Resisting the Dominant Narratives on Environmentalism in the Dominican Republic

• In Event: Representing Human Rights: Latin America and the Global Market

Abstract

Innovative work at the intersections of testimonial and ecocritical modes constitutes one of the most provocative trends in Dominican cultural production over the last two decades. In the context of critical conversations on testimonio (Beverly, Jara and Vidal, Nance, Sklodowska, Yúdice, Breckenridge and Detwiler) and environmental criticism (Buell, Kane, Rivera-Barnes), this presentation demonstrates how Avelino Stanley’s novel about sugar cane fields, Tiempo muerto (1998), Mélida García’s novel about gold mining, Oro, sulfúro, y muerte (1999), Haffe Serulle’s play Mambrú de Manabao: en defensa del planeta (2000) and La sonrisa de la montaña (2011) by Domingo Marte contribute to local, national and transnational environmental and human rights efforts. These literary works effectively highlight the negative environmental impact of clientelism, neoliberalism and economic globalization while offering compelling counter arguments to the current dominant narratives on environmentalism in the Dominican Republic, which are widely endorsed and disseminated by influential corporate and non-governmental sponsors through print and online publications, exhibitions, events and audiovisual materials.

Author

• Sara E Armengot, Rochester Institute of Technology