The collection as a reading device of political violence in children’s literature in Argentina

This paper discusses the concept of collection based on themes or objects as an approach to reading and organizing an analysis corpus. The methodological problem involving selection and interpretation of the objects of study is exemplified in the topic of political violence during Argentina’s last military dictatorship (1976-1983) and representations of violence in children’s literature in Argentina. On the bias of postulates forwarded by Elizabeth Jelin (2002), who defines stories of the past as communicable narratives that serve to build meaning in the future, we propose an examination of the contact points between the field of memory and modes from the appropriation of the past. Collections of children’s readings published between 1970 and 1990 and organized in terms of the representation of violence stand as a legacy for future generations who did not experience the events. Even today the collection as a reading device challenges the selection and organization practices of material from this literary sub-genre existing at the margins of the dominant cultural system.