Spaces and places in motion

Meer over het boek

Global migration and its repercussions have necessitated a re-examination of culture, cultural identity, and concepts of home and homeland. Consequently, the ideas of space and place have gained prominence in cultural and literary studies. This study employs an interdisciplinary approach to explore literary maps, topographies, and spatial productions, analyzing how places and spaces serve as metaphors for cultural identity in contemporary American literature. It critically engages with recent reconceptualizations of spatial concepts informed by thinkers like Michel de Certeau, Pierre Nora, and Henri Lefebvre. The works of Joy Harjo, Garrett Hongo, Toni Morrison, and Michelle Cliff are examined, revealing their connections between space and the processes of identity-making across diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The analysis demonstrates that these authors employ various spatial practices to illustrate the complex relationships between inhabitants and their places, challenging simplistic links between space, place, culture, and identity. Spaces and places are portrayed as dynamic, performative, and contested, actively shaped by their inhabitants rather than being mere static containers. This approach questions essentialist notions of identity while highlighting the intricate connections between identity, origins, roots, home, community, and nationhood.