Locating Guyane (Contemporary French and Francophone Cultures LUP)

Overseas department of France in Amazonia and ‘ultraperipheral region’ of the EU, Guyane (French Guiana) is at the juncture of Europe, the Caribbean and South America. This collection of essays explores historical and conceptual locations of Guyane, as a relational space characterised by dynamics of interaction and conflict between the local, the national and the global. Does Guyane have, or has it had, its own place in the world, or is it a borderland which can only make sense in relation to elsewhere: to France and its colonial history, for example, or to African and other diasporas, or as a ‘margin’ of Europe? This edited collection will be the first volume to study Guyane from multiple historical and contemporary perspectives. It subjects the enduring clichés and negative stereotypes regarding Guyane to critical examination. It addresses how and why discourse on this DOM has come to be characterised by paradoxes and lacunae, and suggests ways in which this can be redressed. Chapters explore geographical, literary and cultural ‘locations’ of Guyane, past and present. They challenge its relegation to the ‘periphery’, whilst also historicising the production of its marginal status. Finally, the collection aims to outline possible future directions for research on Guyane. Overseas department of France in Amazonia and 'ultraperipheral region' of the EU, Guyane (French Guiana) is at the juncture of Europe, the Caribbean and South Ameri-ca. This collection of essays explores historical and conceptual locations of Guyane, as a relational space characterised by dynamics of interaction and conflict between the lo-cal, the national and the global. Does Guyane have, or has it had, its own place in the world, or is it a borderland which can only make sense in relation to elsewhere: to France and its colonial history, for example, or to African and other diasporas, or as a 'margin' of Europe? This edited collection is the first volume to study Guyane from multiple perspectives. It subjects the enduring clichés and negative stereotypes regarding Guyane to critical examination, exploring how discourse on this DOM is, and has been, formed and how it may evolve. Chapters discuss geographical, literary and cultural 'locations' of Guyane, past and present, challenging its relegation to the 'periphery', whilst also historicizing the production of its marginal status. Finally, the collection aims to outline possible future challenges to the conceptual location of Guyane and possible directions for continued research. Cover Contents List of Illustrations Introduction Part I: Imagining the Tropics: Writing on and from Guyane 1. The Oldest Daughter of Overseas France 2. Grand Reporters in Guyane: Bringing the Exotic Back Home 3. Kor and Karnival, the Carnal Road of Léon-Gontran Damas: 'Evidence of Things Not Seen' Part II: Colonial Locations: Imperialism and the Production of Place 4. Frontier Politics: French, Portuguese and Amerindian Alliances between the Amazon and Cayenne, 1680–1697 5. Producing the Periphery 6. A School in Boniville? Political Skills and ‘Primitives’ in Guyane (1930–1969) 7. Reclaiming Félix Éboué: Departmentalization and the Politics of Commemoration in Guyane, 1944–2012 Part III: Relocating Culture: Language, Art and Identity 8. Palikur, a Language between Two Worlds 9. Maroon Art in Guyane: New Forms, New Discourses 10. Performing and Parading Gender in Guyane’s Carnival 11. Equality and Difference: Queering Guyane? Conclusion: Remaking Guyane? Index Overseas department of France in Amazonia and 'ultraperipheral region' of the EU, Guyane (French Guiana) is at the juncture of Europe, the Caribbean and South America. This collection of essays explores historical and conceptual locations of Guyane, as a relational space characterised by dynamics of interaction and conflict between the local, the national and the global. Does Guyane have, or has it had, its own place in the world, or is it a borderland which can only make sense in relation to elsewhere: to France and its colonial history, for example, or to African and other diasporas, or as a 'margin' of Europe? This edited collection studies Guyane from multiple historical and contemporary perspectives