Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Major/Program
Spanish
First Advisor's Name
Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Chair
Second Advisor's Name
Dr. Maida Watson
Second Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Member
Third Advisor's Name
Dr. Joan Torres-Pou
Third Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Member
Fourth Advisor's Name
Dr. Maya Boutaghou
Fourth Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Member
Fifth Advisor's Name
Dr. Jean Rahier
Fifth Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Member
Keywords
Hispanic Orientalism, Colonial Literature, Latin American Literature, Other
Date of Defense
11-6-2014
Abstract
This dissertation offers a novel approach to Hispanic Orientalism, developing a dynamic paradigm from its origins in medieval and Renaissance Iberia during the process of the Christian Reconquest, to its transatlantic migration and establishment in the early years of the Colony, from where it changed in late colonial and post-Independence Latin America, and onto modernity.
The study argues that Hispanic Orientalism does not necessarily imply a negative depiction of the Other, a quality associated with the traditional critique of Saidian Orientalism. Neither, does it entirely comply with the positivist approach suggested in the theoretical research of Said’s opponents, like Julia Kushigian. This dissertation also argues that sociopolitical changes and the shift in the discourse of powers, from imperial to non-imperial, had a significant impact of the development of Hispanic Orientalism, shaping the relationship with the Other.
The methodology involves close reading of representative texts depicting the interactions of the dominant and dominated societies from each of the four historic periods that coincided with significant sociopolitical transformations in Hispanic society. Through an intercultural approach to literary studies, social history, and religious studies, this project develops an original paradigm of Hispanic Orientalism, derived from the image of the reinvented Semitic Other portrayed in the literary works depicting the relationship between the hegemonic and the subaltern cultures during the Reconquest period in Spain. Then, it traces the turn of the original paradigm towards reinterpretation during its transatlantic migration to Latin America through the analysis of the chronicles and travelogs of the first colonizers and explorers. During the transitional late colonial and early Independence periods Latin America sees a significant change in the discourse of powers, and Hispanic Orientalism reflects this oscillation between the past and the present therough the works of the Latin American authors from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Finally, once the non-imperial discourse of power established itself in the former Colony, a new modern stage in the development of Hispanic Orientalist paradigm takes place. It is marked by the desire to differentiate itself from the O(o)thers, as manifested in the works of the representatives of Modernism and the Boom.
Identifier
FI14110717
Recommended Citation
Tyutina, Svetlana V., "Hispanic Orientalism: The Literary Development of a Cultural Paradigm, from Medieval Spain to Modern Latin America" (2014). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1592.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1592
Included in
Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Latin American Literature Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Spanish Literature Commons
Rights Statement
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).