| This dissertation examines racial formation in transnational hemispheric discourse. By using literature from the nineteenth century, I create a parallel between the United States, Jamaican and Trinidadian area studies, and also a parallel between post colonial and colonial studies. In this study I conclude that the United States and Caribbean share a "forced fluidity". This "forced fluidity" theory disputes the binary distinction between the US and the Caribbean, claiming that the Caribbean is less "fluid", open, and flexible than many contemporary critics of hybridity theory tend to establish. I chose the nineteenth century because that is the historical time period that contemporary scholars of hybridity evince the emergence and development of these "fluid" hybrid identity processes. I argue that the forced fluidity placed upon the Caribbean not only isolates it from fruitful relationships to other nations such as the United States, but also excludes large demographic populations from participating in this composite identity as well. Therefore, to produce a composite Caribbean identity we must include the United States in postcolonial discourse. In addition, we must move beyond placing very specific hybrid identities upon the Caribbean. |
