Puerto Rican Jam: Rethinking Colonialism and Nationalism

1997 represents the 100th anniversary of the annexation of Puerto Rico to the United States. Since that time, the "Puerto Rican archipelago" has come to extend from the island itself, up the Eastern seaboard, and as far west as Ohio and Chicago. This study considers the identity issues unique to Puerto Rican culture, issues often encapsulated in matters of ethnicity, race, gender and language.

Discussions of Puerto Rican cultural politics usually fall into one of two categories - nationalist or colonial. This work moves beyond this narrow dichotomy, and includes many essays written from the perspectives of groups that are not usually represented, including gays and lesbians, youth, blacks and women.

This interdisciplinary collection includes articles on political economy, history, literature, ethnic studies, music, migration and sexuality. Among the topics discussed are the limitations of nationalism as a transformative and democratizing political discourse, the contradictory impact of American colonialism, language politics, and the 1928 US congressional hearings on women's suffrage in Puerto Rico.