Arkansas talk focuses on Peruvian literature, conflict

Erika Almenara believes José Carlos Aguero and Claudia Salazar used unique narrative styles to affect the way readers view the violent conflict that left nearly 70,000 people dead in Peru in the 1980s.

The University of Arkansas professor will discuss her views on Jan. 20 as part of the school’s Humanities Faculty Colloquium Series. She is scheduled to speak at 4 p.m. at 319 Old Main in Fayetteville.

Almenara's speech is entitled "Towards a Conceptualization of Memory after the Destruction of the Self: Sobre el don de perdonar by José Carlos Aguero and Blood of the Dawn by Claudia Salazar." In it, she looks at the deadly conflict between Peru and the Shining Path, a Communist militant group, and argues that the writers deconstructed the way the conflict is remembered, both historically and culturally.

Almenara teaches in the university's World Languages and Cultures department. Her talk is open to faculty members and graduate students.