Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Labrador-Rodriguez, Sonia

Keywords

Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cholera

Area of Concentration

Spanish Language and Culture

Abstract

This thesis explores the effects of how Dominican national identity is defined based on its shared history and relationship with Haiti. Colonial differences, racial tensions and the threat of Haitian invasion have led to a Dominican society where race and/or ethnicity is linked to culture. La raza dominicana describes how Dominicans see themselves as white, Spanish speaking Catholic. To Dominicans, Haitians represent the opposite; they are black, of African descent, speak Creole, and practice Voodoo. Dominican identity has created the ideology of anti-Haitianism where Haitians are represented as an inferior "race" and culture, portraying them as uncivilized and immoral. This thesis aims to explain how this antagonistic relationship developed and how anti-Haitianism has been able to remain a widespread sentiment in Dominican society. Images of Haitians in Dominican culture are applied to how Haitians were represented during the cholera outbreak of 2010. Articles from two popular Dominican newspapers are analyzed to determine whether anti-Haitianism changed a health issue into one of politics, race, and discrimination. Theories are used from studies done by anthropologist Charles Briggs. Briggs has studied how pre-existing racialized representations of an ethnic or social group has led to discourses during an epidemic that portray these populations as uncivilized and diseased.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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