Recording of the talk given by Nicole Bonino (University of Virginia/ University of Manchester) on 10 February 2021 as part of the University of Manchester’s Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies’ research seminar series.
Abstract: Theorists Néstor García Canclini, Homi Bhabha, and Edward Said investigate the phenomenon of “cultural hybridization” describing it as the emergence of a new multiculturalism in which different cultural forms coexist. According to this definition, contemporary metropolises are powerful examples of hybrid constructions, as they are the result of socio-cultural sedimentation and juxtaposition. Latin American cities are a nerve center of what I call “eco-hybridity,” a critical concept that defines the artistic products—such as novels, murals, paintings, and architectural elements—created by the modifications of the geographical and socio-cultural environment in response to the encounter between immigrants and urban settings. According to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, 68% of the world population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050. Latin American metropolises, such as São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Lima and Rio de Janeiro, are home for more than 10 million people. A great amount of the urban population is represented by immigrants forced to face cultural and geographical challenges, such as social paranoia, xenophobia, and the lack of material resources which entails the spread of unregulated residential areas not suitable to guarantee a decent standard of living. In a contemporary reality characterized by massive migratory movements and global interactions it is fundamental to investigate the mutual transformations involving individuals and the urban arena where they settle down. How does urban population affect the cityscape and its racial, social, and cultural components and how are these dynamics represented in the literature and visual art of the Southern Cone? By showing architectural, artistic, and literary examples drawn from different metropolitan settings, this talk will introduce some of the implications of the concept of eco-hybridity in Latin America. Bio: Nicole Bonino holds a PhD in Latin American Literature from the University of Virginia. She is an Assistant Professor, Academic General Faculty, at the University of Virginia and a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. Her area of specialty is contemporary Latin American literature with an interdisciplinary focus on migratory movements, environmental humanities, and visual arts. Within the theoretical framework of ecocriticism, her interdisciplinary research examines the ways in which literature and art record cultural and environmental modifications provoked by the interactions between global diasporas and urban landscapes.
CLACS Manchester 