Bachata for a Diaspora: Dominican Fiction and Film of the 21st Century

IAS

A5107

Bachata for a Diaspora: Dominican Fiction and Film of the 21st Century

In a poll of American literary critics organized by the BBC in 2015, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was voted the 21st century’s best novel so far. To be sure, it is a great literary achievement, a mark of pride for all Dominicans. But Juno Diaz’s remarkable Pulitzer Prize winning fiction is more than a singular accomplishment. It is a portal to a mansion of Dominican storytelling with rooms in English and Spanish, in prose fiction and feature films. Our course will visit those rooms to see how they show the history and experience of the Dominican Republic and its diaspora in the USA. In addition to Diaz’s masterpiece, we will consider writing by women such as Angie Cruz’s Dominicana and Rita Indiana’s Tentacle. No less impressive in recent years is the growth and quality of feature filmmaking in the Dominican Republic. This includes works such as Sugar, Sand Dollars, Woodpeckers, and Cocoté, among others. We will analyze these stories for what they say about Dominican experience and – equally important as works of art – how they say it. A number of questions will frame the ways we come to understand these works. How do they portray alternative views of Dominican history, culture and society to challenge official versions? To what degree does Trujillo’s 20th century dictatorship still shape aspects of the 21st century life? In what ways do the works explore how Dominican lives are influenced by race, class, and gender? How do different generations understand these issues? What role does the diaspora play in all of this? Who controls what constitutes Dominican culture? For example, how does a once despised musical genre – bachata – become a reference point for other expressive forms such as the novel and movies? How is all of this captured in three languages: Spanish, English, and Spanglish? Who gets to be in the story and who is permitted to tell it? The course will be conducted as lecture/discussions. Students will write several essays based on the readings and screenings (which are available streaming). 3 hr. 3 cr. Graduate

Graduate

Yes