Popular Expression and National Identity in Puerto Rico

Popular Expression and National Identity in Puerto Rico PDF Author: Lillian Guerra
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780813015941
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
"Well-written and powerfully argued. . . . I know of no other work [on the subject] as comprehensive in its scope, extensive in its analysis, coherent in its internal argument, and consistent in its evaluated sources."--Franklin W. Knight, Johns Hopkins University In this bold social history, Lillian Guerra explores the nature of popular-class and elite political consciousness in Puerto Rico from 1898 to 1940, the period when North American colonialism was taking shape. Through the prisms of gender, race, and class she analyzes the folk sayings of subalterns in tandem with the literary production of the intelligentsia, producing a mosaic of debate, dissent, and affirmation regarding Puerto Rican identity. The book focuses on two sources of intellectual and creative expression--a vast and largely unstudied collection of folk tales, songs, and riddles (the 1914 Mason collection) and the essayist movement (including writers such as Antonia Pedreira, Miguel Melendez Munoz, and Luis Munoz Marin), which appropriated the figure of the Puerto Rican peasant as a symbol of national identity. From these sources Guerra mines a spectrum of opinions and beliefs about the world of the popular classes and she demonstrates that their songs, word-play, and narrative expression formed the nexus for engagement with the elite. What results is an image of the Puerto Rican peasant that works both against and in collusion with elite society. Guerra's conclusions about class struggle for identity under North American imperialism challenge readers to compare the historical case of Puerto Rico with other colonial cases, not just in the Caribbean but throughout the Americas. Lillian Guerra is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Scholarship for 1995-96 and the Dorothy Danforth Compton Fellowship of the Institute for the Study of World Politics in 1997.

Popular Expression and National Identity in Puerto Rico

Popular Expression and National Identity in Puerto Rico PDF Author: Lillian Guerra
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780813015941
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Well-written and powerfully argued. . . . I know of no other work [on the subject] as comprehensive in its scope, extensive in its analysis, coherent in its internal argument, and consistent in its evaluated sources."--Franklin W. Knight, Johns Hopkins University In this bold social history, Lillian Guerra explores the nature of popular-class and elite political consciousness in Puerto Rico from 1898 to 1940, the period when North American colonialism was taking shape. Through the prisms of gender, race, and class she analyzes the folk sayings of subalterns in tandem with the literary production of the intelligentsia, producing a mosaic of debate, dissent, and affirmation regarding Puerto Rican identity. The book focuses on two sources of intellectual and creative expression--a vast and largely unstudied collection of folk tales, songs, and riddles (the 1914 Mason collection) and the essayist movement (including writers such as Antonia Pedreira, Miguel Melendez Munoz, and Luis Munoz Marin), which appropriated the figure of the Puerto Rican peasant as a symbol of national identity. From these sources Guerra mines a spectrum of opinions and beliefs about the world of the popular classes and she demonstrates that their songs, word-play, and narrative expression formed the nexus for engagement with the elite. What results is an image of the Puerto Rican peasant that works both against and in collusion with elite society. Guerra's conclusions about class struggle for identity under North American imperialism challenge readers to compare the historical case of Puerto Rico with other colonial cases, not just in the Caribbean but throughout the Americas. Lillian Guerra is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Scholarship for 1995-96 and the Dorothy Danforth Compton Fellowship of the Institute for the Study of World Politics in 1997.

Divided Borders

Divided Borders PDF Author: Juan Flores
Publisher: Arte Publico Press
ISBN: 9781611921236
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Divided Borders: Essays on Puerto Rican Identity is a collection of essays on history, literature and culture by the celebrated commentator on Puerto Rican and Caribbean culture in the United States, Juan Flores. He is the recipient of the prestigious Casa de las Americas award for his monograph on Puerto Rican identity. Included are: ñPuerto Rican Literature in the United States: Stages and Perspectives,î ñThe Insular Vision: Pedreira and the Puerto Rican Misere,î ñNational Culture and Migration: Perspectives of the Puerto Rican Working Class,î ñLiving Borders / Buscando America: Languages of Latino Self Formationî and many others.

