Los estudios historiográficos de género en Latinoamérica

Caulfield S. “The History of Gender in the Historiography of Latin America”. Hispanic American Historical Review, 2001 - Duke Univ Press. Pp. 449-490.

Caulfield hace un intento por revisar lo que se ha escrito sobre género en Latino América. A partir de los años 80s comienza una serie de estudios inagurados por Asunción Lavrin que usan género como categoría central de análisis. Nota la falta de diálogo entre lo que se produce en el Norte y en el Sur sobre LA. Examina la historia de las corrientes políticas y académicas que han influenciado los análisis de género en la historiografía de LA (452). El peak de los estudios de género se producen en el contexto de las postdictaduras cuando hay recursos institucionales y respaldo internacional para una agenda global “de género”. La influencia del post-estructuralismo francés resulta en un énfasis en los discursos y las representaciones, las mentalidades, y de los estudios de la mujer se transita a los estudios sobre la feminidad y la masculinidad. La influencia del pensamiento marxista se traduce en que género se usa (casi) siempre como categoría ligada a clase (o etcnicidad). Las historiografías ponen mucha atención en la relevancia de la familia y su relación con estructuras políticas y económicas. Estos estudios han ido de a poco reconociendo más la agencia de las mujeres en estos procesos más alla de verlas como meros instrumentos o víctimas de ellos. Atención también a procesos de hegemonía y de contrahegemonía. Y como la construcción de masculinidades y feminidades normativas se cruza con discursos estatales, populares, contraculturales.

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