Review by Choice Review
Martinez-Vergne (Macalester College) offers a timely analysis of Dominican national character formation during an often misunderstood era. Early-20th-century US observers saw the period as one characterized by political disintegration necessitating outside intervention. The author's recognition of factors influencing Dominican internal affairs, however, makes 1880-1916 a time in which a number of factors germane to being "Dominican" appeared, often emanating from outside the country. The recent nature of two independence struggles; the exposure to European liberal thought; the presence of the overpowering US; the Haitian situation (directly, with regard to its affect on Dominicans, related to the former three factors); and other societal influences shaped and modified the thoughts and writings of the Dominican intelligentsia. As with other American countries, most of these thinkers operated on assumptions that downplayed the activities and perceptions of others not of dominant groups (including women), all of whom, nevertheless, came to create their own version of what it meant to be a Dominican citizen. Intriguing is the author's recognition of mechanisms used by Dominican cultural guardians to portray themselves as qualified to assume Western-nation identity, despite knowing that the country's overall population diverged very much from their ideal model. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. W. J. Nelson formerly, Shaw University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
