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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO RACIAL GEOPOLITICS INTERROGATING CARIBBEAN CULTURAL DISCOURSE IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Literature by Irmary Reyes-Santos Committee in charge: Nicole King, Co-chair Sara E. Johnson, Co-chair Denise Ferreira da Silva Milos Kokotovich Rosaura Sánchez Winifred Woodhull 2007 The Dissertation of Irmary Reyes-Santos is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm: __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Co-chair __________________________________________________________ Co-chair University of California, San Diego 2007 iii DEDICATION A mis ancestros, han preparado el camino recorrido iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page . iii Dedication . iv Table of Contents . v List of Illustrations . vii Acknowledgments . ix Vita . xiii Abstract of the Dissertation . .xvii INTRODUCTION – Racial Geopolitics: Interrogating Caribbean Cultural Discourse in the Era of Globalization . 1 The Caribbean and Globalization . 1 What Is Globalization? . 6 Defining Mechanisms of Neoliberalism . 9 Multiculturalism . 11 Race, Capitalism, and Migration . 13 Race, Development, and Nation . 15 Disciplinary and Methodological Approach . 21 Chapters . 24 Notes - Introduction . 29 CHAPTER ONE – Crossing the Border: Haitian Migrants in the Dominican Republic . 32 Haitian Migration? Invasión pacífica?: Media and Literature . 34 Migration and Globalization . 38 v Literary Interventions . 45 Solo falta que llueva . 48 The Farming of Bones . 61 Conclusion . 75 Notes - Chapter 1 . 79 CHAPTER TWO – Crossing the Mona Channel: Dominicans in Puerto Rico . 82 Colonialism and Globalization . 84 Placing Dominicans in the Puerto Rican Economic and Racial Landscape . 86 Literary Imaginations of Puerto Ricans and Others . 103 Retrato del dominicano . .105 Mona, canal de la muerte . 116 Dominican and Haitian Migrants: A Comparative Perspective . 126 Notes - Chapter Two . .131 CHAPTER THREE – Imagining the Landscape of the Nation in 1930s Novelas de la Caña . 133 The Past Illuminates the Present . 134 The Canon: Literature and Politics . 135 Historical Context . .137 Cultural Context . 139 Comparative Analytical Framework . 144 Literary Analysis . 147 Narrators and the Nation . .149 Plantation and the Nation . 151 vi Fire . 156 The Racial and Gendered Constitution of the Nation . 159 Marriage, Reproduction, and Whiteness . 164 Conclusion . 170 Notes - Chapter Three . 173 CHAPTER FOUR – Las Dos Antillas: Regionalist Politics in the Writings of Ramón E. Betances and Gregorio Luperón . 175 Anti-slavery Politics, Anti-imperialism, and Regionalism . 179 Historical Context: The Nation, Foreign Capital, and Regionalist Struggles . .182 Ramón E. Betances . 186 Gregorio Luperón . 196 Conclusion . 207 Notes - Chapter Four . 209 CONCLUSION . 211 “Encancaranublado” . 220 Future Research . 227 Notes - Conclusion . 231 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 234 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE 1 “Teléfono dominicano”. 232 FIGURE 2 “Arrestan a 60 dominicanos”. 233 viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation counted with the financial support of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, the Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies, and the Department of Literature at the University of California, San Diego. Their funding allowed me to undertake much needed research in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and New York. Access to the following collections provided primary and secondary sources that defined the project: in Cuba, the National Library Jose Martí; in the Dominican Republic, the Centro Bonó, the National Library, and the Universidad Pontificia Madre y Maestra in Santiago; in Puerto Rico, the Lázaro Library at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe; and, in New York, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies in Hunter College. I also have to thank the Interrogating the African Diaspora 2005 Seminar at Florida International University-- sponsored by the Ford Foundation--for funding and bringing together such a productive group of senior and junior scholars. Andrea, Chantalle,Christian, Devin, Kai, Maziki, Reena, Xavier, and the rest, thanks for your feedback and friendship. Our conversations taught me what inter- disciplinarity means. While writing the dissertation in Eugene, Oregon, a community of people supported me, and shared work and conversations: Lynn Fujiwara, Sangita Gopal, Lamia Karim, Brian Klopotek, Enrique Lima, Ernesto Martínez, Dayo Mitchell, Steve Morozumi, Priscilla Ovalle, Pedro Pérez, and Analisa Taylor. Their intellectual ix engagement enriched every draft of the dissertation. The faculty series hosted by the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Sexuality Studies was crucial for the revision process. My mentors in Oregon, Barbara Altmann, Maram Epstein, Michael Hames-García, and Peggy Pascoe walked me through the most difficult stages in the writing process and the job search. Special thanks to the Ethnic Studies Program for trusting me. Brian’s collegiality and willingness to guide me through the teaching of a variety of courses was invaluable. Donella created a comfortable space where we could collaborate with each other. Our work would not be possible without her personal commitment to the goals of the program. She has made the transition from student to professor a smooth and pleasant one. Ernesto has taught me to open the classroom and the writing process to unconventional possibilities. J. Shiao has protected my time in the most considerate manner. Michael’s enthusiasm helped me gather the energy and confidence to finish. Thanks for taking the time to mentor me as a junior scholar of color and a new teacher in the program. Teaching in Ethnic Studies provided a productive space to refine my ideas through dialogue with students and colleagues. It renewed my passion for academic work. Facilitating the advanced seminar, “Approaches to Race in Globalization and Postcolonial Studies,” allowed me to reconceptualize the introduction. My students push me every day to refine ideas, definitions, and arguments. My experience as a student at UC, San Diego’s Literature Department prepared me to undertake the questions that move me. Its concern with the relationship between culture and politics has fed my academic passions and defined the analytical frameworks of my research and teaching. Thanks to my dissertation committee--Nicole King, Sara x Johnson, Winnie Woodhull, Rosaura Sánchez, Misha Kokotovich, and Denise Ferreira da Silva--for their support, patience, and confidence in my work. Sara and Nicole undertook the arduous task of co-chairing across the Atlantic. Their questions and scholarly endeavors have challenged me to further problematize my initial assumptions. Rosaura, Misha, and Winnie supported and challenged me throughout my graduate career. Denise was willing to join the committee at a later stage and always gave me generous feedback. Ana Celia Zentella provided crucial guidance and mentorship. Being in dialogue with her kept me in touch with home, the Caribbean, when away from it. Robert Cancel has been supportive since the moment I considered applying for the program. Working with Beatrice Pita prepared me to engage with Latin American literary traditions, as well.