90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami
This thesis presents a methodological approach to cultural memory based on theories that place memory in the socio-cultural realm, employing the Cuban-American community in Miami as a case study. The research reveals the broad scope of this theoretical field and presents a methodological apparatus t...
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
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2021
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65888/ |
| _version_ | 1848800278370844672 |
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| author | van de Voort, Sjamme |
| author_facet | van de Voort, Sjamme |
| author_sort | van de Voort, Sjamme |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This thesis presents a methodological approach to cultural memory based on theories that place memory in the socio-cultural realm, employing the Cuban-American community in Miami as a case study. The research reveals the broad scope of this theoretical field and presents a methodological apparatus that incorporates the multiplicity of embedded possibilities. By examining theoretical currents underpinning the field, it becomes clear that the notion of space is a crucial theatre in which memory happens, which is why the thesis uses the concept of cartographical reasoning in its instrumentalisation of memory theory.
The case of the Cuban-American community in Miami is particularly suited for this investigation, not only due to the nature of Cuban nationalism – which to a certain extent was forged jointly between Cuba and its diaspora in the United States – but also because of the role that memory has played in Cuba’s political history, especially considering the broad institutionalisation of particular tropes of history. The thesis proceeds through three analytical moments, based on archival research and oral history interviews with Cuban-American migrants in Miami, in which its theoretical considerations unfold into methodology. The first part of the analysis consists of the establishment of the foundational tropes of memory in Cuba, at a time when the interviewees were going through a formative phase of their lives there, through an analysis of educational material institutionalised during the 1970s. What follows is an investigation of how these tropes are operationalised in mass media during the Mariel Crisis – a time in which the Cuban state finds itself in what Walter Benjamin determines as a moment of danger. Finally, the investigation of oral history interviews shows how Cuban-Americans envision their past, present and future based on the narrative emplotment of accounts of history as well as the spatial environment that frames cultural memory. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:49:01Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-65888 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:49:01Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-658882021-12-31T04:40:11Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65888/ 90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami van de Voort, Sjamme This thesis presents a methodological approach to cultural memory based on theories that place memory in the socio-cultural realm, employing the Cuban-American community in Miami as a case study. The research reveals the broad scope of this theoretical field and presents a methodological apparatus that incorporates the multiplicity of embedded possibilities. By examining theoretical currents underpinning the field, it becomes clear that the notion of space is a crucial theatre in which memory happens, which is why the thesis uses the concept of cartographical reasoning in its instrumentalisation of memory theory. The case of the Cuban-American community in Miami is particularly suited for this investigation, not only due to the nature of Cuban nationalism – which to a certain extent was forged jointly between Cuba and its diaspora in the United States – but also because of the role that memory has played in Cuba’s political history, especially considering the broad institutionalisation of particular tropes of history. The thesis proceeds through three analytical moments, based on archival research and oral history interviews with Cuban-American migrants in Miami, in which its theoretical considerations unfold into methodology. The first part of the analysis consists of the establishment of the foundational tropes of memory in Cuba, at a time when the interviewees were going through a formative phase of their lives there, through an analysis of educational material institutionalised during the 1970s. What follows is an investigation of how these tropes are operationalised in mass media during the Mariel Crisis – a time in which the Cuban state finds itself in what Walter Benjamin determines as a moment of danger. Finally, the investigation of oral history interviews shows how Cuban-Americans envision their past, present and future based on the narrative emplotment of accounts of history as well as the spatial environment that frames cultural memory. 2021-12-31 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65888/1/90-Miles-of-Mirror_SVDV_Dissertation.pdf van de Voort, Sjamme (2021) 90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. Memory Studies Cuban Studies Cuban-Americans Migration |
| spellingShingle | Memory Studies Cuban Studies Cuban-Americans Migration van de Voort, Sjamme 90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami |
| title | 90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami |
| title_full | 90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami |
| title_fullStr | 90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami |
| title_full_unstemmed | 90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami |
| title_short | 90 miles of mirror: Reimagining cultural memory through the case of Cuban-American migrants in Miami |
| title_sort | 90 miles of mirror: reimagining cultural memory through the case of cuban-american migrants in miami |
| topic | Memory Studies Cuban Studies Cuban-Americans Migration |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65888/ |