Aesthetics and Empire: The Sense of Feminine Beauty in the Making of the US Imperial Archipelago
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/chdj.2013.027Keywords:
visuality, colonial desire, photography, Archipelagic studies, Cuba, Hawai`i, Philippines, Puerto RicoAbstract
This article examines the “sense of beauty” in the United States imperial archipelago, composed of the island territories of Cuba, Hawai`i, Philippines, and Puerto Rico, all acquired in 1898. The theoretical connection among these two elements –aesthetics and empire– is provided by a revision of the concepts “economy of colonial desire” and “complex of visuality.” This paper analyzes the most advanced visual technology of the late nineteenth century: the mass- produced, printed photograph. In particular, it focuses upon the representations of feminine beauty as found the illustrated “new-possessions” books which described recent island acquisitions of the United States. The connections between aesthetics and the forms of governance in each territory will also be elucidated.
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