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This collection aims to explore the multifarious manifestations of gender intrinsic to national ideologies, the use of gender in the construction and development of nation states, and the role of political, literary and cinematographic discourses in cultural debates that define national and international borders in postcolonial societies.

The selected essays focus primarily on Europe and Latin America and consider the implications of colonialism, dictatorship and transition to democracy on national identities as well as the deliberate use of gendered language and images in the development of discourses of hegemony, frequently used to underpin support for individual political regimes, or as a call to arms to defend national patrimony.

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Lorraine Kelly is a lecturer in Spanish at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Tina-Karen Pusse is a Lecturer in German Literature at the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Jennifer Wood is a lecturer in Spanish at Aberystwyth University in Wales.

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