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Throat-Slashers, Rape Scenes, and Social Binaries in Latin/o American Culture

This panel examines social or artistic marginalization embedded in the use of classifications, as ways to maintain the social or artistic orders or in other words, to maintain the status quo.

Kristina YouYoung Kim argues for a space where artists such as Ana Mendieta and their work can be explored more objectively without quickly linking them to supposed autobiographical elements. Lydia Rodriguez explores the binary oppositions found in Laura Esquivel’s work as a way of examining “a feminine consciousness” and Mexico’s racial background. Carlos Mamani analyzes the persistence of mythic Andean beings, such as the pishtako, as means to elucidate unequal and imbalanced power relations.

Presentations

Resisting Masculinist Critique: The Political Performance of Identity in Ana Mendieta’s Rape Scenes

Presenters

Kristina YouYoung Kim

The Pishtakos, Sirenas, and Other Andean Mythic Beings in Popular Culture in the Andes

Presenters

Carlos Mamani

Binary Opposites in Laura Esquivel’s My Black Past

Presenters

Lydia Rodriguez

Session chairs

Carlos Mamani