Abstract

This paper critically engages with Amin Maalouf’s novel Origines (2004). By drawing on Mikhail Epstein’s theory of transculture, I explore the libanité paradigm, and to examine how it shapes the view of the Lebanese subject towards the West. By libanité, I refer to the religious and political elements that are central in defining Lebanese ethnic identity. I argue that within the Lebanese context, the transcultural process occurs not only to immigrant characters who live in the West, but also to subjects who choose to stay in their homeland. This study throws light on the relaxed, nomadic attitude adopted by characters when faced with issues linked to cultural allegiance. They appear to be ‘in place’ and ‘out of place’ whether they stay in Lebanon or decide to be geographically dislocated to a Western country. Furthermore, the main country of destination discussed in this novel is Cuba, which history has been mainly examined on the experiences of the Atlantic Slave Trade, and its impact on the Caribbean society. In terms of migration, therefore, very little investigation exists on the early twentieth century Arab migration into Cuba. Maalouf’s Origines gives voice to Arabs to speak about their experience with the new island. On a larger scale, this introduces a new dimension to the study of minority communities from Muslim-majority Eastern regions who reside in the Caribbean societies today. This is a salient issue in the islands to develop further their cultural diversity.

Presenters

Nour Seblini
Professor of Spanish Language and Culture, Department of Languages, Cultures, and Literatures , Wayne State University, Michigan, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Literary Humanities

KEYWORDS

LEBANESE MIGRATION, LATIN AMERICA, TRANSCULTURE, IDENTITY, INTEGRATION, MEMORY, HISTORY

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