Identity Revisited

  1. González Rodríguez, María Luz
  2. López-Peláez Casellas, Jesús
  3. López-Peláez Casellas, Milagros
  4. Oliva Cruz, Juan Ignacio
Revista:
Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses

ISSN: 0211-5913

Año de publicación: 2007

Número: 54

Páginas: 13-23

Tipo: Artículo

Otras publicaciones en: Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses

Resumen

The issue of identity is one of the most debated nowadays in the field of literary theory, especially after the gradual disintegration, during the 20th century, of the 19th century colonial period. Dichotomies such as Occident vs. Orient, self vs. Other, centre vs. periphery, are analysed in this essay, together with the diachronic views of colonization starting with the emblematic moment of the discovery of America by Columbus. The semiotic space, or semiosphere, in which this problematic dialogue takes place, is revised from the perspective of the colonizer and the colonized, trying to decipher the stereotypes and impositions that a subaltern structure of power imposes upon preconceived images of the Other. The construction of hybrid identities in the postcolonial context is also discussed to cement dislocations and unequal contacts with plurality and miscegenation.