Campesina cuentos: A rhetorical analysis of female farmworkers' narratives of marginalization, resistance, and empowerment
Abstract
Resistive spaces can be forged through the words, expressions, actions and thoughts of oppressed women. Stories are one method of transcending boundaries and sharing life experiences to build community, enabling a woman's voice to create positions of empowerment. Furthermore, campesinas or farmworker women are a marginalized group whose personal contributions to the social arena on topics such as immigration and labor have been for the most part ignored. This rhetorical study centered on the cuentos or stories told by farmworker women. The experiences of the campesinas live on through their narratives even as their personal contributions to social justice issues are ignored in the public arena. Through a rhetorical study of the narratives of campesinas as samples of resistance, their marginalization is redefined as a platform for progressive discourse. The borderlands comprised of the states of Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua, Mexico served as the setting for this study. Perhaps, in knowing the voices of the campesinas, others can arrive at a more profound understanding of their struggles.
Subject Area
Womens studies|Communication|Rhetoric
Recommended Citation
Marentes, Cynthia P, "Campesina cuentos: A rhetorical analysis of female farmworkers' narratives of marginalization, resistance, and empowerment" (2008). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1456746.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1456746