Cities, Borders, and Spaces in Intercultural American Literature and Film.Ana Ma Manzanas and Jesús Benito, Occupying Space in American Literature and Culture: Static Heroes, Social Movements and Empowerment (Reseña)

Abstract

As the titles of the two books suggest, Cities, Borders, and Spaces in Intrercultural American Literature and Film and Occupying Space in American Literature and Culture: Static Heroes, Social Movements and Empowerment analyze the trajectories of the spatial turn taking place from mid-20th century onwards which has resulted in the appearance of new ways of assessing spatiality as well as new definitions of spatial concepts. Even though the two volumes are not a continuation per se, both books are co-authored by Ana Ma Manzanas and Jesús Benito and the more recent Occupying Space complements and completes the issues discussed in Cities, Borders, and Spaces, which suggests continuity between the publications and encourages to read them as complementary. In Cities, Borders, and Spaces Manzanas and Benito argue that the “alleged new spatial turn of American exceptionalism has always been there” (2) but due to the redefinitions of spatial concepts allowed by post- prefixed theories, new spatial definitions do away with dichotomous oppositions and thus lend themselves to “plurality and openness” (6) as well as reflect the shift from stasis to mobility, activity, and heterogeneity.