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Dissertation Information for Reinaldo Luis Roman

NAME:
- Reinaldo Luis Roman

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Los Angeles (USA) (2000)

ADVISORS:
- Jose Carlos Moya

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- James Lockhart
- Robert A. Hill
- Vinay Lal
- Donald J. Cosentino

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Conjuring progress and divinity: Religion and conflict in Cuba and Puerto Rico, 1899--1956

Abstract: This dissertation examines the careers of prominent healers, prophets, man-gods, reputed witches, and seers of saintly apparitions. The case studies, drawn from urban and rural settings in Cuba and Puerto Rico, date from 1899 to 1956, when a young stigmatic by the name of Irma Izquierdo set out on her pilgrimage to the virgin's sanctuary in El Cobre. Through these figures, I sketch the contours of a Hispanic Caribbean mode of apprehending the otherworldly, or what might be called its imaginary. The objectives of the study are to assess the social dynamics that make these immensely popular visions and miracles comprehensible and to investigate the conflicts they generated, paying close attention to the deployment of categories such as progress, religion, and superstition. As both islands attempted to fashion themselves into modern and increasingly secular states, they were confronted with recurrent outbursts of religious energies. This dissertation questions whether such eruptions can be explained in reference to social and political crises and proposes that the dominant model of causality is in need of revision.

This investigation relied on a variety of sources to reconstruct the worldviews and polemics surrounding self-styled religious leaders. Much of the data was culled from dailies, popular magazines, and the journals and newsletters of religious and professional groups. Judicial records, and to a lesser extent ecclesiastical correspondence, provided a wealth of information about those who faced legal proceedings or the condemnation of the Catholic Church. Whenever practicable, I also gathered oral testimonies and made use of published devotional accounts.

MPACT Scores for Reinaldo Luis Roman

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A+C = 0
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TA = 0
calculated 2008-09-11 15:31:43

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Students under Reinaldo Luis Roman

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None