The Gothic: Reading group: Argentinian Suburban Gothic

Date
Tue April 20th 2021, 5:00pm
Location
Zoom
Argentinian Suburban Gothic Poster

We are very excited to announce our Spring quarter opening event at The Gothic Research Unit, sponsored by the DLCL and English department. 

 

Over the past few years, journalists, writers, and scholars have been discussing a phenomenon often dubbed el gótico argentino contemporáneo (the contemporary Argentinian gothic). Within this framework, critics have emphasized the work of women writers whose approach to gothic tropes has been characterized as “disruptive” and “disturbing.” Amongst this selected group of authors, two of the most repeatedly cited names are Mariana Enríquez (1973), winner of the 2019 Herralde Prize and Director of Literature of the Argentinian National Endowment for the Arts, and Samanta Schweblin (1978), nominated for the Man Booker International Prize and chosen in 2010 by Granta as one of the best writers in Spanish under 35. 

 

In this reading session, we will discuss a short story by each author: “The Neighbor’s Courtyard” by Mariana Enríquez and “The Digger” by Samantha Schweblin. We will try to elucidate whether their literature can be actually characterized as “gothic” and, if so, whether their distinct takes on gothic genre (and gendered) conventions can be said to belong to the same aesthetic phenomenon (“the contemporary Argentinian gothic”).

 

The event will take place via Zoom, on April 20th at 5pm (PST). Here is the link to register in advance and here is the link to our webpage.

 

If you would like to follow our next events and be informed of the other activities of the group, please contact Cynthia (cinziag [at] stanford.edu (cinziag[at]stanford[dot]edu)) to be added to our gothic mailing list: thegothic [at] stanford.edu (thegothic[at]stanford[dot]edu)