Counterpublics and Aesthetics: Afro-Hispanic and Belizean Women Writers.

282 Pages·2017·0.94 MB·English

by  Melva M. Persico

University of Miami
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2011-05-03
Counterpublics and Aesthetics: Afro-Hispanic and
Belizean Women Writers.
Melva M. Persico
University of Miami, [email protected]
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UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

COUNTERPUBLICS AND AESTHETICS: AFRO-HISPANIC AND BELIZEAN
WOMEN WRITERS

By

Melva Marguerite Persico

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to the Faculty
of the University of Miami
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Coral Gables, Florida

May 2011
©2011
Melva Marguerite Persico
All Rights Reserved
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

COUNTERPUBLICS AND AESTHETICS: AFRO-HISPANIC AND BELIZEAN
WOMEN WRITERS

Melva Marguerite Persico

Approved:
___________________ ____________________
George Yúdice, Ph.D. Terri A. Scandura, Ph.D.
Professor of Spanish Dean of the Graduate School
and Latin American Studies

_____________________ _____________________
Hugo Achugar, Ph.D. Lillian Manzor, Ph.D.
Professor of Spanish Associate Professor of Spanish
and Latin American Studies

______________________ ______________________
Elena Grau-Llevería, Ph.D. Eduardo Elena, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Spanish Assistant Professor of History
PERSICO, MELVA M. (Ph.D., Romance Studies)
Counterpublics and Aesthetics: (May 2011)
Afro-Hispanic and Belizean Women Writers

Abstract of a dissertation at the University of Miami
Dissertation supervised by Professor George Yúdice
No. of pages in text. (270)

My project explores ways in which legitimacy is granted within the literary field.
This is done through an analysis of literary anthologies, university course syllabi,
publishing trends, literary prizes, and levels and sources of critical attention. The project
seeks to determine the extent to which the works of Afro-descendant Spanish American
and Belizean writers are reflected in the hegemonic Spanish American and Anglophone
Caribbean literary canons. I examine the works of Cristina Rodríguez Cabral (Uruguay),
Shirley Campbell Barr, and Delia McDonald Woolery (Costa Rica), and Zee Edgell, and
Zoila Ellis (Belize). The project records the varying degrees of legitimation these writers
have received and the factors that have had an impact on their recognition. It also shows
that literary interculturality is possible in Spanish America and the Anglophone
Caribbean through the aesthetics some writers employ and the activities of legitimizing
agencies. Further I propose a plurality of canons based on the concept of plural public
spheres/counterpublics as outlined by Nancy Fraser and Michael Warner. My analysis of
Belizean works emphasizes ways in which a national literary canon can be considered a
counterpublic within a regional literary corpus. The concept of counterpublics I use to
present the works analyzed is a model other scholars can employ in their examination of
other minority literatures.
DEDICATORIO
To the memory of my parents: Robert Montgomery Archer (1931-2004) and
Melva Yvonne Ferrier-Archer (1927-2003). You would have been proud…
To my loving, supportive family: Alan, Dacia, Mandisa. I could not have done this
without you.

iii
Acknowledgments
They say it takes a village…
As overworked as this saying may seem, its truthfulness is evident in the work here
presented. The large community to whom I extend profound gratitude is made up of
family, friends, professors and colleagues.
First of all I am extremely grateful to my Committee chair, Dr. George Yúdice for
believing in the validity of my project, and for his guidance, perfectionism, and keen eye
for detail. I thank also my committee members, Drs. Hugo Achugar, Lillian Manzor,
Elena Grau-Llevería, and Eduardo Elena. Their willingness to serve and the various
forms of assistance throughout this process are greatly appreciated. I also take this
opportunity to acknowledge the assistance in the early stages of this project of Drs. Marc
Brudzinski and Sandra Paquet who were with me at the beginning of the journey but for
different reasons were unable to continue.
I express my gratitude also to the faculty and staff of the Department of Modern
Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami who have guided me through the
years. I thank especially former Director of Graduate Studies Dr. Gema Pérez- Sánchez,
and Dr. Elena Grau-Llevería who now holds that portfolio. I owe a debt of gratitude to
Keyla Medina and Matt Lubeck for their assistance over the years.
Thanks go to those outside my committee who assisted me by reading early versions
of my work: my husband Alan, and my friend Felicity Crawford. I am eternally grateful
to my colleague Salvador Raggio, who stepped in and helped on “submission day.”
My gratitude is extended also to Alim Hosein, Romona Bennett, and Gentian Miller, my
former colleagues in the Department of Language and Cultural Studies at the University
iv
of Guyana.The staff of the National Bureau of Statistics in Guyana especially Sharon
Keuter and Vanessa Proffit were extremely helpful and I thank them for their kind
assistance.
The writers whose works I analyze in the study were all very helpful and gracious.
Thank you: Zee Edgell, Zoila Ellis Brown, Shirley Campbell Barr, Delia McDonald
Woolery, and Cristina Rodríguez Cabral.
I thank the community of writers, academics, and colleagues who assisted me while
abroad and who readily responded to my many e-mail requests for information and
assistance especially: Felene Cayetano-Swaso and the staff of the Belize National
Heritage Library, Adele Ramos, Lawrence Vernon, and Leo Obando - Belize; Franklin
Perry, Magda Zavala, Rina Cáceres, Fernando Durán Ayanegui, Sylvie Durán, Patricia
Fumero - Costa Rica; Edgardo Ortuño, Graciela Leguizamón, Beatriz Santos, Oscar
Montaño, Jorge Chagas, Amanda Espinosa, Alejandro Gortázar - Uruguay.
For their continuous support and friendship I thank Pat Reid, Patricia Mitchell,
Lennie Coleman, and Sabrina Wengier.
To my husband, Alan, my daughters Dacia and Mandisa - thank you for your love,
your support, for putting up with me over the last five years, and for believing in me
especially during those moments when I felt I could not complete this journey.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………..vii
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION. Counterpublics and Plural Aesthetics in Spanish America
and the Anglophone Caribbean: Some Initial Concerns………1

I. Legitimation, Canonicity and Peripherality: The Case of
Minority Literatures …………………………………………….15

II. Canon Worthiness and Spanish American Literature …………..44

III. Afro-Costa Rican and Afro-Uruguayan Women
Writers and Aesthetics …………………………………………..103

IV. Aesthetics and Literature in the Anglophone Caribbean:
A Look at Belizean Literature …………………………………...169

CONCLUSION. Afro-Hispanic and Belizean Literature: Current Challenges
And Future Research ……………………………………………...237

WORKS CITED ………………………………………………………………………247

ANTHOLOGIES CONSULTED ……………………………………………………..266
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