Representations of Race and Ethnicity in 20th and 21st-Century Latin American and Peninsular Spanish Literatures, Film, and Popular Culture

Dear Colleagues,

Undoubtedly, immigration from North Africa to Europe as well as the waves of migration inside Latin America are posing huge challenges to the host countries. While some people are willing to receive the newcomers, others reject what they consider an invasion. Probably, the impact of the TV images that showed the 629 refugees that reached Valencian coast this summer is still alive in the memory of many. In Latin America, we observe the exodus of Venezuelan people to the United States and to other Latin American countries. At the same time, Chile is receiving a high number of immigrants from Haiti, which has aroused conflicting perspectives about the massive presence of black people who do not speak Spanish. Migratory movements entail obstacles not only for those who leave their own countries but also for those who receive the immigrants. The host country may exhibit a myriad of reactions when it deals with different races, languages, religions, cultures, etc., reactions that can range from a welcoming attitude to racist hatred. Nevertheless, the challenges that the relationship with other races, ethnicities, languages, and cultures involves is not something new and exclusively attached to the migratory waves that we witness nowadays. The very foundation of Latin American countries was based upon the oppression of aboriginal peoples. Some of these peoples were exterminated for the sake of the so called “progress and civilization”; others have been forced to assimilation. The way aboriginal peoples understood –and still understand— the relationship between nature and human beings has been constantly threatened by a way of understanding nature (and human beings) as a mere resource to be exploited.

Paper proposals are invited that address the topic of representations of race and ethnicity in 20^th and 21^st-Century Latin American and Peninsular Spanish literatures, film, and popular culture. Suggested topics might include, but are not limited to:

• Immigration and language barriers
• Representations of “Blackness”
• Aboriginal peoples and their relationship with the state: Several nations and only one state?
• Representations of indigenous women
• Representations of Islamic women
• Gender roles and immigration
• Gender roles and original ethnic peoples
• First and Second-Class Europe: Migrations from Eastern Europe to Spain
• Sex Trade and migratory movements
• Globalization versus local economies
• Indigenous peoples and their relationship with nature versus predatory ways of understanding nature
• Independentism: Should indigenous peoples become independent countries?
• Clash of religions/believes
• Genocide
• Assimilation
• Colonialism then and now: Illegitimate appropriation of the land
• Being a foreigner, being an “alien”
• Violence against immigrants
• Immigration and poverty
• Immigration and exploitation
• Original ethnic groups as second-class citizens
• Gender violence and immigration
• Gender violence and indigenous peoples
• Queer identities and immigration
• Queer identities and original ethnic inhabitants
• Childhood and migratory movements
• Old age and migratory movements

Please send a 300-500 word abstract to [email protected] by November 1, 2018. In the subject case, please write “Humanities-Race.” In your proposal, include the title of the work (novel, play, poems, short fiction, film, popular songs, comics, TV series, etc.) and/or the name of the Latin American/Spanish author(s) whose work you will write about. Theoretical approaches include, but are not limited to race and ethnic studies, gender and queer studies, New Historicism, popular culture studies, social sciences, political sciences, religion studies, languages, cultural studies, among others. Acceptance e-mails will be sent out by November 15, 2018.

Dr. Vilma Navarro-Daniels
Guest Editor

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• Latin American film
• Latin American literature
• Latin American popular culture
• Peninsular Spanish film
• Peninsular Spanish literature
• Peninsular Spanish popular culture
• representations of race
• representation of ethnicities
• immigration
• representations of otherness
• gender