Biblioteca di Rassegna iberistica

Narratives of Violence

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open access | peer reviewed

Abstract

Narratives of Violence is a contribution to the ethical turn in literary studies. In the current context of systemic political violence unleashed in the wake of 9/11 and the global advance of capitalism and neoliberalism, literature constitutes a particularly timely device to raise awareness about injustice, the abuse of power, and the violation of human rights. Literature may also be helpful in order to face social challenges such as peaceful coexistence with immigrants and displaced people, and the settling of refugees. This book is an invitation to read a selection of narratives of violence anchored in different geopolitical realities, and located in historical contexts ranging from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. By adopting ethical criticism in order to tackle the dilemmas posed by these stories, we aim to contribute to the configuration of global imaginaries based on respect, recognition, and empathy, especially towards those who are most vulnerable. This collection offers critical readings of works of various genres, originally written in different languages. Authors discussed comprise Mrīrīda nʾait ʿAtiq (Morocco), Janina Hescheles (Poland), Eva Koch (Denmark), María Galindo (Bolivia) and Sonia Sánchez (Argentina), Najat El Hachmi (Morocco-Catalonia), Arundhati Roy (India), Leila Abdelrazaq (Palestine), and Yū Miri, Murata Sayaka, and Kawakami Mieko (Japan). The corpus includes biographical, autobiographical, testimonial, and fictional narratives, sometimes very close to documentary or life history. The works analysed in this collection portray experiences of violence and oppression caused by social, political, economic, and military conflicts. The novelty of this book lies in the challenge it poses to the Western-centric and patriarchal bias often found in similar collections of scholarly essays. Thus, the book focuses on female authors, seeking to give visibility and voice to women victims, generally forgotten in hegemonic cultural discourses.

Keywords Eva Koch • Amazīgh culture • Respect • Gender • Palestine • Oliva and Norwegian humanitarian aid • Youth • Maurice Halbwachs • Polish Jewishness • Epistemic violence • Precariousness • Marianne Hirsch • Sustainability • Literature • Yū Miri • Violence • Anal sex • Morocco • Najat El Hachmi • Heroism • Catalan literature • Ethical turn • Mrīrīda nʾait ʿAtiq • Human rights • Villar - Los hijos de Manuela • Genealogies • Political violence • Postcolonialism • Colonialism • Testimonial narrative • Jay Winter • Murata Sayaka • Body literature • Psychoanalysis • India • Temporality • Systemic violence • Interactive visual art • Japanese literature • Jean Laplanche • Immigration • Feminism • Body • Prostitution • Testimony • Spanish Civil War • Memory • Subalternity • Ethics • Graphic memoir • Historical memory • Reading • Symbolic violence • Violence against women • Identity • Kawakami Mieko • Exile • Holocaust • Memoir • Nini Haslund Gleditsch • Argentinean feminist movement • Representation • Walter Benjamin • Dignity • Guerrillas • Villar • Economic violence

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-460-8 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-460-8 | Pubblicato 21 Ottobre 2021 | Lingua es, ca, en

Copyright © 2021 Teresa Iribarren, Roger Canadell, Josep-Anton Fernàndez. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.