Acts of narrative resistance : women's autobiographical writings in the Americas
/ Laura J. Beard
- Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press , 2009.
- xiii, 199 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.
- American literatures initiative .
"The American Literatures Initiative"--T.p. verso.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
In these examples of autobiographical resistance literature from the Americas, women resist the definitions imposed on them by dominant discourses of ethnic, sexual, and indigenous identities in an effort to define their own experiences. The texts were first published in the 1980s and early 1990s, an era of brutal dictatorships and growing women's movements. They are grouped here in three genres: testimonio, metafiction, and the family saga as the story of a nation, with narratives by women from different countries and traditions paired in each genre section. Authors include Helena Parente Cunha, Ana Maria Shua, and Shirley Sterling. Beard (Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, Texas Tech University) locates the works in the context of feminist studies of women's autobiographies and the study of inter-American literature. A few b&w photos and illustrations are included.
9780813928630
2009020563
Autobiography---Women authors Autobiography----Political aspects Latin American prose literature----Women authors----History and criticism Latin American prose literature----20th century Canadian prose literature Women----American----Biography Women in literature Biography as a literary form