Startseite Literaturwissenschaften 5. Inter-American Perspectives
Kapitel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

5. Inter-American Perspectives

  • Josef Raab

Abstract

When literary history addresses the United States novel in the twentieth and twenty-first century, the frame of reference either tends to be confined to the nation or to be extended only far enough to include the nation’s transatlantic connections. All too often the literary exchange with Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America is omitted. In an attempt to remedy this oversight, this essay first examines the dynamics of constructing a national literary history and then presents some examples of inter-American links of the U.S. novel, focusing on magical realism, postmodernism, and contact zones. Next, it considers the inter-American immigrant novel as well as U.S. novels set in the Americas but outside the United States. The essay demonstrates that in view of the changing demographics of the United States and of the background and outlook of a growing number of U.S. novelists, an inter-American perspective is becoming ever more crucial.

Abstract

When literary history addresses the United States novel in the twentieth and twenty-first century, the frame of reference either tends to be confined to the nation or to be extended only far enough to include the nation’s transatlantic connections. All too often the literary exchange with Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America is omitted. In an attempt to remedy this oversight, this essay first examines the dynamics of constructing a national literary history and then presents some examples of inter-American links of the U.S. novel, focusing on magical realism, postmodernism, and contact zones. Next, it considers the inter-American immigrant novel as well as U.S. novels set in the Americas but outside the United States. The essay demonstrates that in view of the changing demographics of the United States and of the background and outlook of a growing number of U.S. novelists, an inter-American perspective is becoming ever more crucial.

Heruntergeladen am 25.1.2026 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110422429-007/html
Button zum nach oben scrollen