Language and border crossings in the works of Julia Alvarez: Identity, homeland, education, and orality.
Item
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Title
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Language and border crossings in the works of Julia Alvarez: Identity, homeland, education, and orality.
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Identifier
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AAI3325413
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identifier
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3325413
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Creator
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Blauman, Wendy Sue.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Susana Reisz
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Date
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2008
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, Latin American | Literature, Caribbean | Hispanic American Studies
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Abstract
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This dissertation examines the full body of works by Dominican-American author Julia Alvarez, whose literary corpus includes poetry, historical-fiction novels, essays, short stories, young adult books, and folkloric-based children's texts.;This dissertation examines the dualities present in the recurrent and intertwined topics of language, identity, and homeland. Particular attention is focused on the manner in which Alvarez stretches the linguistic boundaries of her two languages, as well as the importance this author places on education in her writing, particularly for women and the poor.;The use of testimonio and oral literature to relate her own tale as well as those of her characters as a feminine approach to minority literature is explored. Unlike traditional recounting of testimonial accounts, Alvarez inserts elements of her recognizable self into the fictional portrayals of many of her female characters.;Finally, I will demonstrate how, through her use of repeated imagery and characters in unique circumstances in different literary genres, the writer creates a form of "literary migration" with characters and symbols in one of her works recalling the same in another of her texts. In so doing, Alvarez breathes new life into her literary pieces, interweaving the texts into one interconnected narrative.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
