El discurso del poder y la lucha de contrarios en la narrativa de la esclavitud en Cuba y Estados Unidos

This dissertation explores the behavior of prejudiced discourse in the most representative narratives against inhumane slavery written in Cuba and the United States in the nineteenth century: Autobiografía de un esclavo, by Juan Francisco Manzano; Francisco, by Anselmo Suárez y Romero; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, by Frederick Douglass; and Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriett Beecher Stowe. This study deals with the identification between race and slavery that occurred in the American continent, using racial prejudice to justify the enslavement of human beings. Such concepts were maintained, diffused and perpetuated by the dominant discourse. ^ In the nineteenth century, intellectuals from both Cuba and the United States were highly influenced by the modern philosophical ideas rooted in the European Enlightenment. These ideas contradicted by principle the "peculiar institution" of slavery, which supported a great deal of the economy of both nations. This conflict of principles was soon reflected in literature and led to the founding of Cuban and African-American narrative respectively. The common exposure to slavery brought together two nations otherwise highly dissimilar in historical and cultural circumstances. Based on the theories of discourse by Foucault, Terdiman, and van Dijk, the analysis of the discourse displayed in these literary works helps understand how discourse is utilized to subvert the dominant discourse without being expelled or excluded by it. This subversion was successfully accomplished in the American narratives, while only attempted in the Cuban works, given Cuba's colonial status and the compromised economic loyalties of the Delmontino cenacle which produced these works. ^

The men behind the market: Merchants, the Atlantic slave trade, and the shaping of South Carolina plantation society, 1700–1756

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the role played by merchants in the shaping of South Carolina plantation society in its early stages of development. In 1700 South Carolina was on the fringes of the British Empire. By mid-century the colony had become an integral part of the British Atlantic system. This dissertation addresses merchants' activity in the shaping of plantation society through their involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. Records of the British and South Carolina governments, and petitions from merchants on both sides of the Atlantic have been extremely valuable in understanding the complex and rapidly changing political affiliations of merchants on both sides of the Atlantic. These sources are valuable to this study since they illustrate the merchants' strategy of utilizing government policies to acquire the absolute best terms of trade. Records such as wills and inventories yielded valuable information on merchants' economic portfolios and provided valuable insight into their personal lives. The data shows that the integration of Colonial South Carolina into the global economy can be attributed to its merchant class, who actively sought out business opportunities in the global economy while working within the framework of British mercantilism.

Rich and poor, white and black, free and slave: The social history of Cuba's tobacco farmers, 1763--1817

Tobacco was of primary importance to Spain, and its impact on Cuba's economy and society was greater than just the numbers of farms, workers, or production, demonstrated by the Spanish crown's outlay of monies for capital assets, bureaucrats' salaries, and payments to farmers for their crop. This study is a micro- and macro-level study of rural life in colonial Cuba and the interconnected relationships among society, agricultural production, state control, and the island's economic development. ^ By placing Cuba's tobacco farmers at the forefront of this social history, this work revisits and offers alternatives to two prevailing historiographical views of rural Cuba from 1763 (the year Havana returned to Spanish control following the Seven Years' War) to 1817 (the final year of the 100-year royal monopoly on Cuban tobacco). Firstly, it argues against the primacy of sugar over other agricultural crops, a view that has shaped decades of scholarship, and challenges the thesis which maintains the Cuban tobacco farmer was almost exclusively poor, white, and employed free labor, rather than slaves, in the production of their crop. ^ This study establishes the importance of tobacco as an agricultural product, and argues that Cuban tobacco growers were a heterogeneous group, revealing the role that its cultivation may have played in helping some slaves earn their freedom. ^

Re-imagining Yerevan in the post-Soviet era: Urban symbolism and narratives of the nation in the landscape of Armenia's capital

The urban landscape of Yerevan has experienced tremendous changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Armenia’s independence in 1991. Domestic and foreign investments have poured into Yerevan’s building sector, converting many downtown neighborhoods into sleek modern districts that now cater to foreign investors, tourists, and the newly rich Armenian nationals. Large portions of the city’s green parks and other public spaces have been commercialized for private and exclusive use, creating zones that are accessible only to the affluent. In this dissertation I explore the rapidly transforming landscape of Yerevan and its connections to the development of contemporary Armenian national identity. This research was guided by principles of ethnographic inquiry, and I employed diverse methods, including document and archival research, structured and semi-structured interviews and content analysis of news media. I also used geographic information systems (GIS) and satellite images to represent and visualize the stark transformations of spaces in Yerevan. Informed by and contributing to three literatures—on the relationship between landscape and identity formation, on the construction of national identity, and on Soviet and post-Soviet cities—this dissertation investigates how messages about contemporary Armenian national identity are being expressed via the transforming landscape of Armenia’s national capital. In it I describe the ways in which abrupt transformations have resulted in the physical and symbolic eviction of residents, introducing fierce public debates about belonging and exclusion within the changing urban context. I demonstrate that the new additions to Yerevan’s landscape and the symbolic messages that they carry are hotly contested by many long-time residents, who struggle for inclusion of their opinions and interests in the process of re-imagining their national capital. This dissertation illustrates many of the trends that are apparent in post-Soviet and post-Socialist space, while at the same time exposing some unique characteristics of the Armenian case.

The Literary Experience of Young Adults with Narratives: Towards Becoming a Person

The literary experience allows for subjectivities of individuals to flourish, a characteristic which makes this experience essential to readers’ self-concept development. This paper gives an overview of the empirical and theoretical literature that relates the literary experience (including both narrative literature and narratives of the self) to readers’ personal growth.

Dark Teens and Dangerous Nature- Neopagan Narratives of Cultural Marginalization

Sarah M. Pike, Professor of Comparative Religion and Director of the Humanities Center at California State University, Chico, presents a lecture on the subject of projections of both evil and witchcraft on young adults. Lecture held at the Green Library, Modesto Maidique Campus, Florida International University on September 30, 2014.

Historiographic Metafiction and the Neo-slave Narrative: Pastiche and Polyphony in Caryl Phillips, Toni Morrison and Sherley Anne Williams

The classic slave narrative recounted a fugitive slave’s personal story condemning slavery and hence working towards abolition. The neo-slave narrative underlines the slave’s historical legacy by unveiling the past through foregrounding African Atlantic experiences in an attempt to create a critical historiography of the Black Atlantic. The neo-slave narrative is a genre that emerged following World War II and presents us with a dialogue combining the history of 1970 - 2000. In this thesis I seek to explore how the contemporary counter-part of the classic slave narrative draws, reflects or diverges from the general conventions of its predecessor. I argue that by scrutinizing our notion of truth, the neo-slave narrative remains a relevant, important witness to the history of slavery as well as to today’s still racialized society. The historiographic metafiction of the neo-slave narrative rewrites history with the goal of digesting the past and ultimately leading to future reconciliation.