Channeling Knowledges
Water and Afro-Diasporic Spirits in Latinx and Caribbean Worlds
Published on 9. May 2023
Book
Hardback
280 pages
978-1-4773-2724-1 (ISBN)
Description
2024 Honorable Mention, Isis Duarte Book Prize, Haiti/ Dominican Republic section, Latin American Studies Association
How water enables Caribbean and Latinx writers to reconnect to their pasts, presents, and futures.
Water is often tasked with upholding division through the imposition of geopolitical borders. We see this in the construction of the Rio Grande/RIo Bravo on the US-Mexico border, as well as in how the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean are used to delineate the limits of US territory. In stark contrast to this divisive view, Afro-diasporic religions conceive of water as a place of connection; it is where spiritual entities and ancestors reside, and where knowledge awaits.
Departing from the premise that water encourages confluence through the sustainment of contradiction, Channeling Knowledges fathoms water's depth and breadth in the work of Latinx and Caribbean creators such as Mayra Santos-Febres, Rita Indiana, Gloria Evangelina AnzaldUa, and the Border of Lights collective. Combining methodologies from literary studies, anthropology, history, and religious studies, Rebeca L. Hey-ColOn's interdisciplinary study traces how Latinx and Caribbean cultural production draws on systems of Afro-diasporic worship-Haitian Vodou, La 21 DivisiOn (Dominican Vodou), and SanterIa/Regla de Ocha-to channel the power of water, both salty and sweet, in sustaining connections between past, present, and not-yet-imagined futures.
How water enables Caribbean and Latinx writers to reconnect to their pasts, presents, and futures.
Water is often tasked with upholding division through the imposition of geopolitical borders. We see this in the construction of the Rio Grande/RIo Bravo on the US-Mexico border, as well as in how the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean are used to delineate the limits of US territory. In stark contrast to this divisive view, Afro-diasporic religions conceive of water as a place of connection; it is where spiritual entities and ancestors reside, and where knowledge awaits.
Departing from the premise that water encourages confluence through the sustainment of contradiction, Channeling Knowledges fathoms water's depth and breadth in the work of Latinx and Caribbean creators such as Mayra Santos-Febres, Rita Indiana, Gloria Evangelina AnzaldUa, and the Border of Lights collective. Combining methodologies from literary studies, anthropology, history, and religious studies, Rebeca L. Hey-ColOn's interdisciplinary study traces how Latinx and Caribbean cultural production draws on systems of Afro-diasporic worship-Haitian Vodou, La 21 DivisiOn (Dominican Vodou), and SanterIa/Regla de Ocha-to channel the power of water, both salty and sweet, in sustaining connections between past, present, and not-yet-imagined futures.
Reviews / Votes
Hey-ColOn's approach to water is expansive and groundbreaking, as the book engages with saltwaters and freshwaters, unsettling the disciplinary boundaries that have traditionally linked these bodies of water to either Caribbean or Latinx Studies . . . As such, Channeling Knowledges, which is part of the "Latinx: The Future Is Now" series run by the University of Texas Press, represents a crucial and timely contribution to Afrolatinx, Caribbean, Border, and Religious Studies. (A Contracorriente) Channeling Knowledges successfully explores Afro-diasporic spirituality in literary worlds that pull us into Olokun's depths, while it elevates the intellectual, artistic, and activist labor of Latina/x and Caribbean writers. (ReVista) Hey-ColOn posits an intriguing, thought-provoking approach to reading Latinx and Caribbean diasporic literature...She demonstrates an impressive command of Afro-diasporic religions and has used it well to offer innovative and penetrating readings of iconic texts and paintings. (Hispania) Channeling Knowledges is a significant contribution to Black diaspora studies, Caribbean studies, and US Latinx studies. Its interdisciplinary nature marks its value for scholars working with water as a literary trope or those working with traditional knowledge systems. (Chiricu Journal) [This book] puts forth promising pathways for understanding Afro-diasporic, Latinx, and Caribbean knowledges, and the urgency to transcend limiting ways of understanding/being. (New West Indian Guide)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
7 b&w images
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4773-2724-1 (9781477327241)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Rebeca L. Hey-ColOn is an assistant professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Temple University.
Content
Acknowledgements
Prologue. Infusing the Sacred: The Liquid Knowledges of the Afro-Diasporic World
Chapter 1. Channeling the Undocumented in Mayra Santos-Febres's boat people
Chapter 2. The Techno-Resonances of Rita Indiana's La mucama de OmicunlE
Chapter 3. Afro-Diasporic Currents in the Gloria Evangelina AnzaldUa Papers
Chapter 4. Orishas in the Borderlands
Epilogue. Water and Light: The BOveda as Counter-Archive
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Prologue. Infusing the Sacred: The Liquid Knowledges of the Afro-Diasporic World
Chapter 1. Channeling the Undocumented in Mayra Santos-Febres's boat people
Chapter 2. The Techno-Resonances of Rita Indiana's La mucama de OmicunlE
Chapter 3. Afro-Diasporic Currents in the Gloria Evangelina AnzaldUa Papers
Chapter 4. Orishas in the Borderlands
Epilogue. Water and Light: The BOveda as Counter-Archive
Notes
Works Cited
Index