Crossing borders and queering citizenship: Civic reading practice in contemporary American and Canadian writing (Contemporary American and Canadian Writers)

Can reading make us better citizens? In Crossing borders and queering citizenship , Feghali crafts a sophisticated theoretical framework to theorise how the act of reading can contribute to the queering of contemporary citizenship in North America. Providing sensitive and convincing readings of work by both popular and niche authors, including Gloria Anzaldúa, Dorothy Allison, Gregory Scofield, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Erín Moure, Junot Díaz, and Yann Martel, this book is the first to not only read these authors together, but also to discuss how each powerfully resists the exclusionary work of state-sanctioned citizenship in the U.S. and Canada. This book convincingly draws connections between queer theory, citizenship studies, and border studies and sheds light on how these connections can reframe our understanding of American Studies. Can reading make us better citizens? Fusing queer theory, citizenship studies, and border studies in its exploration of seven U.S., Canadian, and Indigenous authors, poets, and performance artists, Crossing borders and queering citizenship theorises how reading can work as a empowering tool in contemporary civic struggles in the North America