Abstract

VILA, Pablo. Versión estadunidense de la teoría de frontera: una crítica desde la etnografía. Pap. poblac [online]. 2001, vol.7, n.30, pp.11-30. ISSN 2448-7147.

One of the most important debates about multiculturalism that is currently taking place in American academia delves on what is commonly known as "border studies" or "border theory" In this article I want to criticize what I call the "hegemonic version of American border studies" I point out that. first, this approach presents a version of the border that privileges the American side of it over the Mexican side of the International divide, second. American border studies in its current incarnation presents the image of the "border crosser" as being paradigmatic of any border experience, almost completely forgetting the possibility that, perhaps, many border inhabitants want to "reinforce" border, instead of "crossing" them: and third, that in this kind of approach the idea of the "border" has abandoned its national anchors to extend itself to any situation in which limits are involved, losing in this way the specificity of local frontiers.