ENGL 3680 - Telling to Live: Critical Examinations of Testimonio

(crosslisted)
(also AMST 3680, LATA 3681, LSP 3680) (LA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

E. Diaz.

Testimonio is a type of writing known in Latin America, and integral in U.S. Latina/a and Chicana/o traditions. The testimonio typically offers an individual’s story as representative of the people as a collective. In this course we will consider both literary testimonios and alternative forms appearing in visual and performance art in order to investigate how individual experiences can represent a group and a society. We will also contemplate the end result or the outcome of the testimonio. In other words, do testimonies change lives? Do they change laws? Do they help people live better lives?