UC Berkeley

This project undertakes a comparative analysis of literatures written by Afro- Latin@ and Afro-Hispanic diasporic and exilic writers in the post-1960's/post- independence period. Through decolonial analyses this project examines how these texts create new discursive spaces for engaging critical concepts found in Afro-diasporic and exilic global literatures. I propose that these literatures produced in exile and diaspora show how postcolonial literature engages in a (re)telling of history, interrogates foundational narratives of the nation(s), and articulates critical positions that elucidate decolonial discourses.

I examine the decolonial possibilities of global Afro-diasporic and exilic literature and as such, I propose the use of the theory of the decolonial attitude as a way to read these texts as literary palimpsests. The chapters engage critical topics in decolonial thought including: faithful witnessing and theories of representation, the reimagining of reparations and futurities through decolonial love, and the impossibilities of home and exile.

The goal of this project is to aid in the mapping of the diasporic and exilic global Afro-Latin@ Caribbean and Equatoguinean archipelago. This dissertation re- conceptualizes the fields of Latin@ Studies, Afro-diaspora Studies, and the study of literature in light of theories of decoloniality. Thinking about these nations -- Equatorial Guinea, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic -- and literatures in the context of the long-durée of colonial and postcolonial histories and migrations makes it possible to begin mapping the dialogue between Equatoguinean and Afro-Latin@ diasporic and exilic populations.