Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures
Advisor
Magdalena Perkowska
Committee Members
Isolina Ballesteros
Oswaldo Zavala
Subject Categories
Arts and Humanities | European Languages and Societies | Film and Media Studies | Latin American Languages and Societies | Latin American Literature | Modern Languages | Modern Literature | Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature | Spanish Literature
Keywords
Latin American and Spanish literature, Latin American and Spanish film, transgenerational memory, postmemory
Abstract
This dissertation analyzes contemporary novels and films about the traumatic legacies of the Spanish Civil War through the lens of postmemory, memory studies, and transatlantic studies. I examine how Mexican and Spanish writers and filmmakers from the postwar generations approach the memories of their ancestors—and their own—to reframe history through fiction, memory work, and personal agency. Studies about historical memory are typically constrained to national contexts, but I highlight how trauma transcends the nation not only in space but also in time. Moreover, I focus on how inherited memories acquire new meanings in contemporary representations and how those resignifications have political effects in the present. I believe that in the face of current attempts to forget and silence the past––and the disputes around those attempts—, it is paramount to study how trauma impacts communities across temporal and spatial boundaries. Finally, I contend that a transatlantic approach is essential to exploring how memory and fictional narratives intertwine across generations.
Recommended Citation
Lopez Sanchez, Mayte, "Fantasmas compartidos: Posmemoria, herencia y reescritura de la Guerra Civil española en México y España" (2023). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5319
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Included in
European Languages and Societies Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Latin American Literature Commons, Modern Languages Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Spanish Literature Commons