{"product_id":"the-politics-of-race-in-panama-afro-hispanic-and-west-indian-literary-discourses-of-contention-9780813049861","title":"The Politics of Race in Panama: Afro-Hispanic and West Indian Literary Discourses of Contention","description":"\"Delves into the historical convergence of peoples and cultural traditions that both enrich and problematize notions of national belonging, identity, culture, and citizenship.\"--Antonio D. Tillis, editor of \u003ci\u003eCritical Perspectives on Afro-Latin American Literature\u003c\/i\u003e \"With rich detail and theoretical complexity, Watson reinterprets Panamanian literature, dismantling longstanding nationalist interpretations and linking the country to the Black Atlantic and beyond. An engaging and important contribution to our understanding of Afro-Latin America.\"--Peter Szok, author of \u003ci\u003eWolf Tracks: Popular Art and Re-Africanization in Twentieth-Century Panama\u003c\/i\u003e \"Illuminates the deeper discourse of African-descendant identities that runs through Panama and other Central American countries.\"--Dawn Duke, author of \u003ci\u003eLiterary Passion, Ideological Commitment: Toward a Legacy of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian Women Writers\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis volume tells the story of two cultural groups: Afro-Hispanics, whose ancestors came to Panama as African slaves, and West Indians from the English-speaking countries of Jamaica and Barbados who arrived during the mid-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries to build the railroad and the Panama Canal.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile Afro-Hispanics assimilated after centuries of \u003ci\u003emestizaje\u003c\/i\u003e (race mixing) and now identify with their Spanish heritage, West Indians hold to their British Caribbean roots and identify more closely with Africa and the Caribbean.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy examining the writing of black Panamanian authors, Sonja Watson highlights how race is defined, contested, and inscribed in Panama. She discusses the cultural, racial, and national tensions that prevent these two groups from forging a shared Afro-Panamanian identity, ultimately revealing why ethnically diverse Afro-descendant populations continue to struggle to create racial unity in nations across Latin America and the Caribbean.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eSonja Stephenson Watson\u003c\/b\u003e is assistant professor of Spanish at the University of Texas at Arlington.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sonja Stephenson Watson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Florida\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/15\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.30w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780813049861","brand":"University Press of Florida","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45606496632969,"sku":"9780813049861","price":74.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_ab1f117a-2b58-4c0e-ad32-0fd89e4428bc.jpg?v=1776752733","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-politics-of-race-in-panama-afro-hispanic-and-west-indian-literary-discourses-of-contention-9780813049861","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}