Lucha – represión – resistencia: literarische Interventionen in lateinamerikanische Geschichts- und Erinnerungspolitiken

Abstract

Lucha – represión – resistencia: Literary interventions in Latin American politics of history and memory
This article examines how Latin American women writers, as feminist actors, shape the politics of history and memory. This is achieved through a textual analysis of works by Elsa Osorio and Julia Álvarez, complemented by approaches from social movement and memory studies. The analysis shows that both authors construct literary counternarratives to patriarchal politics of oblivion, draw attention to marginalised experiences and actively shape processes of transitional justice – for instance in regard to Argentina’s “children of the disappeared” or the political re-evaluation of antifascist women resistance fighters in the Dominican Republic. The article discusses
how literature not only expands memory spaces but also operates as a form of feminist resistance and can provide impetus for political mobilisation.

Keywords: politics of memory, memory studies, memory literature, Latin America, military dictatorships, feminist movement

Bibliography: Heiland, Melanie: Lucha – represión – resistencia: literarische Interventionen in lateinamerikanische Geschichts- und Erinnerungspolitiken, GENDER – Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, 3-2026, pp. 23-37.