Introduction. Creating a space of one's own: new approaches to spaces of belonging of women exiles in Latin America

The introduction, authored by Eugenia Helena Houvenaghel and Paola Bellomi, proposes two new critical methodologies for understanding the experiences of women in Latin American exile and how they construct their spaces of belonging. The two new critical approaches are the TRANS-EXILE PERSPECTIVE and the TRANSACTIONAL APPROACH. The trans-exile approach focuses on a neglected dimension of exile, termed the "third dimension," which moves beyond the conventional bifocal framework of only examining the country of origin or the host country. The transactional approach offers an alternative critical framework that analyzes space in literary works. The term “transaction” is used to mean “transiting from one action to another”. It describes a complex dynamic of displacement where bodies carry their original environments in a "transsubstantial way". This requires continuous actions that affect both the individual subject and their spatial context.