Puerto Rican jam : rethinking colonialism and nationalism : [essays on culture and politics

The year 1998 represents the hundredth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico. Since that time, the "Puerto Rican archipelago" has come to extend from the island itself, up the Eastern seaboard, and as far west as California and Hawai'i. Puerto Rican Jam considers the issues unique to Puerto Rican culture and politics, issues often encapsulated in concerns about ethnicity, race, gender, and language. Discussions of Puerto Rican cultural politics usually fall into one of two categories, nationalist or colonialist. Puerto Rican Jam moves beyond this narrow dichotomy, elaborating alternatives to dominant postcolonial theories, and includes essays written from the perspectives of groups that are not usually represented, such as gays and lesbians, youth, blacks, and women. The essays propose different ways of conceptualizing the U.S.-Puerto Rican colonial relationship, thus opening new spaces for political, social, economic, and cultural agency for Puerto Ricans on both the island and the continent. Among the topics discussed are the limitations of nationalism as a transformative and democratizing political discourse, the contradictory impact of American colonialism, language politics, and the 1928 U.S. congressional hearings on women's suffrage in Puerto Rico. A groundbreaking contribution to the study of colonialism, Puerto Rican Jam represents an important engagement with issues raised by American expansionism in the Caribbean. Contributors: Jaime E. Benson-Arias, U of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez; Arlene Dávila, Syracuse U; Chloé S. Georas, SUNY, Binghamton; Manuel Guzmán, CUNY Graduate Center; Gladys M. Jiménez-Muñoz, SUNY, Oneonta; Agustín Lao, SUNY, Binghamton; Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, U of Puerto Rico; Mariano Négron-Portillo, U of Puerto Rico; José Quiroga, George Washington U; Raquel Z. Rivera, CUNY Graduate Center; Alberto Sandoval Sánchez, Mount Holyoke College; Kelvin A. Santiago-Valles, SUNY, Binghamton. Frances Negrón-Muntaner is a doctoral candidate in comparative literature at Rutgers University, as well as a poet and filmmaker. Ramón Grosfoguel is assistant professor of sociology at the State University of New York, Binghamton. Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction: Beyond Nationalist and Colonialist Discourses: The Jaiba Politics of the Puerto Rican Ethno-Nation......Page 12 PART ONE: Challenging Nationalism......Page 48 1 Puerto Rico: Surviving Colonialism and Nationalism......Page 50 2 The Divorce of Nationalist Discourses from the Puerto Rican People: A Sociohistorical Perspective......Page 68 3 Puerto Rico: The Myth of the National Economy......Page 88 PART TWO: ThinkingTextually......Page 104 4 The Discreet Charm of the Proletariat: Imagining Early-Twentieth-Century Puerto Ricans in the Past Twenty-Five Years of Historical Inquiry......Page 106 5 Narrating the Tropical Pharmacy......Page 127 6 Deconstructing Puerto Ricanness through Sexuality: Female Counternarratives on Puerto Rican Identity (1894–1934)......Page 138 7 "So We Decided to Come and Ask You Ourselves": The 1928 U.S. Congressional Hearings on Women's Suffrage in Puerto Rico......Page 151 PART THREE: The Puerto Rican Archipelago: Contested Identities......Page 178 8 Islands at the Crossroads: Puerto Ricanness Traveling between theTranslocal Nation and the Global City......Page 180 9 Puerto Rican Identity Up in the Air: Air Migration, Its Cultural Representations, and Me "Cruzando el Charco"......Page 200 10 "Pa' La Escuelita con Mucho Cuida'o y por la Orillita": A Journey through the Contested Terrains of the Nation and Sexual Orientation......Page 220 PART FOUR: Culture Wars in Contemporary Puerto Rico......Page 240 11 Contending Nationalisms: Culture, Politics, and Corporate Sponsorship in Puerto Rico......Page 242 12 Rapping Two Versions of the Same Requiem......Page 254 13 English Only Jamás but Spanish Only Cuidado: Language and Nationalism in Contemporary Puerto Rico......Page 268 Contributors......Page 298 A......Page 302 C......Page 303 E......Page 305 H......Page 306 K......Page 307 M......Page 308 N......Page 309 P......Page 310 R......Page 311 S......Page 312 W......Page 313 Z......Page 314 Challenges The Framing Of Puerto Rican Cultural Politics As A Dichotomy Between Nationalism And Colonialism. Discussions Of Puerto Rican Cultural Politics Usually Fall Into One Of Two Categories, Nationalist Or Colonialist. Puerto Rican Jam Moves Beyond This Narrow Dichotomy, Elaborating Alternatives To Dominant Postcolonial Theories, And Includes Essays Written From The Perspectives Of Groups That Are Not Usually Represented, Such As Gays And Lesbians, Youth, Blacks, And Women. Among The Topics Discussed Are The Limitations Of Nationalism As A Transformative And Democratizing Political Discourse, The Contradictory Impact Of American Colonialism, Language Politics, And The 1928 U.s. Congressional Hearings On Women's Suffrage In Puerto Rico.