UC Irvine

Poetics of the Catastrophe in Contemporary Spanish Caribbean Literature and Culture contributes to the ongoing debates within the humanities, particularly in the realms of environmental studies, ocean studies, and cultural studies of science fiction. This work delves into the exploration of apocalyptic narratives within the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, specifically focusing on Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Employing a transdisciplinary approach that incorporates decolonial theory, environmental humanities, literature, and culture, this dissertation critically engages with exemplary literary works: Caja de fractales (2017) by Luis Othoniel Rosa, La mucama de Omicunlé (2015) by Rita Indiana Hernández, and La última playa (2016) by Atilio Caballero. At its core, this dissertation examines texts that delve deeply into the theme of catastrophe. Its primary objective is to facilitate a critical dialogue surrounding the pressing issues of our time: the contemporary environmental crisis, the enduring colonial legacy within these Caribbean islands, and the unsettling uncertainties of the future. To achieve this, the dissertation employs distinct dislocated methods of theorization, which include fractal optics, monstrous rhetoric, and marine geopoetics. These theoretical lenses propose new approaches to the conceptualization of time, being, belonging, and the environment.A central concern of this study is to transcend conventional narratives that have historically depicted the Caribbean islands through a Eurocentric lens, often portraying them as exotic and isolated. Instead, this research endeavors to adopt a decolonial perspective, thereby introducing fresh epistemological frameworks for comprehending the complex processes of world-making and subject formation within the Caribbean milieu. Throughout its three chapters, this project navigates the intricate intersections of culture, environment, and politics. It probes how the literary works selected engage in a reflexive dialogue with the global crises of the Anthropocene and late Capitalism. Importantly, this dissertation contends that these literary creations function as powerful agents of disruption, effectively challenging established definitions of nature, ecology, and Caribbean identities. Poetics of the Catastrophe encourages the exploration of Caribbean literary works as an autonomous field of theoretical inquiry and also advocates for a more profound transdisciplinary approach. This approach, which integrates non-canonical literary genres like science fiction with environmental studies, offers a compelling avenue for envisioning innovative forms of world-making processes in the Caribbean.