Impossible Witnesses : Truth, Abolitionism, and Slave Testimony

Dwight Mcbride

ISBN 10: 0814756042 / ISBN 13: 9780814756041

Verlag: NYU Press - IPS Feb 2002, 2002

Beschreibung

Neuware - Even the most cursory review of black literary production during the nineteenth century indicates that its primary concerns were the issues of slavery, racial subjugation, abolitionist politics and liberation. How did the writers of these narratives 'bear witness' to the experiences they describe At a time when a hegemonic discourse on these subjects already existed, what did it mean to 'tell the truth' about slavery Impossible Witnesses explores these questions through a study of fiction, poetry, essays, and slave narratives from the abolitionist era. Linking the racialized discourses of slavery and Romanticism, it boldly calls for a reconfiguration of U.S. and British Romanticism that places slavery at its center. Impossible Witnesses addresses some of the major literary figures and representations of slavery in light of discourses on natural rights and law, offers an account of Foucauldian discourse analysis as it applies to the problem of 'bearing witness,' and analyzes specific narratives such as 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,' and 'The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.' A work of great depth and originality, Impossible Witnesses renders traditional interpretations of Romanticism impossible and places Dwight A. McBride at the forefront of studies in race and literature.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 9780814756041

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: Impossible Witnesses : Truth, Abolitionism, and Slave Testimony
• Verlag: NYU Press - IPS Feb 2002
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2002
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-10: 0814756042
• ISBN-13: 9780814756041
• Einband: Buch
• Zustand: Neu
• Abmessungen: 229B x 152 H x 16 T Millimeter Breite: 229 mm, Höhe: 152 mm, Tiefe: 16 mm
• Gewicht: 470 Gramm

Über diesen Titel

Inhaltsangabe

Even the most cursory review of black literary production during the nineteenth century indicates that its primary concerns were the issues of slavery, racial subjugation, abolitionist politics and liberation. How did the writers of these narratives "bear witness" to the experiences they describe? At a time when a hegemonic discourse on these subjects already existed, what did it mean to "tell the truth" about slavery?
Impossible Witnesses explores these questions through a study of fiction, poetry, essays, and slave narratives from the abolitionist era. Linking the racialized discourses of slavery and Romanticism, it boldly calls for a reconfiguration of U.S. and British Romanticism that places slavery at its center.
Impossible Witnesses addresses some of the major literary figures and representations of slavery in light of discourses on natural rights and law, offers an account of Foucauldian discourse analysis as it applies to the problem of "bearing witness," and analyzes specific narratives such as "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," and "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano."
A work of great depth and originality, Impossible Witnesses renders traditional interpretations of Romanticism impossible and places Dwight A. McBride at the forefront of studies in race and literature.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Dwight A. McBride is President of The New School in New York City. Prior to his appointment at The New School, Dr. McBride was Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Emory University, where he also held the position of Asa Griggs Candler Professor of African American Studies, Distinguished Affiliated Professor of English, and Associated Faculty in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. A leading scholar of race and literary studies, Dr. McBride's books include James Baldwin Now, Impossible Witnesses: Truth Abolitionism, and Slave Testimony, Black Like Us: A Century of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual African American Fiction, and A Melvin Dixon Critical Reader. His book Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch: Essays on Race and Sexuality won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Studies and was a finalist for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award.