A Study on Influences of Caribbean Literature and Ideas on African American Literature

• Project/Area Number: 17K13405
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Yamauchi Ryo 東北大学, 国際文化研究科, 准教授 (60609874)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
• Budget Amount: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥130,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥30,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥130,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥30,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000)
• Keywords: アフリカ系アメリカ文学 / カリブ海文学 / 翻案 / 黒人男性 / ワイドマン / ガルシア＝マルケス / フォークナー / 肉食 / アメリカ文学 / 人種 / アフリカ系アメリカ人 / カニバリズム / カリブ海 / 動物 / Wideman / Faulkner / Garcia Marquez / Naylor / Morrison / The Tempest

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims at examining African American writers' adaptations of Caribbean literature and ideas and considering the transnational aspects of their creative sources of fiction about African Americans by focusing on fiction based on African American version of The Tempest. In particular, the paper on African American version of Shakespeare's canonical play in John Edgar Wideman's Philadelphia Fire reveals how he utilizes the hyperbolic images of black masculinity represented by his version of Caliban to imply the difficulties he had in communicating with his imprisoned son and describing the dysfunction of the father-son relationship. This study also develops into a comparative study of William Faulkner and Garcia Marquez, examining the question of cannibalism that derives from the West Indies.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、アメリカ文学研究の枠組みにおいて主流＝白人中心のアメリカ文学における翻案とは異なりカリブ海という回路を経てなされたアフリカ系アメリカ人のThe Tempestの翻案の問題を考察することにより、少数派の文学として位置づけられるアフリカ系アメリカ文学の視座から、ヨーロッパの伝統に対抗すべく形成された正典的なアメリカ文学を、合衆国の国境を越えたトランスナショナルな枠組みから問い直す意義を持つ。

Research Products

• [Presentation] 豚のしっぽ再考―『百年の孤独』における動物化の主題と修辞 (2020)
  • Author(s): 山内玲
  • Organizer: 日本ラテンアメリカ学会
• [Presentation] The Failed Staging of The Tempest and Problems of Afro-American Fatherhood in John Edgar Wideman’s Philadelphia Fire (2018)
  • Author(s): 山内 玲
  • Organizer: MELUS (Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States)
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Human Animality in Faulkner’s The Hamlet and Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude (2018)
  • Author(s): 山内 玲
  • Organizer: Faulkner and Garcia Marquez conference
  • Int'l Joint Research