Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in English Composition

Department

English

First Reader/Committee Chair

Thomas Girshin

Abstract

Third space is an in-between thought space designated for marginalized collectives, allowing multiple recontextualizations of identity interplay. However, Third Space is colonized due to western ideological influences such as criminalization of political art, stunting collective growth. This project serves to question and challenge Salvadoran political art and collective identities through questions such as why political art? Can political art be considered “safe spaces”? and dissecting the process of political art, third space meaning making, and identity interplay. Preserving the collective’s political art serves as a grassroots method of justice, accountability, and collective reparation.

I applying three conceptual frameworks: Bhabha’s (1994) Third Space and supporting concepts from Iedema’s (2003) Multimodality and Dancygier and Vandelanotte’s (2017) image schema and apply them to three political art pieces rich in Salvadoran history: Masacre del Sumpul mural. Cinquera Church graffiti, and 200 años de lucha por la emancipación en El Salvador (2011) mural by Antonio Bonilla. Bhabha (1994) argues that third space is an in-between space where marginalized collectives create and challenge collective meaning while Iedema (2003) and Dancygier and Vandelanotte (2017) have complementing meaning making cycles strengthening Bhabha’s (1994) Third Space.

Applying these concepts to three Salvadoran political art pieces, reveals several interesting findings first being the political image itself playing an active role in third space meaning making. Violent pieces such as the Masacre del Sumpul and Bonilla’s mural, although graphic, allow collective healing, commemoration, and historical memory. The creation of such pieces is a direct act of protest to combat historical memory and narrative erasure. In doing so, Salvadoran political art is synonymous with historical databases and archives. Ultimately, these three Salvadoran political pieces are historical memory tools utilizing sensory modalities to build third space introspection. Collective recontextualization of political art disrupts marginalized viewers’ perception of their historical ‘present’. As a result, constant recontextualizations of the collective are created, leading to a Salvadoran collective identity interplay.

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