"Woman" and Chile: in Transition
"Transitions to civilian rule in Latin America today," according to Veronica Schild, "involve a reconfiguration of state-civil society relations along the lines of the neoliberal modernizing project, with powerful cultural effects" (94). One such effect is el tema mujer, as the Chilean critic Raquel Olea calls the indiscriminate or all-encompassing topic of "woman" in cultural productions, which she says is a result of recent historical, social, political and economic conditions (i.e. transitions to civilian rule, neoliberalism) that contribute to an ever-increasing problematization of female identity, often causing official reactionary discourses to it. The historical moment of the late twentieth century points to a time of redefinition of identity and roles in most aspects of Chilean society (not just female identity) as Chile went from being socialist democratic, to ruled by military dictatorship, and back to democracy again. It is within the larger spectrum of these societal changes that the redefinition, and consequently the representation, of female identity becomes so critical.1 Representation is so important because, as Nelly Richard asserts, "el modo en que cada sujeto se vive y se piensa esta medido por el sistema de representation del lenguaje que articula los procesos de subjetividad a traves de formas culturales y de relaciones sociales" ("Feminismo" 734). For Richard, it is necessary to contextualize these tensions in the
The Untimely Present: Postdictatorial Latin American Fiction and the Task of Mourning
The Untimely Present examines the fiction produced in the aftermath of the recent Latin American dictatorships, particularly those in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Idelber Avelar argues that through their legacy of social trauma and obliteration of history, these military regimes gave rise to unique and revealing practices of mourning that pervade the literature of this region. The theory of postdictatorial writing developed here is informed by a rereading of the links between mourning and mimesis in Plato, Nietzsche’s notion of the untimely, Benjamin’s theory of allegory, and psychoanalytic / deconstructive conceptions of mourning.

Avelar starts by offering new readings of works produced before the dictatorship era, in what is often considered the boom of Latin American fiction. Distancing himself from previous celebratory interpretations, he understands the boom as a manifestation of mourning for literature’s declining aura. Against this background, Avelar offers a reassessment of testimonial forms, social scientific theories of authoritarianism, current transformations undergone by the university, and an analysis of a number of novels by some of today’s foremost Latin American writers—such as Ricardo Piglia, Silviano Santiago, Diamela Eltit, Joao Gilberto Noll, and Tununa Mercado. Avelar shows how the ‘untimely’ quality of these narratives is related to the position of literature itself, a mode of expression threatened with obsolescence.

This book will appeal to scholars and students of Latin American literature and politics, cultural studies, and comparative literature, as well as to all those interested in the role of literature in postmodernity.
Cultural constraints on the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention in Ireland.
HIV appeared in Ireland following an opiate epidemic in the early 1980s. Initially, however, the gay community mounted the only response to the spread of the virus while the implementation of early actions by the government was hampered by the constructions of the disease within Irish society. This paper considers the influence of the religious hierarchy in both the development of AIDS policy and in the shaping of public perceptions of the disease and those affected. A qualitative methodology is used to examine the role of such cultural constraints in an evaluation of the social context within which the prevention of HIV infection occurs. Three key issues pertinent to the policy context in Ireland are explored in depth. These are the role of the Catholic Church, the influences on health education programmes, particularly information giving, and the development of services and other interventions. These findings are discussed within the social and political contexts in which health policy is formulated.