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

Mexican, Southern Cone, and Central American state and gender violence
Paper instructions:
Throughout the semester, 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: (Mexico) Massacre in Mexico; (Argentina) A Single, Numberless Death ISBN: 9780813921310 or “Camps”; (Chile) Pia Barros’ short stories ; Guatemala: Senselessness ISBN: 9780811219846

Film: (Chile) The Pinochet Case; (El Salvador) Innocent Voices – on netflix; (Mexico) Flor en Otomi – on youtube
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.)

? Please follow MLA or Chicago style. Refer to the manual(s) if you have any doubts regarding these formats.
? Remember: your thesis statement is the crux of your essay. Make sure you write a clear, detailed thesis statement that articulates what you will argue and how you will be supporting your argument.
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