Disaster Writing: The Cultural Politics of Catastrophe in Latin America

Mark D. Anderson

University of Virginia Press, 2011 - Literary Criticism - 241 pages

In the aftermath of disaster, literary and other cultural representations of the event can play a role in the renegotiation of political power. In Disaster Writing, Mark D. Anderson analyzes four natural disasters in Latin America that acquired national significance and symbolism through literary mediation: the 1930 cyclone in the Dominican Republic, volcanic eruptions in Central America, the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, and recurring drought in northeastern Brazil.

Taking a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to the disaster narratives, Anderson explores concepts such as the social construction of risk, landscape as political and cultural geography, vulnerability as the convergence of natural hazard and social marginalization, and the cultural mediation of trauma and loss. He shows how the political and historical contexts suggest a systematic link between natural disaster and cultural politics.

Contents

• Cyclone San Zenón: 29
• Drought and the Literary Construction of Risk: 56
• Explosive Nationalism and: 107
• Mexicos 1985 Earthquake: 145
• On Writing and the Nationalization: 191
• Works Cited: 219
• Index: 237

About the author

Mark D. Anderson is Assistant Professor of Latin American Literature and Culture at the University of Georgia.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Disaster Writing: The Cultural Politics of Catastrophe in Latin America; New World studies
• Author: Mark D. Anderson
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press, 2011
• ISBN: 0813931967, 9780813931968
• Length: 241 pages
• Subjects: LITERARY CRITICISM / European / Spanish & Portuguese; Literary Criticism / Caribbean & Latin American; Literary Criticism / General; Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Culture, Race & Ethnicity