Voices from the periphery: representations of marginalised women immigrants in postmillennial Spain

Whatley, Niven C. (2021). Voices from the periphery: representations of marginalised women immigrants in postmillennial Spain. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Despite an alleged move towards open, democratic politics in Spain, representation of immigrant women in recent cultural publication is still predominantly that of the exotic, pathetic or visually fetishistic and spectres of paternalism remain in the sociological mind-set. Women immigrants often appear voyeuristically, as peripheral, two-dimensional characters, who validate extant colonial and social prejudices.

Through scrutiny of selected works, this thesis aims to reveal any recurrence of prejudice and stereotype within the sociological experiences of immigrant women in Spain and simultaneously searches for notable indications of progressive, egalitarian portrayal of them in Spanish literary publication.

My research brings together a novel analysis of postmillennial Spanish literature and film, discourse analytics, immigration laws, and a history of gender and women’s writing in Spain, with a view to establishing how liminal immigrant women are imagined and represented in the postmodern Spain from 1997 to the present day, a study that reveals both empowerment, prejudice and their ability to preserve their identities.

In this thesis I investigate filmic and literary representations of women from China, Latin America and Africa. Each chapter of the thesis considers representations of women immigrants by the most widely published or influential immigration authors and directors in wide-ranging genres and via labels alongside which they have not previously been considered and which therefore include original discussion on terms such as: inundation; contamination; disorder; indigestion; (re-)generation; (re-)occupation; communication; emancipation; vulnerability; and resistance. This thesis also reflects on any evidence of empowerment and equality of opportunity for immigrant women. These new frameworks reveal a much more nuanced vision of the immigrant woman in Spain than heretofore conceived.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):