Taking Haiti

Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism, 1915-1940

Nonfiction, History, Americas, Caribbean & West Indies, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Women&
Cover of the book Taking Haiti by Mary A. Renda, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mary A. Renda ISBN: 9780807862186
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: July 21, 2004
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Mary A. Renda
ISBN: 9780807862186
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: July 21, 2004
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

The U.S. invasion of Haiti in July 1915 marked the start of a military occupation that lasted for nineteen years--and fed an American fascination with Haiti that flourished even longer. Exploring the cultural dimensions of U.S. contact with Haiti during the occupation and its aftermath, Mary Renda shows that what Americans thought and wrote about Haiti during those years contributed in crucial and unexpected ways to an emerging culture of U.S. imperialism.

At the heart of this emerging culture, Renda argues, was American paternalism, which saw Haitians as wards of the United States. She explores the ways in which diverse Americans--including activists, intellectuals, artists, missionaries, marines, and politicians--responded to paternalist constructs, shaping new versions of American culture along the way. Her analysis draws on a rich record of U.S. discourses on Haiti, including the writings of policymakers; the diaries, letters, songs, and memoirs of marines stationed in Haiti; and literary works by such writers as Eugene O'Neill, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston.

Pathbreaking and provocative, Taking Haiti illuminates the complex interplay between culture and acts of violence in the making of the American empire.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The U.S. invasion of Haiti in July 1915 marked the start of a military occupation that lasted for nineteen years--and fed an American fascination with Haiti that flourished even longer. Exploring the cultural dimensions of U.S. contact with Haiti during the occupation and its aftermath, Mary Renda shows that what Americans thought and wrote about Haiti during those years contributed in crucial and unexpected ways to an emerging culture of U.S. imperialism.

At the heart of this emerging culture, Renda argues, was American paternalism, which saw Haitians as wards of the United States. She explores the ways in which diverse Americans--including activists, intellectuals, artists, missionaries, marines, and politicians--responded to paternalist constructs, shaping new versions of American culture along the way. Her analysis draws on a rich record of U.S. discourses on Haiti, including the writings of policymakers; the diaries, letters, songs, and memoirs of marines stationed in Haiti; and literary works by such writers as Eugene O'Neill, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston.

Pathbreaking and provocative, Taking Haiti illuminates the complex interplay between culture and acts of violence in the making of the American empire.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Lee's Tar Heels by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Crooked Paths to Allotment by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Unruly Bodies by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Taffy of Torpedo Junction by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Chesapeake Gardening and Landscaping by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Colonialism, Catholicism, and Contraception by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Alien Nation by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Conceiving Freedom by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book "She Ought to Have Taken Those Cakes": Southern Women and Rural Food Supplies by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Bowled Over by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book A More Civil War by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book The Faces of the Gods by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book A Cautious Patriotism by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Common Sense and a Little Fire, Second Edition by Mary A. Renda
Cover of the book Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont by Mary A. Renda
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy