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DISLOCALISM: TRAVEL,GLOBALIZATION,ANDTHEPRODUCTIONOPKNOWLEDGE By SARIKACHANDRA ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALLFULFILLMENT OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA 2003 Copyright2003 By SarikaChandra TABLEOFCONTENTS Page ABSTRACT v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1 GLOBALIZATIONANDDISCIPLINARYPRACTICES 12 NewWorldOrder? 12 Dislocalism 17 DisciplinaryPractices 23 2 (IM)MIGRATION:PRODUCINGANATIONALISTLITERATUREINTHE“AGE OFGLOBALIZATION” 53 SurvivalofNationalistParadigms 53 ImmigrationasaDislocalizingConcept 57 DislocalistPracticesinLiteraryCriticism 76 JuliaAlvarez’sHowtheGarciaGirlsLostTheirAccents 77 JessicaHagedorn’sDogeaters 95 EsmeraldaSantiago’sWhenIwasPuertoRicanandAmerica'sDream 116 Conclusion 133 3 RE-DRAWINGTHEBOUNDARIES:AMERICANTRAVELWRITING 135 TheEndofTravel? 135 RobertKaplan: “Actual”TravelsandFirstHandAccounts 146 MaryMorris:InterruptionofDomesticity 159 PaulTheroux:ThePoliticsofFiction 171 Conclusion 185 4 TOURISMTHROUGHFOOD 186 TheEnd(s)ofAuthenticity 192 FillingtheGaporNarratingtheNation 199 Fusion:Food&Wine 218 TheEnd(s)ofCuisineandACook’sTour 236 Conclusion 249 iii 5 CONCLUSION 250 REFERENCES 257 BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 274 IV AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchooloftheUniversityofFloridain PartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy DISLOCALISM: TRAVEL,GLOBALIZATION,ANDTHEPRODUCTIONOFKNOWLEDGE By SarikaChandra December2003 Chair:SusanHegeman MajorDepartment:English ThisdissertationtakesacriticallookathowscholarshipinAmericanliterature, especiallyethnic,literaryandculturalstudies,contendswiththeideaofglobalization. I addresswhatitmeanstoarticulatenationally,regionally,ethnieally,andracially distinctiveAmericanpracticesandidentitiesinthecontextofglobalizationand Americanization. Accordingtotheconventionalview,globalizationhasusheredina new“global”realitythatrequireseveryone,onpainofbecomingobsolete,tocatchup andadapt. Inthecaseofliteraryandculturalcriticism,thisnew“global”anxietyhas produeedwhatappeartobesweepingchangesinboththeunderlyingconceptionsof,and thedisciplinaryapproachesto,an“American”literaryandculturalcorpus,andhasgiven risetoparadigmsemphasizingtransnational“bordercrossing”and“migrancy.” Butare thesechangesassweepingastheyseem? Mydissertationexaminesresponsesto globalizationingenressuchasAmericanimmigrantliterarystudies,travelwriting,and touristnarratives.Forinstance,Ilookattheconjunctionofliterarytextsbyeontemporary V writerssuchasJuliaAlvarez,JessicaHagedorn,andPaulTherouxwithnew genresofscholarshipandpedagogyinordertouncoverthewaythatnationalist paradigmspersistinthefaceofglobalization. Iamparticularlyattentivetotheprocesswherebysuchgenres,ratherthanmerely — respondingtoforcesofglobalization,alsoparticipateinitsproduction for,Iargue, globalizationisasmuchadiscourseasitisasetofhistoricalprocesses. Icallthis discourse“globalism.” Iamalsointerestedinthedrivetoshoreupexistingand traditionaldisciplinaryboundarieswithinAmericanliterarystudiesinresponsetothe anxietiesproducedbyglobalization. BydeployingastrategyIrefertoas“dislocalism,” literaryauthors,critics,andculturalproducersbothdisplaceandconsolidatetheir practicessothatolderinstitutionalpracticesarenotentirelydisplacedorrendereduseless inthecontextofglobalization. Finally,Ishowthatinthecontextofglobalization, Americanimmigrantliterarystudies,travelwriting,andtouristnarrativesbecomesites forthecontainmentofethnicityanddiversitywithinU.S.borders,thussecuringtheU.S. asaplacethatisbothlocalandglobal. VI INTRODUCTION Istartedundergraduateschoolwiththeintentionofstudyingbusinessand pursuingafinanciallylucrativecareer,sowhenasmallbusinessschoolinMassachusetts withanimpressivejobplacementrateofabout95%cameupwithanequallyimpressive financialpackage,Ididn’thesitatetoaccept. Butafteraboutayearorso,Ifoundmyself gravitatingtowardsliterarystudies,inpartbecausetheEnglishdepartmentseemedtobe theonlyspacewithinwhichitwaspossibletocritiqueboththedisciplinesandthe generalatmosphereofcollege,aswellastoquestiontheverysocialandeconomic premisesforstudyingaccounting,finance,management,andsoforth. Butdespitethis opennesstocritique,everyoneinEnglishseemedalsotobetacitlyagreedthat,giventhe tightjobmarket,itwasnotinthebestinterestofthedisciplineofEnglishorthatof studentsthattheybeencouragedtostudyliterature. SoIjoinedacombinedBA/MBA program,pursuingEnglishasanundergraduatemajoranddeferringbusinessforgraduate school. TenyearsagowhenIcommencedmystudiesfortheMBAdegree,theprogram wasgoingthrougharapidrestructuring,movingfromtheoreticallyKeynesian-based disciplinarystudiesofmanagement,marketing,financeandaccountingtoamore globallyorientedmodelthatwasinterdisciplinary,creatingformationssuchas internationalbusiness—inwhichcourseslikemanagementtheorywouldbetaughtby facultyfrommanydifferentdisciplines—completewithanaggressiverenewalofstudy abroadcourses. Theroleofthehumanitiesasaservicetobusinessdisciplinesbecame 2 evenmorepronouncedandwentbeyonddepartmentssuchasEnglishandmodern languageswiththeideaofhelpingthestudentsaccumulatethecommunicationand writingskillsneededforentrepreneurship. Therhetoricoflearningabout“other” culturesandacquiring“other”languageswasbeingvigorouslyemphasizedinthewake ofanincreasinglyinterlinkedeconomy. Theadministrationaskedthehumanitiesand socialsciencedepartmentstoprovidesuchlearningandyetatthesametimekeptsuch departmentsfromexpandingwiththeexcusethatrecruitingmorehumanities/social sciencesstudentswouldmakethecollegeloseitsidentityanditsnicheasanappealing schoolforbusinessstudents. ThoughafewpeopleintheEnglishdepartmenthadmovedintoteachinggraduate coursesinmanagerialcommunicationortechnicalwriting,Istillhadasensethatthe Englishdepartmentwasaplaceofcritiqueandarefugefrombusinessideology. Going throughtheMBAprogram—allthewhilecontestingassignments,refutingquestionsand challengingideology-itbecamecleartomethatIneededtoseekoutandstaywithinthis refuge. SowhenIfinallyleftmycollegeforgraduatestudyinEnglish,Igleefullygave awayorthrewawaymybusinesstextbooks,thinkingthatIwouldneverlookback. Fora while,inmypursuitofEnglishgraduatedegreesatlargeruniversities,wheremembersof Englishdepartmentsdidnotnecessarilyhavetoengagewiththerhetoricofbusinessona dailybasis,IfoundincoursesonAmericanliterature,film,andethnicstudiesastillsafer refugefromwithinwhichtocarryoutcriticalinquiry—sometimesdirectedatcorporate — interests togetherwithlike-mindedpeople. ButwhenIbegantheworkofconceivingthisprojectacoupleofyearsago,it becamecleartomethatIcouldnotfinallyleavebehindthinkingaboutthekindsof 3 discourseproducedbythebusinessdepartments. Theattentionto“globalization”hadby nowbecomesopervasivethatnotonlyhadthebusinessdepartmentsdonetheworkof shiftingtheirfieldimaginarybutliterary/culturalcriticshadbeenbusyshiftingtheirown fieldsinrelationshiptoglobalizationaswell. Globalizationhasnowfullyemergedasasubjectofmanysignificantacademic studies. RecentpublicationssuchasSpacesofHope(2000)byDavidHarveyand CulturesofGlobalization(1998),editedbyFredricJamesonandMasaoMiyoshihave attractedconsiderableattentionforattemptingtodefinetheprocessesofglobalization. ThesestudiesfromMarxistscholarsemphasizethatglobalizingforcesincreasethe unevennessinthewaycapitalspreadsandretractsitselfacrosstheworld. Writingfroma positionofrealpolitik,otherwriters,suchasFernandoHenriqueCardoso(Chartinga NewCourse: ThePoliticsofGlobalizationandSocialTransformation,2001),and RobertReich(TheWorkofNations:PreparingOurselvesforTwenty-firstCentury Capitalism,1991),presentglobalizationasanewandinevitableconditionthatrequires participationfromeveryone. Consequentlytheyhelpgeneratetheimpressionthatinthis neweraolderpracticesarebecomingobsolete.Theyalsohelptoproduceanxietyby suggestingthatentireinstitutionscanberenderedineffectiveiftheydonotproducework usefulinthecontextofglobalization.Suchtheorieshavemadeitincreasinglydifficultto ignorethequestionsofpolitics,economics,finance,andinformationtechnologyinthe “culturedisciplines”suchasEnglish,history,andanthropology. Giventhisturninliterary/culturalstudies,myquestionsinthiscriticalstudy becomethefollowingones:Doestheprominentpositionofeconomicsandtechnologyin thediscourseofglobalizationnecessarilymeanthatmembersofthosedisciplinesthat — 4 understandtheworkingsoffinancecapitalism,internettechnology,andinvestmentare theprincipalactors,orinterpreters? Arethoseinotherdisciplinessimplylefttocontend withtheconsequencesoftheseeconomicandtechnologicalstrategies? Workincultural theoryforthemostpartshowshowglobalizationaffectsourliteraryandculturaltexts novels,television,films,andevenourculturallives. Inthisproject,however,Idonotso muchanalyzehowglobalizationaffectsculturaltexts,butratherexaminehowthesetexts — — engagewith and,ineffect,participatein theoriesofglobalization. ForIarguethat,in additiontobeingasetofhistoricalprocesses,globalizationisalsoadiscourse. — Indeed,Iproposethatculturalandliterarytheoryisnotnecessarily asitoften — seesitself compelledtotakeupglobalizationasasubjectpassivelybutthatitisactively andsignificantlycontributingtotheproductionofglobalizationasadiscourse. Further,I contendthattheconceptofcultureisjustasimportanttothedisciplinesoffinanceand marketingastheworkingsofthestockmarketandthepoliticsofsellingproductsina foreignmarketarebecomingtoculturaltheory. Iftheinevitabilityofengagingwith finance,corporateculture,andtechnologyseemstobeasignalofglobalization,say,in thedisciplineofEnglish,thentheinevitabilityofcultureis,inturn,amarkof globalizationforthedisciplineofmarketing. Thefirstchapterofmydissertation examinestheimplicationsof(inter)disciplinarypracticesasliterary/culturalstudiesturns — itsattentiontobusinessandcorporatepracticesandbusinessdisciplines specifically — — management lookpreciselytowardsconceptsofliteratureandculture bothofthem doingsoinorderto“respond”tothecallofproducing“new”workinthecontextof globalizationandtherebyatthesametimere-consolidatetheirowndisciplinarypractices.