The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move

The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move PDF Author: Jorge Duany
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807861472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
Puerto Ricans maintain a vibrant identity that bridges two very different places--the island of Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland. Whether they live on the island, in the States, or divide time between the two, most imagine Puerto Rico as a separate nation and view themselves primarily as Puerto Rican. At the same time, Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, and Puerto Rico has been a U.S. commonwealth since 1952. Jorge Duany uses previously untapped primary sources to bring new insights to questions of Puerto Rican identity, nationalism, and migration. Drawing a distinction between political and cultural nationalism, Duany argues that the Puerto Rican "nation" must be understood as a new kind of translocal entity with deep cultural continuities. He documents a strong sharing of culture between island and mainland, with diasporic communities tightly linked to island life by a steady circular migration. Duany explores the Puerto Rican sense of nationhood by looking at cultural representations produced by Puerto Ricans and considering how others--American anthropologists, photographers, and museum curators, for example--have represented the nation. His sources of information include ethnographic fieldwork, archival research, interviews, surveys, censuses, newspaper articles, personal documents, and literary texts.

An American Icon in Puerto Rico

An American Icon in Puerto Rico PDF Author: Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1800733879
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
Focusing on multigenerational Puerto Rican women and girls, Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez masterfully illustrates how Barbie dolls impact femininity, body image, and cultural identity. Since her debut in 1959, Barbie has transcended boundaries and transformed into a global symbol of femininity, capturing the imaginations of girls all around the world. An American Icon in Puerto Rico offers a captivating study of that iconic influence by focusing on a group of multigenerational Puerto Rican women and girls. Through personal narratives and insights, author Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez unveils the emotional attachment that these women and girls have formed with the doll during their formative years. This connection serves as a powerful lens to explore the intricate relationships girls have with their Barbie dolls and the complex role Barbie plays in shaping their identities. Aguiló-Pérez boldly confronts the challenges and contradictions that arise, offering a compelling analysis of how playing with Barbie dolls can impact a girl's perception of femininity, body image, race, and even national identity. Through these nuanced explorations, she unearths the potential pitfalls of these influences, encouraging readers to reflect on their own relationships with the iconic doll. By weaving together personal anecdotes, historical context, and sociocultural analysis, Aguiló-Pérez masterfully illustrates how these women and girls navigate the diverse landscapes of femininity, body image, and cultural identity, with Barbie serving as both a facilitator and a reflection of their growth. In doing so, she redefines the significance of Barbie in the lives of Puerto Rican women and girls, prompting readers from all around the world to reevaluate their perceptions of femininity and embrace a more inclusive understanding of beauty, body image, and self-expression.

The Politics of Language in Puerto Rico

The Politics of Language in Puerto Rico PDF Author: Amílcar Antonio Barreto
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813063825
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
"A [book] rich in detail and analysis, which anyone wanting to understand the language debate in Puerto Rico will find essential."--Arlene Davila, Syracuse University This is the first book in English to analyze the controversial language policies passed by the Puerto Rican government in the 1990s. It is also the first to explore the connections between language and cultural identity and politics on the Caribbean island. Shortly after the U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico in 1898, both English and Spanish became official languages of the territory. In 1991, the Puerto Rican government abolished bilingualism, claiming that "Spanish only" was necessary to protect the culture from North American influences. A few years later bilingualism was restored and English was promoted in public schools, with supporters asserting that the dual languages symbolized the island’s commitment to live in harmony with the United States. While the islanders’ sense of ethnic pride was growing, economic dependency enticed them to maintain close ties to the United States. This book shows that officials in both San Juan and Washington, along with English-first groups, used the language laws as weapons in the battle over U.S.-Puerto Rican relations and the volatile debate over statehood. It will be of interest to linguists, political scientists, students of contemporary cultural politics, and political activists in discussions of nationalism in multilingual communities.

