After Dictatorship: Facts, Fiction, and Justice in Latin America

In the wake of dictatorships across twentieth-century Latin America, writers and artists (as well as laws and truth commissions) have confronted past human rights violations. Today, authors across disciplines and genres continue to grapple with past atrocities. In this course, as we examine the stories we tell about the past, we will focus on concepts such as memory, truth, and justice. What kind of truth can fiction uncover? Whose stories are either remembered or excluded? How do different types of narratives confront issues of human rights and justice? And what can these narratives teach us about issues we continue to face today? Course will be taught in Spanish with the option to write in English (majors should write in Spanish). Readings will be in Spanish (and in Portuguese with translation) and will include fictional and "true crime" narratives as well as legal/historical texts and manifestos. Authors may include Alia Trabucco Zerán, Gonzálo Eltesch, Selva Almada, Mariana Enríquez, Neusa Maria Pereira, and Julián Fuks.