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Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (490-0-23)

Topic

Locating Gender in Indianismo and Indigenismo

Instructors

Sarah Bey West

Meeting Info

University Hall 312: Wed 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

The Latin American testimonio, or testimonial, genre is a gendered and contested site of knowledge production. Typically representative of Indigenous women and other disenfranchised peoples during times of great political oppression, testimonios have been understood in conflicting ways—some scholars claim that testimonios are uniquely able to challenge authoritarianism, yet others assert that they are unable to represent the "true" experience of oppression. In this course, we will unsettle and problematize the testimonio genre and its myriad interpretations through representative examples such as those of Rigoberta Menchú and Domitila Barrios de Chúngara. Each testimonio will be contextualized via the sociohistorical context within which each testimonio was produced. Topics may include colonial, nineteenth-century, and/or contemporary testimonios.