This dissertation follows the possibilities of a specific form of Caribbean thought that arises out of the particularities of Antillean history: Édouard Glissant’s notions of antillanité and an archipelagic thought. By means of a critical analysis of one of the “beginnings” of the history of the Caribbean (the slave trade and in particular the Middle Passage), and the way in which they configure a paradoxical, abyssal experience, I show why it is imperative for Glissant to challenge a traditional account of history that he connects with a Western conception of temporality and spatiality. In this confrontation, Glissant’s philosophy of Caribbean history becomes not only a form of comprehension of the colonized present out of a disruptive, abyssal history, but also a possibility for its transformation, for decolonization. Such approach to history constitutes, according to Glissant, a poetic endeavor, and not a historical, disciplinary one.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation follows the possibilities of a specific form of Caribbean thought that arises out of the particularities of Antillean history: Édouard Glissant’s notions of antillanité and an archipelagic thought. By means of a critical analysis of one of the “beginnings” of the history of the Caribbean (the slave trade and in particular the Middle Passage), and the way in which they configure a paradoxical, abyssal experience, I show why it is imperative for Glissant to challenge a traditional account of history that he connects with a Western conception of temporality and spatiality. In this confrontation, Glissant’s philosophy of Caribbean history becomes not only a form of comprehension of the colonized present out of a disruptive, abyssal history, but also a possibility for its transformation, for decolonization. Such approach to history constitutes, according to Glissant, a poetic endeavor, and not a historical, disciplinary one.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gualdron Ramirez, Miguel"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Philosophy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:00Z","subjects":["Glissant","aesthetics","philosophy of history","decolonial thought","Caribbean"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/279","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gualdron Ramirez, Miguel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2029-09-26T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Glissant","aesthetics","philosophy of history","decolonial thought","Caribbean"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/279"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation follows the possibilities of a specific form of Caribbean thought that arises out of the particularities of Antillean history: Édouard Glissant’s notions of antillanité and an archipelagic thought. By means of a critical analysis of one of the “beginnings” of the history of the Caribbean (the slave trade and in particular the Middle Passage), and the way in which they configure a paradoxical, abyssal experience, I show why it is imperative for Glissant to challenge a traditional account of history that he connects with a Western conception of temporality and spatiality. In this confrontation, Glissant’s philosophy of Caribbean history becomes not only a form of comprehension of the colonized present out of a disruptive, abyssal history, but also a possibility for its transformation, for decolonization. Such approach to history constitutes, according to Glissant, a poetic endeavor, and not a historical, disciplinary one.
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