Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Major/Program
Spanish
First Advisor's Name
Santiago Juan Navarro
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee chair
Second Advisor's Name
Maria Asuncion Gomez
Second Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Third Advisor's Name
Astrid Arraras
Third Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Fourth Advisor's Name
Andrea Fanta
Fourth Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Keywords
Trauma, Cuba, melancholy, literature, culture
Date of Defense
3-29-2023
Abstract
In contemporary global and digital contexts, the relationship between hegemonic discourses and traumatic events of the past or present influences both individual perceptions and collective imaginaries. Public discourse may acknowledge collective traumas only decades later, when they cease to serve as catalysts for action in the public sphere. The interpretation of past events can evolve based on differing ideological perspectives, which in turn impacts the interpretation of current events. My dissertation, "Las ruinas de Utopía: Trauma in Post-Soviet Cuban Literature and Culture," examines the connections between trauma, society, and artistic representations by writers and artists in post-Soviet Cuba. I conduct a comparative analysis of literary and cinematic works to investigate portrayals of collective memory and history in the country. This research integrates interdisciplinary approaches from politics (Arendt, Linz), sociology (Bauman), psychology (Bollas), and the arts (Rancière). It provides a categorization of the concept of trauma, drawing upon psychoanalysis (Freud), history (LaCapra), social sciences (Alexander), and psychiatry (Cyrulnik). I examine trauma in contemporary Cuban cultural production through four thematic axes – human ruin, cultural ruin, family, and exile – inspired by Antonio José Ponte's literary concept of ruin. In post-Soviet Cuba, revisiting the past publicly, outside the boundaries of officially sanctioned revolutionary discourse, entails significant personal risks. I argue that the melancholy of the democratic left, understood in its Freudian sense, clings to the Cuban revolutionary utopia and its myth. This attachment serves as a fetish substituting for the failed materialization of the Marxist utopia in Europe, hindering the grieving process and obscuring the totalitarian nature of Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution.
Identifier
FIDC011053
Recommended Citation
Garcia, Delia, "Las ruinas de utopía: trauma en la literatura y la cultura cubana postsoviética" (2023). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5281.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5281
Included in
Comparative Literature Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Latin American Literature Commons, Modern Languages 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).