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Conscientización of the Oppressed: Language and the Politics of Humor in Ana Castillo's So Far from God

Publication ,  Journal Article
Thananopavarn, S
Published in: Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies
April 1, 2012

This essay explores the relationship between Ana Castillo's novel So Far from God (1993) and her development of an activist poetics inspired by Paulo Freire's influential 1970 treatise Pedagogy of the Oppressed. So Far from God may be understood as the practical application of Castillo's theory of "conscienticized poetics"; that is, the novel seeks to inspire political activism through a distinctive narrative style that relies on language strategies such as humor, revisioned cultural myths, and bilingual wordplay. The novel's humor is especially important to understanding Castillo's poetics, as she uses "outrageous" events to convey (and provoke) outrage about issues as serious as war, environmental racism, patriarchal violence, and AIDS.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies

ISSN

0005-2604

Publication Date

April 1, 2012

Volume

Number 1

Issue

Spring 2012

Start / End Page

65 / 86

Publisher

UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center

Related Subject Headings

  • 2002 Cultural Studies
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1601 Anthropology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Thananopavarn, S. (2012). Conscientización of the Oppressed: Language and the Politics of Humor in Ana Castillo's So Far from God. Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Number 1(Spring 2012), 65–86.
Thananopavarn, S. “Conscientización of the Oppressed: Language and the Politics of Humor in Ana Castillo's So Far from God.” Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies Number 1, no. Spring 2012 (April 1, 2012): 65–86.
Thananopavarn S. Conscientización of the Oppressed: Language and the Politics of Humor in Ana Castillo's So Far from God. Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies. 2012 Apr 1;Number 1(Spring 2012):65–86.
Thananopavarn, S. “Conscientización of the Oppressed: Language and the Politics of Humor in Ana Castillo's So Far from God.” Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, vol. Number 1, no. Spring 2012, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Apr. 2012, pp. 65–86.
Thananopavarn S. Conscientización of the Oppressed: Language and the Politics of Humor in Ana Castillo's So Far from God. Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center; 2012 Apr 1;Number 1(Spring 2012):65–86.

Published In

Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies

ISSN

0005-2604

Publication Date

April 1, 2012

Volume

Number 1

Issue

Spring 2012

Start / End Page

65 / 86

Publisher

UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center

Related Subject Headings

  • 2002 Cultural Studies
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1601 Anthropology