Trilogies as Cultural Analysis

This book offers a “big picture” view of three universal themes, as seen in literary representations: sea-crossing tales, human-animal relations, and (late) father-son relationships. Seen in triptych, these writings demonstrate how passing between worlds and across cultures has become the normative human condition. Works by Ernest Hemingway, J.M. Coetzee’s late Jesus novels, and Esmeralda Santiago’s When I Was Puerto Rican are analyzed within a hemispheric and post-national frame.

Fusing literary criticism, communication studies, and literary nonfiction within a Writing Studies framework, Trilogies argues for the inclusion in our writing of personal, institutional, and disciplinary perspectives. The book invites readers to re-imagine writing and communication styles. How can we envision and communicate the representations of between-world experiences that are all around us? What kinds of writing and communication styles can travel beyond our “bubbles,” engage General Education students, and gain a hearing in the public sphere?