UPDATE: The Works of Gustavo Pérez Firmat (5/1/06; ICCS, 11/2/06-11/5/06)
Call for Panelists: The Works of Gustavo Pérez Firmat; Extended Deadline: 5/1/06; 11/2/06-11/5/06
International Conference on Caribbean Studies, November 2-5, 2006,
University of Texas-Pan American. Website:
(http://www.panam.edu/dept/modlang/caribe1.htm)
Keynote Speaker: Gustavo Pérez Firmat
In his book, On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, & Culture
(1999), Louis Pérez Jr. has noted that Cuban- and subsequently,
Cuban-American- identity is "almost always in flux," and that it is, "as it were, a
work in progress." As the relationship between Cuba and the United
States grew, these two cultures "converged on each other, interacting and
merging, and fused in dynamic adaptation and accommodation" (Pérez 6).
Pérez highlights the notion that the birth and formation of Cuban
identity and nationalism has always been influenced by the United States.
Because of its tenuous, and often times, antagonistic relationship with
the U.S., Cuba's nationalism and its citizens' identity has been, in
part, shaped and affected by its struggle to free itself of U.S. culture.
However, since the social and political relationships between Cuba and
the U.S. have been so strong and conflicting, the formation of Cuban
identity cannot help but be powerfully connected to the United States.
These tensions and conflicts can be seen manifesting in the work of many
Cuban-American writers, especially Gustavo Pérez Firmat's. Throughout
his works, Firmat explains that because of his dual ethnicity, he is not
entirely Cuban or American, but rather that he is a new, ethnically
hybridized being, possessing links to both cultures and struggling to
consolidate the two.
I am looking for three to four panel members interested in discussing
any of Gustavo Pérez Firmat's work. Possible topics might include, but
are not limited to:
Biculturation
Bilingualism
Life on the Hyphen
The Cuban Diaspora
The 1.5 Generation
Cuban-Bred-American (CBA) Identity
Cuban Identity in Popular Culture
The Life of Exile
The Cuban Condition
Please send all abstracts (250-300 words) to: nmansito_at_yahoo.com, by 5/1/06.
Nicolas Mansito III
Illinois State University
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Received on Sun Apr 16 2006 - 09:05:38 EDT