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| Subjects: Cultural Studies, Latino Studies, Literary Studies |
| Part of the American Literatures Initiative Series |
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Chicano Nations argues that the
transnationalism that is central to Chicano identity originated in the
global, postcolonial moment at the turn of the nineteenth century rather
than as an effect of contemporary economic conditions, which began in
the mid nineteenth century and primarily affected the laboring classes.
The Spanish empire then began to implode, and colonists in the “new
world” debated the national contours of the viceroyalties. This is where
Marissa K. López locates the origins of Chicano literature, which is
now and always has been “postnational,” encompassing the wealthy, the
poor, the white, and the mestizo. Tracing its long history and the
diversity of subject positions it encompasses, Chicano Nations explores the shifting literary forms authors have used to write the nation from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries.
López
argues that while national and global tensions lie at the historical
heart of Chicana/o narratives of the nation, there should be alternative
ways to imagine the significance of Chicano literature other than as a
reflection of national identity. In a nuanced analysis, the book
provides a way to think of early writers as a meaningful part of Chicano
literary history, and, in looking at the nation, rather than the
particularities of identity, as that which connects Chicano literature
over time, it engages the emerging hemispheric scholarship on U.S.
literature. |
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| | “Engaging, smart, and lucid, Chicano Nations digs deep into the long
history of Mexican America and finds an original story to tell. López's
analysis updates and refreshes the field of Chicano literature and makes a
strong case for its continuing vitality in the twenty-first century.” | | -Kirsten Silva Gruesz, University of California, Santa Cruz |
| | "This book should provoke fruitful debates on nationalism, citizenship, and what chicanismo signifies in the twenty-first century." | | -Beth Hernandez-Jean, MELUS |
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