Decadent City Spaces, Globalization, Science-fiction and Emerging Latino Nerd-nostalgia in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Subject Area

Afro-Hispanic Studies

Abstract

This article analyzes Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2006) along with its references to science-fiction genres to argue the ways in which globalization and the notion of nostalgia are represented within Diaz’s novel and outside of the literary canon. Within the contextual map, I utilize Svetalna Boym’s The Future of Nostalgia (2001) and Suman Gupta’s Globalization and Literature (2009) theories to explore the intersection of globalization, literature, and science-fiction as a space from which Latino Nerd-nostalgia emerges. This notion of longing is fueled by progress, evolving urban areas, American Caribbean history, science fiction magazines and Role-Playing games, which play a crucial role in Diaz’s exploration of Latino identity, culture, and belonging. I address these vital themes of (neocolonial) nostalgia and globalization within Diaz’s novel and argue that nostalgia can be regarded as an important aspect of the assimilation process and the formation of a Latino/a culture and identity within metropolitan areas. My approximation of nostalgia brings forth the changing ethnographic landscape of longing in response to modernization, freedom, cultural struggles, and concerns that ascend from spatial reconfigurations within metropolitan areas, changing socio-cultural boundaries, and the diasporic movements between the Caribbean and the United States.

Brief Bio Note

Dr. Lukasz Pawelek finished his graduated studies at Wayne State University. His area of research is Latino/a Literature and memoir written by authors of the Caribbean origin. In 2013 he was appointed a full time Instructor of Spanish at the University of South Carolina (USCB). He is a co-founder of the annual Gateway to Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies Conference at USCB.

of Caribbean origin

Keywords

Nostalgia, Globalization, Nerd, Popular culture, Science-fiction, Latino identity

Location

Coastal Georgia Center

Presentation Year

2016

Start Date

4-8-2016 2:40 PM

End Date

4-8-2016 3:00 PM

Embargo

11-5-2015

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Apr 8th, 2:40 PM Apr 8th, 3:00 PM

Decadent City Spaces, Globalization, Science-fiction and Emerging Latino Nerd-nostalgia in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Coastal Georgia Center

This article analyzes Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2006) along with its references to science-fiction genres to argue the ways in which globalization and the notion of nostalgia are represented within Diaz’s novel and outside of the literary canon. Within the contextual map, I utilize Svetalna Boym’s The Future of Nostalgia (2001) and Suman Gupta’s Globalization and Literature (2009) theories to explore the intersection of globalization, literature, and science-fiction as a space from which Latino Nerd-nostalgia emerges. This notion of longing is fueled by progress, evolving urban areas, American Caribbean history, science fiction magazines and Role-Playing games, which play a crucial role in Diaz’s exploration of Latino identity, culture, and belonging. I address these vital themes of (neocolonial) nostalgia and globalization within Diaz’s novel and argue that nostalgia can be regarded as an important aspect of the assimilation process and the formation of a Latino/a culture and identity within metropolitan areas. My approximation of nostalgia brings forth the changing ethnographic landscape of longing in response to modernization, freedom, cultural struggles, and concerns that ascend from spatial reconfigurations within metropolitan areas, changing socio-cultural boundaries, and the diasporic movements between the Caribbean and the United States.