Cosmopolitan Strangers in US Latinx Literature and Culture : Building Bridges, Not Walls

This book presents a study of the figure of the stranger in US Latinx literary and cultural forms, ranging from contemporary novels through essays to film and transborder art activism. The focus on this abject figure is twofold: first, to explore its potential to expose the processes of othering to which Latinxs are subjected; and, second, to foreground its epistemic response to neocolonial structures and beliefs. Thus, this book draws on relevant sociological literature on the stranger to unveil the political and social processes behind the recognition of Latinxs as ‘out of place.’ On the other hand, and most importantly, this volume follows the path of neo-cosmopolitan approaches to bring to the fore processes of interrelatedness, interaction, and conviviality that run counter to criminalizing discourses around Latinxs. Through an engagement with these theoretical tenets, the goal of this book is to showcase the role of the Latinx stranger as a cosmopolitan mediator that transforms walls into bridges. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Figures Contributors Introduction: Latinx Strangers Revisited: From Othering to Effecting Social Change Encountering the Latinx Stranger Of Immigrants, Strangers, and Borders Building Bridges, Not Walls Notes References 1 Transforming Empathy Into Extratextual Action: The Latina Writer as Stranger and Mediator in García McCall’s All the ... Policing the Presence of the Mexican Other The Cosmopolitan Stranger Narrative Empathy, Schema Criticism, and Social Change All the Stars Denied: Empathy, Erasures, and Extratextual Action Conclusions Note References 2 Hospitality and Borders in Oscar Cásares’ Where We Come From Introduction Border Traceability: Spatial and Conceptual Doublings Guests, Shadows, and a Reluctant Host Shadows and Fuzzy Hosts From ‘Mojadito Out Back’ to ‘Mijito’ Hospitality as Engagement Notes References 3 Beyond the Wall: Luis Alberto Urrea’s The House of Broken Angels National and Transnational Forces in the Borderlands Literature in the Trump Era: The Real Versus the Imagined The Self Seen as the Other/the Other Seen as the Self Otherness Versus the Cosmopolitan Stranger Conclusion Notes References 4 Inhabiting Nepantla: The Stranger in Contemporary Chicana Fiction Nepantilism and the Chthulucene Chicanx Border Narratives: Writing the Stranger Felicia Luna Lemus’ Trace Elements of Random Tea Parties Reyna Grande’s A Ballad of Love and Glory Notes References 5 The Cosmopolitanism of Latinx Natality in Jennine Capó Crucet’s Make Your Home Among Strangers and My Time Among the ... Cuban–American Testimony/Latinx Autohistoria Nepantla and the Cosmopolitan Imagination The Aesthetics of Latinx Judgment and the Critique of Whiteness Latinx Natality and the Theorizing of Cuban–American Identity Cultural Interpellation and the Experience of Nepantla Testifying for Latinx Critical Thinking Theorizing the Latinangst in Latinx Cosmopolitanism Notes References 6 Strangers in the City: Cosmopolitan Strangers and Transnational Urbanism in the Literary Imagination of Valeria Luiselli Mexican Harlem: Strangers On the Move Ingrávida and Cosmopolita: A Stranger Lost in the City Strangers and Ghosts: The Ethereal Presence of the Cosmopolitan Stranger Zapata Boulevard: Spaces of Social Negotiation, Integration, and Acceptance Notes References 7 Hostipitality and Solidarity in Ivannia Villalobos Vindas’ Casa En Tierra Ajena The Latino Threat Narrative, Anti-Latinx Sentiments, and Hostipitality The Criminalization of Salvadorans: Maras, Deportations, and the Third Border Dehumanizing Strangers: Disposability and Exclusion The Creation of the Great South Border: Policing Migratory Movements Hospitality Versus Hostility: Conviviality and Solidarity in Casa En Tierra Ajena Convivial Solidarity and Grassroots Activism in Shelters for Migrants Note References 8 Humanizing the Wall: Cosmopolitan Artistic Interventions On the US–Mexico Border Face to Face With Immigration and Deportation: “Playas De Tijuana Mural Project” Beautifying the Wall Through Conviviality: “Mural De La Hermandad” Sewing Up the Wall With a Seesaw: “Teeter-Totter Wall” A Dream Come True: “Erasing the Border” Notes References Index "This book presents a study of the figure of the stranger in US Latinx literary and cultural forms, ranging from contemporary novels through essays to film and transborder art activism. The focus on this abject figure is two-fold: first, to explore its potential to expose the processes of othering to which Latinxs are subjected; and second, to foreground its epistemic response to neocolonial structures and beliefs. Thus, this book draws on relevant sociological literature on the stranger to expose the political and social processes behind the recognition of Latinxs as 'out of place.' On the other hand, and most importantly, this volume follows the path of neo-cosmopolitan approaches to bring to the fore processes of interrelatedness, interaction, and conviviality that run counter to criminalizing discourses around Latinxs. Through an engagement with these theoretical tenets, the goal of this book is to showcase the role of the Latinx stranger as a cosmopolitan mediator that transforms walls into bridges"-- Provided by publisher