Sharada Balachandran Orihuela
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469640921
- eISBN:
- 9781469640945
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469640921.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 20th Century Literature
In this book, Sharada Balachandran Orihuela examines property ownership and its connections to citizenship, race and slavery, and piracy as seen through the lens of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century ...
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In this book, Sharada Balachandran Orihuela examines property ownership and its connections to citizenship, race and slavery, and piracy as seen through the lens of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American literature. Balachandran Orihuela defines piracy expansively, from the familiar concept of nautical pirates and robbery in international waters to postrevolutionary counterfeiting, transnational slave escape, and the illegal trade of cotton across the Americas during the Civil War. Weaving together close readings of American, Chicano, and African American literature with political theory, the author shows that piracy, when represented through literature, has imagined more inclusive and democratic communities than were then possible in reality. The author shows that these subjects are not taking part in unlawful acts only for economic gain. Rather, Balachandran Orihuela argues that piracy might, surprisingly, have served as a public good, representing a form of transnational belonging that transcends membership in any one nation-state while also functioning as a surrogate to citizenship through the ownership of property. These transnational and transactional forms of social and economic life allow for a better understanding of the foundational importance of property ownership and its role in the creation of citizenship.Less
In this book, Sharada Balachandran Orihuela examines property ownership and its connections to citizenship, race and slavery, and piracy as seen through the lens of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American literature. Balachandran Orihuela defines piracy expansively, from the familiar concept of nautical pirates and robbery in international waters to postrevolutionary counterfeiting, transnational slave escape, and the illegal trade of cotton across the Americas during the Civil War. Weaving together close readings of American, Chicano, and African American literature with political theory, the author shows that piracy, when represented through literature, has imagined more inclusive and democratic communities than were then possible in reality. The author shows that these subjects are not taking part in unlawful acts only for economic gain. Rather, Balachandran Orihuela argues that piracy might, surprisingly, have served as a public good, representing a form of transnational belonging that transcends membership in any one nation-state while also functioning as a surrogate to citizenship through the ownership of property. These transnational and transactional forms of social and economic life allow for a better understanding of the foundational importance of property ownership and its role in the creation of citizenship.
Robin Roberts
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781496815569
- eISBN:
- 9781496815606
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496815569.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
La Llorona is terrifying, a spectre whose distinctive attire heralds death and destruction, a female figure of power, a female ghost who is feared. La Llorona has a diffuse and influential history. A ...
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La Llorona is terrifying, a spectre whose distinctive attire heralds death and destruction, a female figure of power, a female ghost who is feared. La Llorona has a diffuse and influential history. A centuries-old Hispanic folklore figure, La Llorona has innumerable redactions, most recently feminist retellings by American writers and appearances on U.S. television series. This specific context affects the meaning of both the ghost, her conflicted role as a mother, and the feminist narratives that reclaim her. This chapter explores the use of this figure through her appearance in literature and the television shows Supernatural and Grimm. Her essential narrative--that of a betrayed woman who threatens children--usually begins ominously, but twentieth- and twenty-first-century texts reveal sympathy for her situation.Less
La Llorona is terrifying, a spectre whose distinctive attire heralds death and destruction, a female figure of power, a female ghost who is feared. La Llorona has a diffuse and influential history. A centuries-old Hispanic folklore figure, La Llorona has innumerable redactions, most recently feminist retellings by American writers and appearances on U.S. television series. This specific context affects the meaning of both the ghost, her conflicted role as a mother, and the feminist narratives that reclaim her. This chapter explores the use of this figure through her appearance in literature and the television shows Supernatural and Grimm. Her essential narrative--that of a betrayed woman who threatens children--usually begins ominously, but twentieth- and twenty-first-century texts reveal sympathy for her situation.
