Archipelagic Turn in American Studies (Brian R. Roberts. Pogranichnye vody: posredi arkhipelagovykh shtatov Ameriki. Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2021. 392 p.; Brian R. Roberts. Pogranichnye vody: posredi arkhipelagovykh shtatov Ameriki [Borderwaters: Amid the Archipelagic States of America], translated by Maria Bykova. St. Peterburg: Academic Studies Press / Bibliorossika Publ., 2023. (In Russ.)

Abstract

The review focuses on the book by Brian R. Roberts Borderwaters: Amid the Archipelagic States of America (2021) published in Russian translation in 2023. Roberts suggests reconsidering the US culture post-continentally by viewing it as an archipelagic nation. Dispelling the ‘continental dominance’ in American studies, Roberts explores the rich imagery of borderwaters by drawing on fiction (e. g. Mark Twain’s and Zora Neale Hurston’s works) and visual arts (Miguel Covarrubias’s representations of the Caribbean). The reviewer analyzes the role of the ‘archipelagic turn’ in American studies, as well as the specific effects of the critic’s rhetoric strategy.

Keywords

• review
• brian r. roberts
• american studies
• archipelagic turn
• rhetoric