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Symbiosis and exchange in multicultural spaces: A study of Nadine Gordimer and Joy Harjo

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Date Issued:
2002
Summary:
Multicultural literature opens up unique "worlds" that allow readers to experience multicultural spaces; these works are not only representations of real-world conditions, as many critics posit, but also "possible worlds" artfully constructed that transport readers to unfamiliar places. This thesis presents an analysis of the unique symbiosis and exchange that occurs between reader and author in multicultural literature through the use of possible-worlds theory. This study shows how such texts support a complex relationship between the real and the fictional through a process I deem "multicultural symbiosis." Two strategically chosen texts are considered, each representing a different socio-political-cultural context as well as a different literary genre: Nadine Gordimer's My Son's Story, a realist novel set in South Africa; and Joy Harjo's A Map to the Next World, a historical-mystical cycle of poems and tales that draw on Native-American heritage.
Title: Symbiosis and exchange in multicultural spaces: A study of Nadine Gordimer and Joy Harjo.
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Name(s): Nixon, Angelique V.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Martin, Thomas L., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2002
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 85 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Multicultural literature opens up unique "worlds" that allow readers to experience multicultural spaces; these works are not only representations of real-world conditions, as many critics posit, but also "possible worlds" artfully constructed that transport readers to unfamiliar places. This thesis presents an analysis of the unique symbiosis and exchange that occurs between reader and author in multicultural literature through the use of possible-worlds theory. This study shows how such texts support a complex relationship between the real and the fictional through a process I deem "multicultural symbiosis." Two strategically chosen texts are considered, each representing a different socio-political-cultural context as well as a different literary genre: Nadine Gordimer's My Son's Story, a realist novel set in South Africa; and Joy Harjo's A Map to the Next World, a historical-mystical cycle of poems and tales that draw on Native-American heritage.
Identifier: 9780493772776 (isbn), 12921 (digitool), FADT12921 (IID), fau:9793 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2002.
Subject(s): Gordimer, Nadine--My son's story
Harjo, Joy--Map to the next world
Pluralism (Social science) in literature
Possibility in literature
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12921
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.