Anus Mundi or Tout-monde? French Guiana: An uncommon Laboratory of Transculturality

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Abstract

In dominant imaginations, French Guiana traditionally fills a position at the extreme margin. From the subaltern perspective from within, complex superpositions of historical, political, and economic as well as ethnic-cultural spaces can be recognized. Postcolonial concepts developed in francophone Caribbean literature are not fully sufficient to describe the highly dynamic migration space in close neighbourhood to economic giant Brazil, whose continentality results in fundamental differences from the islands. With the appropriation of orality and the inclusion of the history of migrants, present Guianan literature is trying to imagine an emancipated Guianan identity, which includes the transcultural spaces and their actors beyond projected borders. Therefore, French Guiana can be considered a paradigmatic laboratory for the negotiation of identifications and representations of fragmented spaces in the sense of postmodern reformulations
Original languageEnglish
JournalIstmo – revista virtual de estudios literarios y culturales centroamericanos
Volume26
Pages (from-to)xx-xx
Number of pages25
Publication statusPublished - 2014

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities
  • French Guiana
  • Transculturality

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