Criticism after the cultural downpour and postcolonial storm

Abstract

This article attempts to map the current state of literary criticism of and about Latin America. To do this, the present study analyzes the consequences of the emergence of that area of production which has been identified under the rubric of cultural studies and of postcolonial approaches to this field. These developments have generated numerous debates concerning the conditions in which literary criticism should develop and the functions it must fulfill. These have presupposed frequent revisions and a critical questioning of the foundations on which literary criticism was posited in the past, and have encouraged that they be replaced by renewed paradigms which privilege a necessary politicizing of literary criticism. Taking all these elements into consideration, Latin American literary criticism finds itself at a complex turning point that threatens to subvert the principles that had justified it in the past. It is this turning point which this article proposes to describe, analyze and evaluate.