Overview

Revolutionizing Motherhood examines one of the most astonishing human rights movements of recent years. During the Argentine junta's Dirty War against subversives, as tens of thousands were abducted, tortured, and disappeared, a group of women forged the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and changed Argentine politics forever. The Mothers began in the 1970s as an informal group of working-class housewives making the rounds of prisons and military barracks in search of their disappeared children. As they realized that both state and church officials were conspiring to withhold information, they started to protest, claiming the administrative center of Argentina the Plaza de Mayo for their center stage. In this volume, Marguerite G. Bouvard traces the history of the Mothers and examines how they have transformed maternity from a passive, domestic role to one of public strength. Bouvard also gives a detailed history of contemporary Argentina, including the military's debacle in the Falklands, the fall of the junta, and the efforts of subsequent governments to reach an accord with the Mothers. Finally, she examines their current agenda and their continuing struggle to bring the murderers of their children to justice.

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9780842024877

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Reviews

A tale of incredible bravery...Highly recommended for general readers, upper-division undergraduates, and above. * Choice Reviews * Bouvard's story would enhance any Latin American or women's studies course. * New Mexico Historical Review * Bouvard's work gives a retrospective and up-to-date evaluation of the political mother's struggle. * Library Journal *

[BOUVARD] CHARTS NEW TERRITORY... IN HER METICULOUS AND EMOTIONAL RECOUNTING OF HOW AN INFORMAL GROUP OF WORKING-CLASS HOUSEWIVES BANDED TOGETHER TO SEEK THEIR DISAPPEARED CHILDREN.

Author Information

Marguerite Guzman Bouvard, is a resident scholar with the Women's Studies Program at Brandeis University. She is the author of books in the fields of political science, psychology, women's studies, and poetry, including Mothers of Adult Children (Lexington, 2013), The Invisible Wounds of War; Coming Home from Iraq and Afghanistan (Prometheus, 2012), and Revolutionizing Motherhood: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002), and has edited two anthologies, all connected by a concern for human rights and the human condition.

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