Contested Images

Contested Images PDF Author: Alma M. García
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0759119619
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
Contested Images: Women of Color in Popular Culture is a collection of 17 essays that analyze representations in popular culture of African American, Asian American, Latina, and Native American women. The anthology is divided into four parts: film images, beauty images, music, and television. The articles share two intellectual traditions: the authors, predominantly women of color, use an intersectionality perspective in their analysis of popular culture and the representation of women of color, and they identify popular culture as a site of conflict and contestation. Instructors will find this collection to be a convenient textbook for women's studies; media studies; race, class, and gender courses; ethnic studies; and more.

Witchcraft and Welfare

Witchcraft and Welfare PDF Author: Raquel Romberg
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292774605
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Persecuted as evil during colonial times, considered charlatans during the nation-building era, Puerto Rican brujos (witch-healers) today have become spiritual entrepreneurs who advise their clients not only in consultation with the spirits but also in compliance with state laws and new economic opportunities. Combining trance, dance, magic, and healing practices with expertise in the workings of the modern welfare state, they help lawyers win custody suits, sick employees resolve labor disability claims, single mothers apply for government housing, or corporation managers maximize their commercial skills. Drawing on extensive fieldwork among practicing brujos, this book presents a masterful history and ethnography of Puerto Rican brujería (witch-healing). Raquel Romberg explores how brujería emerged from a blending of popular Catholicism, Afro-Latin religions, French Spiritism, and folk Protestantism and also looks at how it has adapted to changes in state policies and responded to global flows of ideas and commodities. She demonstrates that, far from being an exotic or marginal practice in the modern world, brujería has become an invisible yet active partner of consumerism and welfare capitalism.

Colonialist Photography

Colonialist Photography PDF Author: Eleanor M. Hight
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136473947
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 474

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Book Description
Colonialist Photography is an absorbing collection of essays and photographs exploring the relationship between photography and European and American colonialism. The book is packed with well over a hundred captivating images, ranging from the first experiments with photography as a documentary medium up to the decolonization of many regions after World War II. Reinforcing a broad range of Western assumptions and prejudices, Eleanor M. Hight and Gary D. Sampson argue that such images often assisted in the construction of a colonial culture.

Puerto Ricans in the Empire

Puerto Ricans in the Empire PDF Author: Teresita A. Levy
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813575346
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Most studies of Puerto Rico’s relations with the United States have focused on the sugar industry, recounting a tale of victimization and imperial abuse driven by the interests of U.S. sugar companies. But inPuerto Ricans in the Empire, Teresita A. Levy looks at a different agricultural sector, tobacco growing, and tells a story in which Puerto Ricans challenged U.S. officials and fought successfully for legislation that benefited the island. Levy describes how small-scale, politically involved, independent landowners grew most of the tobacco in Puerto Rico. She shows how, to gain access to political power, tobacco farmers joined local agricultural leagues and the leading farmers’ association, the Asociación de Agricultores Puertorriqueños (AAP). Through their affiliation with the AAP, they successfully lobbied U.S. administrators in San Juan and Washington, participated in government-sponsored agricultural programs, solicited agricultural credit from governmental sources, and sought scientific education in a variety of public programs, all to boost their share of the tobacco-leaf market in the United States. By their own efforts, Levy argues, Puerto Ricans demanded and won inclusion in the empire, in terms that were defined not only by the colonial power, but also by the colonized. The relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States was undoubtedly colonial in nature, but, as Puerto Ricans in the Empire shows, it was not unilateral. It was a dynamic, elastic, and ever-changing interaction, where Puerto Ricans actively participated in the economic and political processes of a negotiated empire.

African Caribbeans

African Caribbeans PDF Author: Alan West-Duran
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313039348
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The African Diaspora left an indelible imprint on Caribbean countries and islands. This reference, the only broad historical and cultural survey of the black experience in the Caribbean, celebrates the Afro-Caribbean diversity of the countries it profiles. Each of the 15 chapters introduces a country, island, or group of islands, providing an overview from the arrival of slaves to the current situation. Topics include, history, economy, politics, social stratification, race relations, cultural highlights, religion, and notable figures. Readers will discover the broad range of languages, political systems, racial makeup, historical uniqueness, and cultural offerings that shape the Caribbean. A chronology, glossary, and photos enhance the text.