Pulecio Pulgarin, Jairo Mauricio
(2017)
POLIMORFOS E ITERABLES: “PECADORES”, “ENFERMOS” Y “DELINCUENTES”, EN LA LEY Y LA LITERATURA CUBANA, COLOMBIANA Y PUERTORRIQUEÑA DEL SIGLO XX.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This work examines the ways in which ten writers and one visual artist understood, reinforced and contested the cultural effects of Hispanic judicial traditions of punishing sodomy. This dissertation traces the discriminatory categories that affect sexually diverse populations through law and literature in Colombian, Cuban and Puerto Rican productions of the 20th century. Methodologically, legal theories, literary analytical frameworks, and gender and sexuality concepts are applied. The intersection between law and literature is established across English and Hispanic scholar traditions. Ranging from theories that articulate reciprocal influences between legal and artistic languages, especially those of Cardozo, Weisberg, White and Nussbaum, it is proposed that law and literature create a unique space occupied by the sensibilities of those who lived while anti-sodomy laws were enforced. Consequently, Oscar Wilde’s trials are analyzed, as well as other European precedents like Forster, Genet and Goytisolo works.
Anti-sodomy laws disembarked with Spaniards colonizers in the Americas. Accordingly, this study contends that the roots of the violent treatment received by non-heteronormative populations in the Caribbean is crucial to fully comprehend their current situation. For instance, anti-sodomy laws in Puerto Rico were rigidly enforced through its legal system until 2003. Thus, Manuel Ramos Otero’s short story “Loca la de la Locura”, and Carlos Varo’s novel, Rosa Mystica, depict emergent rhetorical strategies to face the criminalization of sexual diversity.
Similarly, sodomy in Colombia was discursively installed by prominent chroniclers. However, homosexuality as a pathology influenced legal-thought at the end of XIX century, and the path of such a crime is traced until its disappearance in 1980. Furthermore, the analysis concentrates on Bernardo Arias Trujillo’s novel, Raúl Gómez-Jattin’s poetry, two short-stories by Marvel Moreno, Carlos Manrique’s autobiographical essay, and an art exhibition by Carlos Motta. Finally, crimes based on homosexuality in Cuba were appropriated by the Revolution in 1959, which increased the persecution against non-heterosexual populations. Consequently, Carlos Montenegro’s novel, Reinaldo Arenas’ poetry and René Ariza’s painting work are interpreted. All in all, the dissertation tackles the colonialist inception of hate toward sexual minorities to better understand the legal power in forging social exclusions through contemporary cultural depictions.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Centers: |
University Centers > University Center for International Studies (UCIS) > European Studies Center |
| Date: |
26 October 2017 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
26 October 2017 |
| Approval Date: |
31 January 2018 |
| Submission Date: |
20 October 2017 |
| Access Restriction: |
1 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 1 year. |
| Number of Pages: |
488 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Hispanic Languages and Literatures |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
law, literature, sexuality, sodomy, Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Caribbean, Reinaldo Arenas, Rene Ariza, Carlos Varo |
| Date Deposited: |
31 Jan 2018 18:40 |
| Last Modified: |
31 Jan 2019 06:15 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/33208 |
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