Edouard Glissant and the African Roots of Creolization

Abstract

This paper examines Edouard Glissant’s Creolization theory as it pertains to the African roots of Antillean culture. Although the discussion of Glissant’s creolization theory may not be particularly innovative, this paper attempts to employ the notion of the cultural rhizome to place Glissant’s theories within the trajectory of Antillean intellectual history. This paper also makes use of Glissant’s poetry, which is greatly informed by his theoretical oeuvre.