Harris
conducted part of his dissertation research on a summer tour of Costa Rica, the
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Columbia, and during a seven-month stay on
the Caribbean coast of Mexico. “While
there,” he said, “I got a feel for the sights and the sounds, the people,
how they talk and act. What does
race mean; what does color mean. Mulatto,
Blanco, Africano. What does it mean when we use references of color to describe
a person, are we talking about their class, their background, their education,
social acceptance?”
His
dissertation, entitled “Coloring
Between the Lines: Race as a Literary Device in Selected Works of Contemporary
Caribbean Fiction,” examines “the roles and representations of people of
African American ancestry, as well as the influence of African American culture
and ideology” as manifested in current fiction. He said he deliberately chose popular texts to investigate,
most of which are classified as literary works, but are also widely read by the
general public.
“There
is one exception,” he noted, “Ana Lydia Vega, a Puerto Rican writer.
She is one that a lot of critics don’t want to talk about because she
writes popular fiction, and is sometimes referred to as a ‘Danielle Steele,’
but the ones who are doing that are usually men.”
He added that she might elicit laughter, she might employ sarcasm, and
even romance, but she also levels serious social criticism as a woman writer.
“If you’ve got half the island reading her things, and whole towns reacting
to her, then I think her work’s worthy of criticism.” Vega hasn’t made it
into the still predominantly male Spanish canon yet, Harris said, but is gaining
recognition along with other female writers in the Spanish language.
While
at IU this summer, Harris taught in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese;
his course, S495, the Hispanic Colloquium, was organized around contemporary
Caribbean fiction. His students
were wonderful, mature, and ethnically diverse, he said. Harris deliberately allowed their personal experiences and
backgrounds to enter into the classroom forum, making space for distinct
culturally influenced interpretations and lively discussions.
Overall,
Harris said that MFFP created a unique opportunity for him, one that was
enriched by IU’s wonderful research facilities. As he was readying himself to return to Baker University in
Kansas, where he teaches as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish,
Harris couldn’t help but reflect upon his remarkable experiences in
Bloomington this summer. He wanted
to extend a wholehearted thank you to everyone who made his visit here so
pleasant and rewarding.