W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 7-2008 Discursive Opposition to Symbolic Violence in the Nobel Lectures of Latin American Laureates Olga Grosh College of William and Mary Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Part of the Latin American History Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, and the Latin American Literature Commons Recommended Citation Grosh, Olga, "Discursive Opposition to Symbolic Violence in the Nobel Lectures of Latin American Laureates" (2008). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 847. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/847 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. DISCURSIVE OPPOSITION TO SYMBOLIC VIOLENCE IN THE NOBEL LECTURES OF LATIN AMERICAN LAUREATES A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelors of Arts with Honors in Hispanic Studies from The College of William and Mary by Olga Grosh Accepted for ___________________________________ (Honors, High Honors, Highest Honors) ________________________________________ Teresa V. Longo , Director ________________________________________ Anne Marie Stock ________________________________________ Betsy O. Konefal Williamsburg, VA April 29, 2008 i ABSTRACT This thesis examines the Nobel lectures of Peace and Literature Prize laureates Pablo Neruda, Gabriel García Márquez and Rigoberta Menchú. I argue that the lectures oppose Western and Latin American symbolic violence against Latin America’s attempts at social change. Moreover, I propose that the lectures’ power comes from the very fact that they are important cultural products that provide a space within which social relations may be presented and negotiated.