Overview
Laura Caicedo is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Literatures in English at Cornell University, with an emphasis on Latinx literature and culture, women of color feminism, and queer of color critique. Their dissertation, tentatively titled Memory’s Home; Spatiotemporal Imaginaries in Latinx Literature, examines the function of memory and home as concepts within Latinx literature, while also using them as lenses to analyze the narratives crafted around different Latin American countries and immigrant groups. In their research, Laura considers how contemporary Colombian, Caribbean, and Latinx novelists take memory seriously as a vehicle through which to establish counternarratives that are often in tension with national and institutional forms of remembrance. The testimonials that operate as situated forms of memory then shape our understanding of home as both a concept and a practice. Throughout their dissertation, Laura looks to Colombia as a case study in the use of home and memory across national histories, archives, and literature to give insight into the practices which Latinx writers and artists utilize to craft imaginaries not solely beholden to the narratives of U.S. and Latin American relations. Their work has been published in the Latin American Literary Review.
Research Focus
- Latinx Literature and Culture
- Women of Color Feminisms
- Queer of Color Critique
- Cultural Studies