Acts of narrative resistance : women's autobiographical writings in the Americas / Laura J. Beard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beard, Laura J., 1962-

Contributor:

American Literatures Initiative.

Series:

New World Studies

American literatures initiative

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Autobiography--Women authors.

Autobiography.

Autobiography--Political aspects.

Latin American prose literature--Women authors--History and criticism.

Latin American prose literature.

Latin American prose literature--20th century--History and criticism.

Canadian prose literature--Women authors--History and criticism.

Canadian prose literature.

Canadian prose literature--20th century--History and criticism.

Women--America--Biography--History and criticism.

Women.

Women in literature.

Biography as a literary form.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (216 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This exploration of women's autobiographical writings in the Americas focuses on three specific genres: testimonio, metafiction, and the family saga as the story of a nation. What makes Laura J. Beard's work distinctive is her pairing of readings of life narratives by women from different countries and traditions. Her section on metafiction focuses on works by Helena Parente Cunha, of Brazil, and Luisa Futoranksy, of Argentina; the family sagas explored are by Ana María Shua and Nélida Piñon, of Argentina and Brazil, respectively; and the section on testimonio highlights narratives by Lee Maracle and Shirley Sterling, from different Indigenous nations in British Columbia. In these texts Beard terms "genres of resistance," women resist the cultural definitions imposed upon them in an effort to speak and name their own experiences. The author situates her work in the context of not only other feminist studies of women's autobiographies but also the continuing study of inter-American literature that is demanding more comparative and cross-cultural approaches. Acts of Narrative Resistance addresses prominent issues in the fields of autobiography, comparative literature, and women's studies, and in inter-American, Latin American, and Native American studies.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Contents""; ""List of Illustrations""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction""; ""PART ONE: Addressing the Self: Autobiographical Metafiction""; ""1 The Mirrored Self: Helena Parente Cunha's Women between Mirrors""; ""2 The Self in Exile: Luisa Futoransky's Babelic Metatext""; ""PART TWO: From Self to Family to Nation: The Family Saga as an Autobiographical Genre""; ""3 Re-membering the Nation by Remembering the Family: Ana María Shua's The Book of Memories""; ""4 The Autobiographical Text as Memory Box: Nélida Piñon's The Republic of Dreams""

""PART THREE: Bearing Witness to the Self and the Community: Testimonial Works by Indigenous Women""""5 ""The Life of Bobbi Lee Is about Why We Must Talk"": Testimonial Literature as a Call to Action""; ""6 ""Part of Surviving Is through Remembering"": The Ethics and Politics of Life Narratives about Indian Residential School Experiences""; ""Conclusion""; ""Notes""; ""Works Cited""; ""Index""; ""A""; ""B""; ""C""; ""D""; ""E""; ""F""; ""G""; ""H""; ""I""; ""J""; ""K""; ""L""; ""M""; ""N""; ""O""; ""P""; ""R""; ""S""; ""T""; ""U""; ""V""; ""W""; ""Y""; ""Z""

Notes:

"The American Literatures Initiative"--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8139-3057-X

OCLC:

759159931