Shu-mei Shih Libros

Minor Transnationalism challenges the prevailing binary model of minority cultural formations in contemporary cultural and postcolonial studies, which often frames minority engagement with majority cultures as a vertical relationship of assimilation and opposition. This volume presents case studies that illuminate a more nuanced landscape of minority interactions with both majority cultures and other minorities. Contributors acknowledge the ongoing influence of colonial power dynamics and global capital while exploring the complexity of minor expressive cultures and their multiple linguistic formations. Covering a wide array of fields—including literature, history, and various cultural studies—the contributors complicate conventional notions of minority cultural formations and argue against the idea that transnationalism is inherently homogenizing. Topics explored range from competing representations of Chinese womanhood to American rockabilly music in Japan, mestizaje in Chicano art, dub poetry in Jamaica, creole theater in Mauritius, and race relations in Salvador, Brazil. Collectively, they propose a new theoretical vocabulary capable of encompassing the intricate experiences of minority groups in a transnational context.