Descension as methodology: Ignacio Ellacuría and Claribel Alegría’s contributions to a Third World leftist praxis

Bradley Hilgert

Third World Quarterly, 2025, vol. 46, issue 11, 1395-1412

Abstract: This paper examines how Ignacio Ellacuría’s theological framework and Claribel Alegría’s testimonial literature together articulate a radical praxis-oriented methodology of ‘descension’ for the Third World Left. The research integrates theological, literary and socio-political analysis to interrogate narratives and actions emerging from El Salvador during its civil war, while remaining attentive to the complex dynamics of representation, mediation and solidarity. It focuses on how these Central American thinkers challenge hegemonic narratives and propose new spaces for liberation and social justice. Both Ellacuría and Alegría emphasise the agency and potentiality of the poor, not as passive objects but as powerful epistemological sources and forces for socio-political change. By analysing Ellacuría’s emphasis on the preferential option for the poor and Alegría’s use of testimonial literature to amplify marginalised voices, the paper explores how a methodology of descension, rooted in the lived experiences of the oppressed, can effectively deideologise dominant structures and envision alternative societal models. This dialogical reading highlights the importance of thinking from the place of contradiction to construct a transformative and liberatory praxis.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2025.2517753

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