"Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders is the most innovative and original book about migration that I have ever read. Raquel Vega-Durán moves away from the traditional representations of immigrants in order to revisit their interdisciplinary depiction in literature, film, music, art, and photography, arguing that migrant narratives are essential to understand the current perceptions in the redefinition of Spanish national identity. Vega-Duran's insightful interpretations are characterized by a fresh and unique vision. This book is a must-read, and it will become an important reference in the field of Spanish cultural studies.
Vega-Durán takes up what we in the field have always known—that, unlike English and some other languages, Spanish consistently maintains the distinction between emigrant and immigrant—and examines this peculiarity as a fact of social semiosis. In Vega-Durán’s relevant reading, the slippage between immigration and emigration facilitates national self-identification in Spain as a whole and in it its sometimes unwilling parts. The enormous potential of this approach is revealed in each of the book’s chapters that empower us to analyze immigration as a product of global economy misleadingly used to support national narratives. Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders is a must read for those who want to understand the intersections of Immigration Studies, Border Studies, Mobilities Studies, and Gender Studies in Spain.
Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders tackles substantial questions, ranging from the effects of migration on contemporary Spain's sense of identity to what Vega-Durán considers to be the unsolvably dual condition of the migrant as both emigrante and inmigrante. Throughout the book, a view of contemporary (and future) Spain emerges that is deeply marked by migration processes—and as such, can only be understood in its Trans-Atlantic, Mediterranean, and European contexts. Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders stands out for the broad scope of countries of origin that it considers and for the amount and variety of primary sources it analyzes, which encompass literary texts, films, photographs, and other cultural products. This is a well conceived, competently researched, clearly written study that will make a valuable contribution to the debate on African and Latin American migration into Spain.
Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders: Migrants, Transnational Encounters, and Identity in Spain is a major contribution to the field of Hispanic migration studies. Its Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Mediterranean approach is accompanied by very effective juxtapositions of materials from different historical periods. Equally impressive is the broad interdisciplinarity of this book that examines and uncovers a variety of materials and discourses that will pave the way for other scholars. In addition, Prof. Vega-Durán opens Hispanic migration studies to new fields and concepts such as "airport customs" and "neorural settlers.
Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders: Migrants, Transnational Encounters, and Identity in Spain, makes an original, illuminating contribution to the field of Hispanic Studies. Raquel Vega-Durán examines Spanish identity through the lens of the historical past and grounds Spanishness in the present and evolving toward the future through its repeated migrant encounters. Her study is nuanced, recognizing that contemporary Spanish culture depicts neither migrants nor Spaniards as fixed identities, but rather identities in dialogue, in conflict, in the process of becoming. … The scope of this book is impressive, covering centuries of time as well as a wide range of texts that have previously received little or no critical attention. It engages the leading theories of identity in order to tease out the complexities and contradictions of Spanishness and its ongoing struggle with inclusion/exclusion of the migrant. This is a brilliant and ground-breaking book that makes a seminal contribution to Hispanic Studies. Reading it, I feel nothing less than excitement and appreciation for the new material the author presents, and the scope, connections, and insights that she offers.
Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders: Migrants, Transnational Encounters, and Identity in Spain is a major contribution to the field of Hispanic migration studies. Its Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Mediterranean approach is accompanied by very effective juxtapositions of materials from different historical periods. Equally impressive is the broad interdisciplinarity of this book that examines and uncovers a variety of materials and discourses that will pave the way for other scholars. In addition, Prof. Vega-Durán opens Hispanic migration studies to new fields and concepts such as "airport customs" and "neorural settlers.”
Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders tackles substantial questions, ranging from the effects of migration on contemporary Spain's sense of identity to what Vega-Durán considers to be the unsolvably dual condition of the migrant as both emigrante and inmigrante. Throughout the book, a view of contemporary (and future) Spain emerges that is deeply marked by migration processes—and as such, can only be understood in its Trans-Atlantic, Mediterranean, and European contexts. Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders stands out for the broad scope of countries of origin that it considers and for the amount and variety of primary sources it analyzes, which encompass literary texts, films, photographs, and other cultural products. This is a well conceived, competently researched, clearly written study that will make a valuable contribution to the debate on African and Latin American migration into Spain.
Vega-Durán takes up what we in the field have always known—that, unlike English and some other languages, Spanish consistently maintains the distinction between emigrant and immigrant—and examines this peculiarity as a fact of social semiosis. In Vega-Durán’s relevant reading, the slippage between immigration and emigration facilitates national self-identification in Spain as a whole and in it its sometimes unwilling parts. The enormous potential of this approach is revealed in each of the book’s chapters that empower us to analyze immigration as a product of global economy misleadingly used to support national narratives. Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders is a must read for those who want to understand the intersections of Immigration Studies, Border Studies, Mobilities Studies, and Gender Studies in Spain.
"Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders is the most innovative and original book about migration that I have ever read. Raquel Vega-Durán moves away from the traditional representations of immigrants in order to revisit their interdisciplinary depiction in literature, film, music, art, and photography, arguing that migrant narratives are essential to understand the current perceptions in the redefinition of Spanish national identity. Vega-Duran's insightful interpretations are characterized by a fresh and unique vision. This book is a must-read, and it will become an important reference in the field of Spanish cultural studies.
