Title: Body, nation, and narrative in the Americas /
Authors: Pitt, Kristin E., 1971-
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan,
Year: 2010
Subjects: Disappeared persons in literature.; Political persecution in literature.; State, The, in literature.; Human body in literature.; National characteristics, American, in literature.; National characteristics, Latin American, in literature.; Politics and literature America History.; Disappeared persons in literature.; Human body in literature.; LITERARY CRITICISM General.; Literary studies: post-colonial literature.; Literature.; Literature; National characteristics, American, in literature.; National characteristics, Latin American, in literature.; Political persecution in literature.; Politics and literature; State, The, in literature.; TRAVEL Special Interest Literary.; America Literatures History and criticism.
Abstract: Body, Nation, and Narrative in the Americas reveals the central role of disappearing and dying bodies within the literature of the Americas, arguing that anxiety regarding the power of the state over the citizen is a defining feature of New World cultural productions. This timely investigation contextualizes disappearance and detention within a framework of literary narratives depicting the dangers facing citizens of the Americas. Kristin E. Pitt examines a wide range of sources, from Hawthorne to Faulkner to Danticat, and finds a persistent focus on the body that links contemporary practices of political terror to inter-American concerns about corporality and sovereignty.
Contents: Introduction: disappearing citizens: body, nation, and narrative in the Americas -- Buried citizens: landing a nation in José de Alencar and Nathaniel Hawthorne -- Lost citizens: memory and mourning in William Faulkner and Elena Garro -- Tortured citizens: terror and dissidence in Luisa Valenzuela and Edwidge Danticat -- Postscript: disappearing threats: reflections on security, immigration, and detention.