Research
Research Interest 1
(1) Non-Western Cultures in Latin American Literature.
The aim is to study the ways in which non-western peoples and cultures are represented in Latin American literature. The issue of representation is crucial, for there are as yet relatively few native and black writers and it is necessary to look critically at literature that claims to represent non-western peoples.
(2) Central American Literature and Culture.
My focus on the work of Manlio Argueta has led to a wider interest in Central American literature. In particular, I am looking at the relationship between the literature produced from the 1950s and what has been published since the late 1980s. This includes looking at an increasing body of literary work by Mayan writers in Guatemala.
Recent Publications:
Astvaldsson (ed.), Permeable Borders: Pre-Hispanic Myth in Latin American Literature. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 88 (6), 2011, (special issue).
Astvaldsson (ed.), Creation and Endurance: Pre-Hispanic Myth in Latin American Literature. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 89 (5), 2012, (special issue).
Craft, Linda, Astvaldur Astvaldsson and Ana Patricia Rodríguez (eds), Desde la hamaca al trono…y más allá: Lecturas críticas de la obra de Manlio Argueta (San Salvador: Universidad Tecnológica, 2013).
‘Mitos, paisaje y modernidad en la literatura latinoamericana’. In Magdalena Chocano, William Rowe y Helena Usandizaga (eds), Huellas del mito prehispánico en la literatura latinoamericana (Madrid/Frankfurt: Iberoamericana/Vervuert, 2011), 67-90.
‘Un mundo sonoro: naturaleza, lenguaje y resistencia en la poesía de Humberto Ak’abal’. In José Carlos Rovira and Eva Valero Juan (eds), Mito, palabra e historia en la tradición literaria latinoamericana (Madrid/Frankfurt: Iberoamericana/Vervuert, 2013): 133-151.
Research grants
Manlio Argueta: Poesia Completa.
ARTS AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL
September 2002 - January 2003
Evolución temática y formal en poeía de Manlio Argueta (1956-2004).
BRITISH ACADEMY (UK)
March 2005
Overseas conference grant.
BRITISH ACADEMY (UK)
January 2001 - December 2001
Representations of War and Peace in Post-Civil War Central American Narratives.
BRITISH ACADEMY (UK)
April 2009 - July 2011
Research collaborations
Dr Ricardo Roque-Baldovinos
Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas
The organisation of two international seminars on Representations of War and Peace in Post-Civil War Central American Narratives. Supported by a grant from the British Academy.
Dr Lucrecia Méndez de Penedo
Universidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala
The organisation of a public seminar on Representations of War and Peace in Post-Civil War Central American Narratives