A sensory approach to language revitalization: Culture, language, identity and the Puerto Rican diaspora

This thesis offers a methodological and theoretical framework for understanding formations of the self that are informed by Indigenous scholarship, anthropology, and memory studies. The particular focus of this research are [Taíno descendant] Puerto Ricans who are subjectified by the US. This research presents a way of understanding Puerto Rican identity as it is formed through resistance to colonial rule rather than subjectivation by it. Culinary cultural heritage and linguistic survival, embodied research practices, and sensory engagement in kitchens form the base from which this thesis explains that a culturally informed praxis is necessary to understanding what it means to be Puerto Rican. By applying Indigenous Studies methodology to anthropology and memory studies, I offer a multi-sensory, embodied approach to understanding the ways we live as Boricua. This work is framed in the context of Taíno language revitalization and the circumstances of the Puerto Rican diaspora.