The Gothic: Argentinian Suburban Gothic Reading Session

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”).

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