Situated at the intersection of postcolonial, queer, and citizenship theory, this thesis examines how the act of reading can be understood as a civic act of queer citizenship. The thesis focuses specifically on the writing, reading, and performance strategies of three writers: Canadian Metis and two-spirited poet Gregory Scofield, Mexican-American/Chicano Guillermo G6mez-Pena, lesbian Canadian Erin Moure. Each of these writers can be considered 'marginal' in the North American context. Chapter 1 offers that the act of reading can be a transgressive civic act that constitutes reading subjects as empowered citizens within a framework of queer citizenship. Combining citizenship theOlY, queer studies, and readerresponse criticism, including a practical example using the work of Gloria Anzaldua, the chapter provides the theoretical frame for the case studies to come. Chapter 2 reads the work of GregOly Scofield, identifying what I call his Metis two-spirit vernaculars. After a brief historical survey of the Metis in Canada the chapter turns to close analysis of how synecdoche is used in his poetry to position the reader as occupying the space of the 'other.' Chapter 3 considers the performance art and texts of Guillermo G6mezPena, whose work blurs the boundary between "us" and "them." G6mez-Pena's use of what I call a queered rasquache aesthetic situates him in a decidedly Chicano context, and his performances bring the US-Mexico border to the performance space, allowing his audiences and readers to cross and recross one of the most famous borders in the world. In chapter 4, I suggest that Erin Moure's poetry is able to critique, question, and unsettle citizenship through a practice called writing in the feminine. Her work focuses on experimentation with language and poetic form while simultaneously and inversely destabilizing language through its exploration and critique of citizenship. Each of these case studies illustrates my argument that the civic act of reading can acts on the relationship between the status and performance of citizenship, with the aim of transforming its exclusionary parameters. 11
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:605164 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Feghali, Zalfa |
| Publisher | University of Nottingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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