What is A Borderland?
In 'Borderlands/La Frontera' (1987), Gloria Anzaldúa defines the borderland as more than a geographic area, describing it as a psychic, cultural, linguistic, and political space. She states that the borderland emerges wherever cultures, identities, or power structures intersect: 'the Borderlands are physically present wherever two or more cultures edge each other, where people of different races occupy the same territory, where under, lower, middle and upper classes touch, where the space between two individuals shrinks with intimacy.' (Anzaldúa ,1987, p.6)
Chodubski explains that a borderland is the boundary between two countries, where diverse cultures and populations intersect to form a unique community. He notes, 'The borderlands have specific cultural values. These are places, where a variety of influences and impacts are crossing. Generally, these are the spaces of multiculturalism and multiculturalism is shaping the attitude of tolerance, understanding of cultural, ethnic and religious differences. Local roots generate large attachment to folklore and native culture.' (2014)
What is Borderland Dramaturgy?
Borderland Dramaturgy expands upon Anzaldúa’s concept of the borderland by applying it to the arts, with particular emphasis on liminal spaces, hybrid cultures, and environments influenced through political and social unrest. This approach explores how individuals moving through two cultures develop a unique, self-sustaining identity that is not fully belong to either. Anzaldúa contends that the borderland inherently stimulates artistic creation: 'Living in a state of psychic unrest, in a Borderland, is what makes poets write and artists create. It is like a cactus needle embedded in the flesh. It worries itself deeper and deeper, and I keep aggravating it by poking at it.' (Ibid,1987, P.47)