| In the aftermath of disaster, literary and other cultural representations ofthe event can play a role in the renegotiation of political power. In DisasterWriting, Mark D. Anderson analyzes four natural disasters in Latin America that acquirednational significance and symbolism through literary mediation: the 1930 cyclone in the DominicanRepublic, volcanic eruptions in Central America, the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, and recurringdrought in northeastern Brazil. Taking a comparative and interdisciplinaryapproach to the disaster narratives, Anderson explores concepts such as the social construction ofrisk, landscape as political and cultural geography, vulnerability as the convergence of naturalhazard and social marginalization, and the cultural mediation of trauma and loss. He shows how thepolitical and historical contexts suggest a systematic link between natural disaster and culturalpolitics. |
