Entre fronteiras e memórias traumáticas: testemunhos de mulheres latino-americanas exiladas

Abstract

The dissertation investigates the testimonies of Latin American women exiled during the military dictatorships of the 20th century. The main objective is to contextualize, present and dialogue to these reports, emphasizing the impact of exile on their lives, as well as the relevance of their testimonies as forms of resistance, identity reconstruction and strengthening of the collective memory of this traumatic experience. The central works analyzed are Memórias das mulheres do exílio: Depoimentos (1980) and You can't drown the fire: Latin American women writing in exile (1988). These texts offer a wide range of perspectives on the exile experience, exploring testimonies, interviews, letters and other forms of expression. The theoretical framework of the study covers various topics: dictatorships, discussed through the works of Bethell (1997), Gaspari (2002), and Rosenmann (2013); exile, through the lens of Sznajder and Roniger (2009), Viñar and Viñar (1992), Rollemberg (1999), and Rabêlo and Rabêlo (2001); and memory and forgetting, with contributions from Lexcellent (2019), Atkinson and Shiffrin (1977), Izquierdo (2010), and Halbwachs (1990). Additionally, the study of testimonial literature and autobiography is based on authors such as Salgueiro (2012), Seligmann-Silva (2003), and Lejeune (2008). With an interdisciplinary approach, the research broadens the understanding of the social, political and psychological implications of exile. Its relevance lies in analyzing the impact of the exile caused by military dictatorships in Latin America, with a focus on female subjectivity and the construction of historical and collective memory, offering a significant contribution to gender studies, memory and human rights.