1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910151621303321

Autore

Ricourt Milagros

Titolo

The Dominican Racial Imaginary : Surveying the Landscape of Race and Nation in Hispaniola / / Milagros Ricourt

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Brunswick, NJ : , : Rutgers University Press, , [2016]

©2016

ISBN

0-8135-8450-7

0-8135-8449-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (200 pages) : illustrations, maps

Collana

Critical Caribbean Studies

Disciplina

305.80097293

Soggetti

Anti-racism - Dominican Republic - History

Cultural pluralism - Dominican Republic - History

Creoles - Dominican Republic - History

Black people - Dominican Republic - History

Nationalism - Dominican Republic - History

Ethnicity - Dominican Republic - History

Racism - Dominican Republic - History

Electronic books.

Dominican Republic Social conditions

Dominican Republic Social life and customs

Dominican Republic Race relations History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Border at the Crossroads -- 3. The Creolization of Race -- 4. Cimarrones: The Seeds of Subversion -- 5. Criollismo Religioso -- 6. Race, Culture, and National Identity -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author

Sommario/riassunto

This book begins with a simple question: why do so many Dominicans deny the African components of their DNA, culture, and history?    Seeking answers, Milagros Ricourt uncovers a complex and often contradictory Dominican racial imaginary. Observing how Dominicans have traditionally identified in opposition to their neighbors on the



island of Hispaniola-Haitians of African descent-she finds that the Dominican Republic's social elite has long propagated a national creation myth that conceives of the Dominican as a perfect hybrid of native islanders and Spanish settlers. Yet as she pores through rare historical documents, interviews contemporary Dominicans, and recalls her own childhood memories of life on the island, Ricourt encounters persistent challenges to this myth. Through fieldwork at the Dominican-Haitian border, she gives a firsthand look at how Dominicans are resisting the official account of their national identity and instead embracing the African influence that has always been part of their cultural heritage.     Building on the work of theorists ranging from Edward Said to Édouard Glissant, this book expands our understanding of how national and racial imaginaries develop, why they persist, and how they might be subverted. As it confronts Hispaniola's dark legacies of slavery and colonial oppression, The Dominican Racial Imaginary also delivers an inspiring message on how multicultural communities might cooperate to disrupt the enduring power of white supremacy.