Cuba and Puerto Rico

Transdisciplinary Approaches to History, Literature, and Culture

Carmen Haydée Rivera, Jorge Duany

• Publisher: University of Florida Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781683403333, 9781683403302
• eBook ISBN: 9781683403494
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Latin American & Caribbean History
• Index: History

The intertwined stories of two archipelagos and their diasporas

 

This volume is the first systematic comparative study of Cuba and Puerto Rico from both a historical and contemporary perspective. In these essays, contributors highlight the interconnectedness of the two archipelagos in social categories such as nation, race, class, and gender to encourage a more nuanced and multifaceted study of the relationships between the islands and their diasporas.

Topics range from historical and anthropological perspectives on Cuba and Puerto Rico before and during the Cold War to cultural and sociological studies of diasporic communities in the United States. The volume features analyses of political coalitions, the formation of interisland sororities, and environmental issues. Along with sharing a similar early history, Cuba and Puerto Rico have closely intertwined cultures, including their linguistic, literary, food, musical, and religious practices. Contributors also discuss literature by Cuban and Puerto Rican authors by examining the aesthetics of literary techniques and discourses, the representation of psychological space on the stage, and the impacts of migration.

Showing how the trajectories of both archipelagos have been linked together for centuries and how they have diverged recently, Cuba and Puerto Rico offers a transdisciplinary approach to the study of this intricate relationship and the formation of diasporic communities and continuities.

 

Publication of this work made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: “Two Wings of a Bird”
• Part I. Cuba and Puerto Rico: Historical Perspectives
• Part II. Puerto Rican and Cuban Literary Expression
• Part III. Manifestations of Cuban and Puerto Rican Culture
• List of Contributors
• Index