About the book
The Imaginary is everywhere in representations of the Caribbean Islands and their people and has been ever since their “discoverers” dreamt themselves arriving, triumphant, in the Indies. This book poses a provocative question: When the Imaginary occupies the place of the Real, as in Caribbean culture and European projections of that culture, how does the Real position itself? Michèle Praeger seeks an answer by bringing the Caribbean discourses of French traditional criticism and American social sciences, particularly history and psychoanalysis, into conversation with the imaginings of the Caribbean—in the form of fiction by Édouard Glissant, Patrick Chamoiseau, Raphaël Confiant, Maryse Condé, Michèle Lacrosil, and Suzanne Césaire.
Through careful analysis of historical and psychoanalytic work on the Caribbean, Praeger reveals both the biases of these disciplines, and the possibilities they hold when brought into dialogue with one another and with literature. She shows how Caribbean writers respond to these discourses in their re-creation of the daily experience, history or non-history, and gender differences of their culture. She highlights in particular the aesthetics and ethics of these Caribbean writers.
Like the fluid structures of Caribbean fiction, this work weaves back and forth between metropolitan France and the French Caribbean, between Caribbean men and women, between history and fiction, self and community, and between conflicting ideologies and aesthetic and ethic practices to form a web of complexities that begins to fathom the creativity specific to the Caribbean
Editions of Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780803237391
Read an Excerpt
The Imaginary is everywhere in representations of the Caribbean Islands and their people and has been ever since their “discoverers” dreamt themselves arriving, triumphant, in the Indies. This book poses a provocative question: When the Imaginary occupies the place of the Real, as in Caribbean culture and European projections of that culture, how does the Real position itself? Michèle Praeger seeks an answer by bringing the Caribbean discourses of French traditional criticism and American social sciences, particularly history and psychoanalysis, into conversation with the imaginings of the Caribbean—in the form of fiction by Édouard Glissant, Patrick Chamoiseau, Raphaël Confiant, Maryse Condé, Michèle Lacrosil, and Suzanne Césaire.
Through careful analysis of historical and psychoanalytic work on the Caribbean, Praeger reveals both the biases of these disciplines, and the possibilities they hold when brought into dialogue with one another and with literature. She shows how Caribbean writers respond to these discourses in their re-creation of the daily experience, history or non-history, and gender differences of their culture. She highlights in particular the aesthetics and ethics of these Caribbean writers.
Like the fluid structures of Caribbean fiction, this work weaves back and forth between metropolitan France and the French Caribbean, between Caribbean men and women, between history and fiction, self and community, and between conflicting ideologies and aesthetic and ethic practices to form a web of complexities that begins to fathom the creativity specific to the Caribbean
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary about?
The Imaginary is everywhere in representations of the Caribbean Islands and their people and has been ever since their “discoverers” dreamt themselves arriving, triumphant, in the Indies. This book poses a provocative question: When the Imaginary occupies the place of the Real, as in Caribbean culture and European projections of that culture, how does the Real position itself? Michèle Praeger seeks an answer by bringing the Caribbean discourses of French traditional criticism and American social sciences, particularly history and psychoanalysis, into conversation with the imaginings of the Caribbean—in the form of fiction by Édouard Glissant, Patrick Chamoiseau, Raphaël Confiant, Maryse Condé, Michèle Lacrosil, and Suzanne Césaire.
Through careful analysis of historical and psychoanalytic work on the Caribbean, Praeger reveals both the biases of these disciplines, and the possibilities they hold when brought into dialogue with one another and with literature. She shows how Caribbean writers respond to these discourses in their re-creation of the daily experience, history or non-history, and gender differences of their culture. She highlights in particular the aesthetics and ethics of these Caribbean writers.
Like the fluid structures of Caribbean fiction, this work weaves back and forth between metropolitan France and the French Caribbean, between Caribbean men and women, between history and fiction, self and community, and between conflicting ideologies and aesthetic and ethic practices to form a web of complexities that begins to fathom the creativity specific to the Caribbean
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary?
Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Literature: history and criticism
Where can I read a sample of Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780803237391
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary?
Michele Praeger
Who is the Publisher of the book Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary?
Nebraska
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780803237391)
Where can I buy Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary from below
Where can I buy Imaginary Caribbean and Caribbean Imaginary?