E-Thesis 427 views 326 downloads
Insularity, translation, and genre: the case of two Caribbean writers, Hazel Robinson and Edwidge Danticat / LAURA MARTINEZ
Swansea University Author: LAURA MARTINEZ
DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.67440
Abstract
The Caribbean is the meeting point of many cultures (European, African, American) and has been through a complex historical process, marked by the consequences of the colonization process. Natural disasters, like hurricanes and earthquakes, political instability and exploitative practices also have...
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Swansea, Wales, UK
2024
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Lublin, Geraldine ; Lopez-Terra, Fede |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67440 |
| Abstract: |
The Caribbean is the meeting point of many cultures (European, African, American) and has been through a complex historical process, marked by the consequences of the colonization process. Natural disasters, like hurricanes and earthquakes, political instability and exploitative practices also have deeply affected the region. These events give the literature and culture of this area unique characteristics and complexity. In my thesis, I study two Caribbean authors whose works show the complexity of this region from a cross-cultural and crosslinguistic perspective. The first writer is Hazel Robinson, born in 1935 in San Andrés, Colombia. The archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia had a historical process different from the rest of the country, which led to an oftentimes tense relationship with the Colombian government, oscillating between indifference and efforts to assimilate the islands. In her novels and articles Robinson portrays the history of San Andrés and Providencia, promoting and defending their literature, language, and culture. The other writer studied in this thesis is Edwidge Danticat (Port-au-Prince, 1969). Although Danticat has lived in the United States since she was twelve, Haiti remains the main setting in her texts. In her narrative she often explores the country’s traumatic history and her own complicated relationship with it as a diasporic writer. My study focuses on three of her works: one novel, one collection of short stories, and an essay, which gives my research a broader perspective of some of the themes present in her narrative. In conclusion, I study the works of these two Caribbean authors in the framework of a comparative study based on ecocriticism and gender studies. My objective is to see how these authors are challenging the notions of nationality and identity and creating a new way to read the history of their countries and of the Caribbean, from the perspective of women protagonists, traditionally marginalized in their countries’ historiography. |
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| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |