The Literary Studies in Argentina (1976-1986). Between Clandestinity and Institutionalization

ANALÍA GERBAUDO

Oxford

Workshop; Workshop Clandestine Acts: The Global Journeys of Literary Theory; 2019

The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (University of Oxford)

This article analyzesthe process of importation of theories in the field of literary studies inArgentina during the last dictatorship and the first years of the democratictransition (1976-1986). It describes how during the years of State terrorism,the clandestine practices of conceptual appropriation contributed to theconsolidation of the autonomy of the field of literary studies, andspecifically how agents at the head of these clandestine groups elaboratedtheir own research agendas, beyond the reach of pressure from the state, thusaccumulating cultural and symbolic capital which they subsequently transferredto the institutions which they entered during the democratic restoration. Theanalysis is based on two case studies: those of Beatriz Sarlo and JosefinaLudmer.