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Mapping the Global Landscape in Women's Diasporic Writing Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 8-2009 Mapping the Global Landscape in Women's Diasporic Writing Martha Addante Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Addante, Martha, "Mapping the Global Landscape in Women's Diasporic Writing" (2009). Dissertations. 639. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/639 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MAPPING THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE IN WOMEN'S DIASPORIC WRITING by Martha Addante A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English Advisor: Dr. Gwen Raaberg, Ph.D. Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 2009 MAPPING THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE IN WOMEN'S DIASPORIC WRITING Martha Addante, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2009 As a contribution to the theory of cognitive mapping, the dissertation examines the ways in which contemporary novels by women writers of diasporic literature offer new conceptual maps of the present global space. This study argues there is a need for alternative mapping strategies that locate the female diasporic subject within the new global political economy. Fredric Jameson's theory of cognitive mapping and Arjun Appadurai's model of global flows provide a useful framework for mapping global space, yet each must be filtered through a feminist critique and modified by a feminist politics. Ultimately, the dissertation argues for a feminist theory of cognitive mapping that considers women's multiple experiences of identity and how these experiences define the diasporic subject in relation to the various global flows (of people, capital, technology, information, or ideologies of state). Surveying three novels written by writers of diasporic literature—Zadie Smith's White Teeth, Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters, and Michelle Cliffs No Telephone to Heaven, the dissertation discusses how these novels function as narratives and provide cognitive maps which help us re-conceptualize social and political structures and women's places within them. White Teeth examines Bengali and Caribbean women's experience of multiculturalism in London in light of British immigration policy spanning from 1948 to 1981. The novel maps the disjunctive relationship between global flows that both empower and disempower women. Jessica Hagedorns's Dogeaters captures the experiences of women in the Philippines exploited by foreign capital and by their own domestic ruling class and bombarded by American pop culture. Yet, given the disjunctive relationship between the global flows, globalization effectively provides women with new possibilities for resisting ideological and repressive state apparatuses. Still focusing on neo-imperialism, Michelle Cliffs No Telephone to Heaven highlights, through the political awakening of its fair- skinned Jamaican protagonist, how global flows work in conjunction to conspire against developing nations, particularly against those within the nation who are most vulnerable. Each of the novels provides a cognitive map of global space highlighting a global system that is ultimately a space of contestation as well as possibilities. Copyright by Martha Addante 2009 UMI Number: 3376945 Copyright 2009 by Addante, Martha INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform 3376945 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My interest in women's diasporic literature has its roots in the immigrant experiences of the women in my family, especially my mother, grandmother, and aunt. It is through their narratives that I first became aware of women's experiences of migration and their struggles to belong in a new place. Their personal ordeals and triumphs taught me about the link between identity and geography. In these women I saw how it is possible to imagine new social and cultural landscapes as they responded to the challenges of the Canadian immigration experience. I trace the theoretical inception of this project to the fateful day when I first read Jameson's essay, "The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism." I began to think about the ways other women respond to the effects of globalization, and this broadened my understanding of women's experiences of diaspora. It also made me think about the ways they struggle to make sense of their lives in a global economic, political, and social environment whose dynamics are forever shifting, radically altering women's lives and their sense of place and purpose. I would like to thank my committee, beginning with Gwen Raaberg, my director, for her constant guidance and support. In her I found a wonderful mentor. Todd Kuchta provided me with copious feedback. I am sincerely grateful for his painstaking consideration of my work and for sharing my enthusiasm for this project. Allen Webb challenged my understanding, encouraging me to read from different perspectives. Special thanks to Mustafa Mirzeler who graciously joined the committee ii Acknowledgments—continued on short notice. In addition to my committee members, I would also like to thank Lorenzo Buj who has been both a friend and mentor to me. Our exchanges over the years have helped me develop many of the ideas that have found their way into this project. To my friends, words cannot begin to express my sincere gratitude for the emotional support and thoughtfulness you have shown me throughout this process. Anna, Carol, and Phyllis, I am especially thankful to you for helping me to laugh while I wrote these pages and to see the lighter side of life. Phyllis, thank you for believing in me and helping me do the same. I am most indebted to my family for their encouragement throughout the completion of this dissertation. I am especially grateful to my parents for their support and their patience all these years while I did what I love to do most. And a final thanks to my brother Nick for being the calming voice of reason in my life. Martha Addante iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I. MAPPING THE NATION IN ZADIE SMITH'S WHITE TEETH 34 II. GLOBALIZATION AND NEOCOLONIALISM IN JESSICA HAGEDORN'S DOGEATERS 73 III. MULTICULTURALISM AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM IN MICHELLE CLIFF'S NO TELEPHONE TO HEAVEN. 114 CONCLUSION 169 WORKS CITED 196 WORKS CONSULTED 205 IV INTRODUCTION As a contribution to the theory of cognitive mapping, this study will examine ways in which contemporary novels by women writers of diasporic literature offer new conceptual maps of the present global space. There is a need for alternative mapping strategies that locate the female diasporic subject within the current global political economy and that contribute to the development of a socio-political theory considering the multiple experiences and locations of women in the age of multinational capitalism. Fredric Jameson's theory of cognitive mapping as well as Arjun Appadurai's model of global flows are useful to this study, but each can and must be appropriated and modified by a feminist politics. This project will focus on the multiple experiences of identity and how different experiences define the diasporic subject politically, culturally, and socially or in relation to various, shifting global flows, what Appadurai calls "scapes." In other words, I will focus on the ways that differences in identity conceptually alter the cognitive maps plotted by women in the present era of globalization. The new model will form the foundation of a theory of cognitive mapping applicable to women's experience of globalization. I will then turn to three novels written by women writers of diasporic literature—Zadie Smith's White Teeth, Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters, and Michelle Cliffs No Telephone to Heaven—and discuss how these novels function as narratives and provide cognitive 1 2 maps which help us re-conceptualize social and political structures and our place as women within them.1 In the following pages I will argue that Jameson's theoretical model of cognitive mapping offers a foundation for a feminist project of mapping global space. As a Marxist theorist Jameson's primary concern remains the modes of production in his analysis of cultural texts, yet his work also combines aesthetic, philosophical, political, and historical analysis in his reading of art and everyday life (Homer and Kellner xiii). He understands the term modes of production or social totality to include a system of economic as well as cultural, political, and social relationships
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