Affect, Gender and Sexuality in Latin America

‘Viewing the affective turn from the vantage point of Latin America opens up new perspectives on affect theory’s origins in gender and sexuality studies and its political relevance. The essays in this timely and moving collection create innovative directions for studies of affect, emotion, and feeling that will be of value to scholars in both Northern and Southern hemispheres.’ 

— Ann Cvetkovich, Professor and Director, Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

‘The fact that this book is being proposed in English, rather than Spanish and/or Portuguese, indicates that the editors and contributors are interested in changing the dynamics of field formation and knowledge brokering which tend to privilege the Global North (and English). By framing their interventions as simultaneously specific to Latin America and inserted within the broader conversations regarding affect studies, they are ableto balance the urgent need to theorize contemporary political and cultural interventions, and at the same time resist the tendency to “import” theory from the North.’
–Joseph M. Pierce, Associate Professor, Stony Brook University, USA
​This book gathers contributions from an emergent field of thinking and knowledge production in Latin America that emphasizes the significance of affects, feelings and emotions in how we think about politics, gender and sexuality. Considering the complex and even contradictory social processes that Latin America is experiencing today - such as the expansion of feminist and LGBTQ movements and the development of reactionary and neo-liberal forces - many Latin American authors are turning to affect to find a key to understand our present situation, to revisit our history, and to imagine new possibilities for the future. This tendency, sometimes inspired by the theoretical work produced in Europe and the US, has shown such a specificity and sometimes departure from northern productions that it compels us to focus more deeply into its own arguments, methods, and critical contributions. This project provides essays that explore the particularities of Latin American ways of thinking about affect and how they can shed new light into our understanding of, gender, sexuality and politics.
Cecilia Macón is Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Mariela Solana is Assistant Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina.
Nayla Luz Vacarezza is Assistant Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina.