Together we stand apart: Island and mainland Puerto Rican independentistas

351 Pages·2016·3.41 MB·English

University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online
Theses and Dissertations
Spring 2011
Together we stand apart: Island and mainland
Puerto Rican independentistas
Brandyce Kay Case Haub
University of Iowa
Copyright 2011 Brandyce Kay Case Haub
This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/930
Recommended Citation
Case Haub, Brandyce Kay. "Together we stand apart: Island and mainland Puerto Rican independentistas." PhD (Doctor of
Philosophy) thesis, University of Iowa, 2011.
https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/930.
Follow this and additional works at:https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd
Part of theAnthropology Commons
TOGETHER WE STAND APART: ISLAND AND MAINLAND PUERTO
RICAN INDEPENDENTISTAS
by
Brandyce Kay Case Haub
An Abstract
Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Anthropology
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 2011 1

Thesis Supervisors: Professor Virginia R. Domínguez
Professor Michael Chibnik
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ABSTRACT
This dissertation explores how members of sovereignty movements in politically-
dependent nations respond to transnational influences in their social, economic, and
political lives. My research explores Puerto Rico’s independence movements on the
island and the U.S. mainland with the intent to uncover how transnational influences in
Puerto Ricans’ social and economic lives may filter into their political activities. I look
specifically at how the prolific use of cultural nationalism within the Puerto Rican
political community contributes to the characterization of Puerto Rico as a transnational
community, and I investigate how this affects their political activities. I conducted
research for this dissertation between 2003 and 2005 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and New
York City, New York. I used a variety of ethnographic methods, including semi-
structured interviews, participation and observation, and archival research.
I conclude that any transnational experiences Puerto Ricans may undergo in their
daily experiences do not directly impact their political agendas and activities. Instead, I
highlight each independentista community as distinct and illustrate the localized political
goals and practices of both. I discuss the significance of spatiality to both pro-
independence Puerto Rican communities, specifically as it relates to the traditional
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nation-state structure and the multiplicity of boundaries affecting national membership
and access to citizenship and rights that it entails. Ultimately I argue that neither has the
cultural eclipsed the political, nor has the transnational eclipsed the local, in Puerto Rican
nationalist movements. Instead, I contend that the nation-state is still a powerful influence
on contemporary definitions of national membership and belongingness, and locality and
spatiality are significant motivators in today’s sovereignty movements.
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Abstract Approved: ____________________________________
Thesis Supervisor
____________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Thesis Supervisor
____________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date

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TOGETHER WE STAND APART: ISLAND AND MAINLAND PUERTO
RICAN INDEPENDENTISTAS
by
Brandyce Kay Case Haub
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Anthropology
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 2011 1

Thesis Supervisors: Professor Virginia R. Domínguez
Professor Michael Chibnik
Copyright by
BRANDYCE KAY CASE HAUB
2011
All Rights Reserved
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Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
_______________________
PH.D. THESIS
_______________
This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Brandyce Kay Case Haub
has been approved by the Examining Committee
for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy
degree in Anthropology at the May 2011 graduation.
Thesis Committee: ___________________________________
Virginia R. Domínguez, Thesis Supervisor
___________________________________
Michael Chibnik, Thesis Supervisor
___________________________________
Meena Khandelwal
___________________________________
Laura Graham
___________________________________
Douglas Midgett
To my endlessly patient and supportive husband, Mike
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Before God and the world, my blood claims for the independence of Puerto Rico. My life
I give for the freedom of my country.

Puerto Rican revolutionary Lolita Lebrón
March 1, 1954
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
One does not embark upon the dissertation journey lightly, and the successful
completion of such a journey would be impossible without the support and help of many
people along the way. First, I am indebted to the University of Iowa T. Anne Cleary
International Dissertation Fellowship, the University of Iowa Graduate College Summer
Fellowship, and the Seashore Dissertation Year Fellowship for providing me with the
financial support to carry out my research and write my dissertation.
I am grateful to everyone at the Centro de Estudios del Caribe at the University of
Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras for inviting me to study and learn with them, and especially for
making me feel at home in Puerto Rico. Likewise, I am indebted to the staff at the Centro
de Estudios Puertorriqueños at Hunter College-CUNY for their incredible
resourcefulness throughout my research in New York.
Thank you to each and every independentista who shared with me their lives,
their stories, and their passions. In Puerto Rico and New York, I was welcomed into
many homes on little more than a leap of faith that I would do justice to their stories. This
is something I hope, above all, I have done.
Thank you to my adviser and mentor, Virginia Domínguez, for supporting me
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throughout my intellectual journey, and to Michael Chibnik, Laura Graham, Meena
Khandelwal, Douglas Midgett, and Brigittine French for providing valuable feedback on
my work. I am grateful to many colleagues and friends for providing me with
encouraging words and priceless advice as I worked toward my degree, including Sarah
Ono, Kenda Stewart, Lexi Matza, Jackie Comito, Jon Wolseth, Carrie Hough, Samantha
Solimeo, Lavanya Murali Proctor, and Andria Timmer. A million thanks, as well, to
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