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Spectres from the past : slavery and the politics of history in West African and African-American literature
Author
Title
Spectres from the past : slavery and the politics of history in West African and African-American literature / Portia Owusu.
ISBN
0367819880
1000766225
9780367819880
9781000766226
0367819899
9780367819897
Publication
New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.
Physical Description
1 online resource
Local Notes
Access is available to the Yale community.
Access and use
Access restricted by licensing agreement.
Summary
"Spectres from the Past: The "History" of Slavery in West African and African-American Narratives examines the merit of the claim that West African writers, in comparison to African-Americans authors, deliberately expunge the history of slavery from literary narratives. The book explores slavery in contemporary West African and African-American literature by looking at the politics of history and memory. It interrogates notions of History and memory by considering the possibility that shared traumas, such as West African and African-American experiences of slavery, can be remembered and historicised differently, according to critical factors such as socio-economic realities, cultural beliefs and familial traditions. At the heart of the book are compelling and new readings of slavery in six literary narratives that draws on cultural philosophies, musicology and linguistics to demonstrate diverse and unusual ways that Black writers in West Africa and North America write about slavery in literature"-- Provided by publisher
Variant and related titles
Taylor & Francis. EBA 2024-2025.
Other formats
Original
Format
Books / Online
Language
English
Added to Catalog
August 07, 2024
Series
Routledge research in American literature and culture
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Introduction: Evoking Spectres in History
Literary Archaeology: The Uncovering and Recovering of Black Historical Memory and Trauma in Toni Morrison's Beloved
Articulating 'Silence': The Language of Death as Memory in Ama Ata Aidoo's The Dilemma of a Ghost
Bloodlines and Blurred lines: Contested Memories and Freedom in Barbara Chase-Riboud's Sally Hemings
The Limitations of 'History': Chika Ezeanya's Re-visioning of the Early Years of Olaudah Equiano and Slavery in Before We Set Sail
(M)otherlands: Homesickness and yearnings for home in Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing
The Magic of 'History' and Contradictions of 'Return' to Africa in Syl Cheney-Coker's The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar
Conclusion: Defining Silences.
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