Space, power and emancipation : een geokritische analyse van Surinaamse postkoloniale literatuur

Details

Supervisors

Vanasten, Stéphanie

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [60] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation générale

Abstract

enBased on the theory of geocriticism developed by Bertrand Westphal (2007), this thesis affords a spatial analysis of (post)colonial Suriname from a postcolonial theorie perspective. This analysis considers two literary works: On the one hand, "Hoe duur was de suiker" of Cynthia McLeod (1987), which offers a view of the period of slavery, and on the other hand "De koningin van Paramaribo" of Clark Accord, which takes place in the 20th century. Post-colonialism and geocriticism are two concepts that complement each other well, as both contribute to questioning the supremacy of the dominant vision and to dismantling the eurocentric perspective. This thesis suggests that space can be used as an instrument of oppression, but that it also offers opportunities for emancipation through marginal spaces. Keywords: geocriticism, space, emancipation, postcolonialism, colonial urbanism, prostitution, jungle, heterotopia.