Ficciones raciales: representaciones de raza y genero a traves de la literatura y las artes visuales en Colombia 1830- 1875
Creator
Lopez Rodriguez, Celina de las Mercedes
Advisor
Rappaport, Joanne
Abstract
RACIAL FICTIONS: REPRESENTATIONS OF RACE AND GENDER THROUGH LITERATURE AND VISUAL ARTS IN COLOMBIA 1830- 1875
Celina de las Mercedes Lopez Rodriguez, M.S.
Thesis Advisor: Joanne Rappaport, PhD.
ABSTRACT
This dissertation addresses the emergence of a form of racialized discourse affecting Andean populations that marginalized and subordinated perceived "non-white" groups. It focuses on how literature and the visual arts crafted representations of whites, mestizos, indigenous and black subjects. I suggest that the representation of dark mestizos, indigenous, and Afrocolombians was a device used by lettered elites to establish the definition and the limits of whiteness. Following the nineteenth century idea of "mestizaje" as a progressive process of becoming a white subject, I examine interracial unions, and their products, as depicted in literature. They do not frequently appear in literary texts, but, when they do, they conform to specific patterns marked by the intersection of race and gender: women are often represented as white, and men as mulattos. By focusing on the depiction of gendered unions I explore the limitations and possibilities of the idea of mestizaje among liberal intellectuals in nineteenth century Colombia. I also reveal the pivotal role of gender in the construction of racialized representations of identity and alterity. This process of racialization was particularly significant in the Andean region, the symbolic seat of power since colonial times. Here, literary and visual narratives played a key role in creating powerful racial images of "white" peasants. These images of Andean "whiteness" survived throughout the century, continuously reproduced by intellectuals, politicians and even scholars. My research suggests a contrast with other Andean nations, where the concept of "lo andino" was strongly associated with an indigenous identity, often constructed on the basis of racial categories.
Literature and visual arts seek to construct a portrait of an authentic Colombian peasant, but, in the process, the authors tend to racialize their characters. Working with literary sources has pushed me to reflect on the fictionality of the objects we work with, focusing on their constructed nature. All texts that seek to produce authentic representations necessarily must select and construct a product that speaks about someone, that represents someone. As a result, the nineteenth century Colombian notion of race emerges as a fiction produced by literature and the visual arts.
Description
Ph.D.
Permanent Link
http://hdl.handle.net/10822/558681Date Published
2013Subject
Type
Embargo Lift Date
2015-06-11
Publisher
Georgetown University
Extent
320 leaves
Metadata
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