Dissertations and Theses
Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Harold Aram Veeser
Second Advisor
Robert Higney
Third Advisor
Andras Kisery
Keywords
Cultural Appropriation, Contemporary Literature, Migration, Exploitation, Identity, Literary Prize Culture
Abstract
This paper explores the ways cultural appropriation has existed in literature from the time of Sylvia Plath's poem "Daddy" to the present, with the publication of Jeanine Cummins's novel American Dirt. After dissecting the motives behind the exploitation of traumatic events and acknowledging the consequences appropriation has on the individuals it is portraying, the inclusion of NoViolet Bulawayo's novel We Need New Names proposes a way for contemporary literature to revolve around cultures without silencing voices and allowing individual identities to shine in the texts.
Recommended Citation
Meza, Wendy, "The Process of Cultural Appropriation in Literature and How It Can Be Changed" (2020). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/843