Author's School

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

Author's Department/Program

Romance Languages and Literatures: Latin American and Iberian Literatures (Hispanic Literature)

Language

Spanish (es)

Date of Award

January 2009

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Chair and Committee

John Garganigo

Abstract

2 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION El empalme de fronteras y los procesos de identificación como métodos para la articulación de subjetividades fronterizas by Leticia Treviño McDoniel Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Languages and Literatures Washington University in Saint Louis, 2009 Professor John F. Garganigo, Chairperson This dissertation studies the representation of the US-Mexican borderland as represented in five novels written on either side of the border in different moments of the 20th Century. The three major components of the bordered space that emerge in these novels are: first, its geography -- both, the 2000 miles that divide the border and the internal spatial perception of it; second, its history -- which consists of personal memories of different historical periods that include the Mexican Revolution in the 20's, the "Bracero" program in the 40's, the emergence of the Chicano movement in the 60's and 70's, and the establishment of the NAFTA in the 90'--; and third, the development of particular bordered subjectivities. The processes of identification, as analyzed in these novels, define the border subject as any Mexican and Mexican -American, who has crossed the border, either legally or illegally, from Mexico to the United States. The crossing experience of the border in a particular time and space lead to the articulation of fluid forms of identity. This study considers theories and methodologies that approach the border zones and border experiences in order to examine and understand the multiple strategies that migrant subjects develop in order to relate and confront the marginalizing hegemonic forces that surround them.

Comments

Romance Languages and Literature: Hispanic Studies

Permanent URL: http://dx.doi.org/K7W37TG6

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