The Place of the Forge: The African Diaspora, History, and Comparative Literature

In times of crisis when literature and world languages are threatened by economic hardship, they should draw closer to African diaspora studies. The African diaspora is so vast, longstanding, and diverse that it must be studied using a comparative, multilingual, interdisciplinary, and international approach that includes study in French, Portuguese, and Spanish alongside an understanding of Latin America. Breaking with the academic marginalization of the past, I examine the word "ghetto" as it relates to Afro-Latin American literature, culture, and history, attempting to open this enclosed space with the goal of a more complete, logical, and democratic understanding of the Americas.