Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Communication Studies

Department

Communication Studies

First Reader/Committee Chair

Dr. Ece Algan

Abstract

Latinx authors writing in English are challenging the western literary canon and the way stories are told through a western-centric lens. I argue that Mexican Canadian author Sylvia Moreno Garcia and her novel Mexican Gothic redefines the genre by telling the story of a British family living in 1950’s Mexico from an anti-colonial feminist lens. After a review of the literature on the gothic genre and how authors of color use it to respond to western-centric ideas in their own gothic novels, I am approaching the text using postcolonial and decolonial feminist theories to conduct a textual, genre, and ideological analysis. My analysis reflects a portrayal of the gothic genre that centers and promotes anticolonial feminist ideologies such as having a decisive female protagonist of color who drives the story, a variety of characters that challenge gender and racial stereotypes, and contextualized depictions of Western characters and motifs. By analyzing the storyline and character development in Mexican Gothic, my research presents a feminist and anticolonial reading of the novel.

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