour or by making an appointment)</li> </ul> SPLA20210 Spanish Language 5 Pre-Requisite Compulsory SPLA20200 Spanish Language 4 Pre-Requisite Compulsory SPLA30872 Prerequisite is SPLA20210 OR SPLA20200 N Set texts:M. Barnet, Biografía de un cimarrón (Manchester University Press edition)M. Santos Moray, La piedra de cobre (Cuba: Casa de la Américas)E. Poniatowska, Haste no verte Jesús mío (Madrid: Alianza Editorial or any other edition)E. Burgos, Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia (México: Siglo Veintiuno) Further reading:A. Arias (ed) (2001) The Rigoberta Menchú Controversy (University of Minnesota Press).M. Barnet (1983) La fuente viva (Letras Cubanas).J. R. Bartow (2005) Subject to Change: The lessons of Latin American women’s testimonio for truth, fiction, and theory (Chapel Hill Press).G. Brotherston (1997) ‘Debate: Regarding the Evidence in Me llamo Rigoberto Menchú’, in Travesía: Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, 6 (no 1), 93-104.A. Carey-Webb and S. Benz (eds) (1996) Teaching and testimony: Rigoberta Menchú and the North American classroom (SUNY Press).V. Casaus (1990) Defensa del testimonio (Letras Cubanas).L.J. Craft (1997) Novels of Testimony and Resistance from Central America (University Press of Florida).P.J. Eakin (ed), (2004) The Ethics of Life Writing (Cornell University Press, 2004).S. Felman and D. Laub (eds) (1992) Testimony; Crises of Witnessing in Literature, Psychoanalysis, and History (Routledge).G.M. Gugelberger (ed) (1996) The Real Thing: Testimonial Discourse and Latin America (Duke University Press).L.S. Howe (2004) Transgression and Conformity: Cuban Writers and Artists after the Revolution (University of Wisconsin Press).     R. Jara and H. Vidal (eds) (1986) Testimonio y literature (Minneapolis: Institute for the Study of Ideologies and Literature).N. Lindstrom (1998) The Social Conscience of Latin American Writing (University of Texas Press).D. Sommer (1988) ‘Not Just a Personal Story: Women’s Testimonios and the Plural Self’, in B. Brodzki and C. Schenck (eds) Life/Lines: Theorizing Women’s Autobiography (Cornell University Press).  D. Sommer (ed.) (2006) Cultural agency in the Americas (Duke University Press).D. Stoll, (1999) Rigoberta Menchú and the Story of all Poor Guatemalans (Westview Press). Assessment written exam 1.5 External visits 3 Lectures 11 Seminars 22 0 167 2015/16 Timetable:Lecture: Wednesday 1000-1100Seminar: Tuesday 1000-1200