The Other Women in Dialogic Literary Gatherings = Las otras mujeres en las tertulias literarias dialógicas

Abstract

This paper is based on Freire’s conception of dialogic action, which highlights the role of dialogue in raising awareness and critical consciousness (Freire, 1970). Drawing on this conception, Dialogic Literary Gatherings (DLG) were created in 1978 in a working-class neighbourhood in Barcelona. The purpose was not only to contribute to adults’ literacy learning but also to support their empowerment towards personal and social transformations. Specifically, we examine four non-academic women who have participated in DLG for more than 20 years and who have been traditionally excluded from decision-making processes in various personal and social spaces. We demonstrate how these women transform their self-concept as readers and learners by engaging in reading and enjoying classic literature, thus becoming empowered as social agents. This empowerment has occurred through several pathways for engagement. DLG allow participants to become confident readers who perceive themselves as culturally competent such that they are capable of actively participating in scholarly forums. Participants become more socially engaged and become involved in social movements to support marginalised communities. The transformative dialogues prompted by individually reading aloud and collectively discussing the morals and social values of the classics (i.e., gender issues) mobilise participants to engage in women’s movements, opening the feminist arena to include so-called ‘other women’

Este trabajo se basa en la concepción de Freire de la acción dialógica (Freire, 1970). Partiendo de esta concepción, las Tertúlias Literarios Dialógicos (DLG) creadas en 1978 en un barrio obrero de Barcelona. Analizamos cuatro mujeres que participan en DLG hace más de 20 años, las cuales tradicionalmente han sido excluidas de los procesos de desicions de espacios personales y sociales. Demostramos cómo estas mujeres transforman su autoconcepto como lectoras y aprendices al participar en la lectura y el disfrute de la literatura clásica, empoderándose así como agentes sociales. Los diálogos transformadores generados en las TLD, impulsados por la lectura individual en voz alta y la discusión colectiva de los valores morales y sociales de los clásicos, movilizan a las participantes