Regarded as many in the Greater Lafayette area as the best Latin music singer in town, Sandra M. Úsuga Giraldo, has received the 2017 Distinguished Dissertation Award from the College of Liberal Arts (CLA)! This award, which is reviewed by CLA faculty, recognizes not only the quality of research, but its impact, and innovation. Her dissertation was selected among nominations submitted by each department and school within the College.
Sandra Úsuga in Comuna 13, Medellín, Colombia; place of residence of some of the victims she interviewed.
Sandra, originally from Medellin, Colombia earned a B.A in Teaching Languages from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB), a M.A in Spanish and Latin American Literature, and has recently graduated from her Ph.D in the same area from Purdue University. Her dissertation, entitled "The Representation of the Invisible: Voices of Resistance and Survival to the Colombian Armed Conflict", is the use of peripheral literature, and victim's testimonials from the 50-year Armed Conflict in Colombia, as a tool to understand the means by which women from Medellin in the 90's -individually and collectively- have resisted violence and acted as peace promoters.
Sandra interviewed different community leaders and studied the testimonial archives of SUJU (Sueños Justos-Justice Dreams) Foundation which enriched her analysis of novels, testimonials and peripheral literature. SUJU is a women's organization with about 60 active members, whose relatives were assassinated by different armed groups in the country. "The SUJU Foundation women use their sewing abilities to make dolls that represent their missing relatives. While making dolls that portray some of the characteristics of their disappeared loved ones, they narrate their life stories and use both tools, sewing and sharing, as 'texts' of denunciation to find the truth and/or to relieve the pain they have experienced all these years," explains Sandra.
"My dissertation is significant because it elucidates the multiple voices and perspectives found in diverse kinds of texts: novels, testimonials, peripheral literature, and fabric creations. These texts bring to light experiences and points of view by men and women, most of whom are marginalized either by their sex and/or social class, and excluded from the official history writings of the tragic events suffered by many Colombians for the past fifty years. Most importantly, my study demonstrates how voices and representations of marginalized subjects -where women take on prominent roles-, carry survival and hopeful testimonials for the future, as well as stories of resistance and non-violent proposals for conflict resolution," explains Sandra.
SUJU Woman holding a picture and the text-doll that represents her son who was killed in the conflict. Source: Pablo Tosco, Oxfam Intermón.
The fourth chapter of Sandra's dissertation was the study of Robinson Posada Vargas and his work, Voces del Barrio (2007). Posada Vargas is a social activist, artist, and writer, who uses "parlache" to narrate stories of victims from underprivileged neighborhoods in Medellín, specially Manrique, his home.
"The CLA 2017 Distinguished Dissertation Award gives me strength and motivation to keep working hard on my research field, which seeks to highlight the survival writings, efforts and creativity of victims who are either invisible, or portrayed negatively in Colombia and other Latin American countries," adds Sandra.
Sandra has accepted a faculty position at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN, where she will become a professor of Spanish, Literature and Culture. Her plan is to strive continuously to become a better educator, and connect her teaching and research findings with the community. In the near future, she plans to convert her dissertation into her first book on Colombian literary and cultural production that promotes the study of violence, resistance and proposals for peace. Following this, she will expand her research of the Colombian conflict to analyze other types of cultural production, and continue her investigation on the tremendous resilience of marginalized urban communities. Lastly, she will incorporate literary works from other countries such as Mexico and Brazil, which have experienced similar situations of sociopolitical violence.
¡Felicidades, Sandra! We are very proud of you and your research.