AIS: The Other America: Literature of the Caribbean.

Catalog description

Foreigners tend to perceive the Caribbean strictly as a tourist space—a tropical haven of sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters, swaying palm trees, and smiling natives. But what J. Michael Dash refers to as “the other America” can be found only in the literature and the history of these culturally vibrant islands—spaces that Antonio Benítez Rojo describes as expanding “outward past the limits of [their] own sea.” This course will examine Caribbean literature with respect to history, language, culture, diaspora, creolization, and globalization. Students will investigate the commonalities and the contrasts that emerge in the writings from these ethnically and linguistically diverse societies. Students will also become familiar with key words and terms associated with literature of the Caribbean while analyzing authors and critics from the Anglophone, Francophone, and Hispanophone Caribbean islands.