Spectres from the past : slavery and the politics of history in West African and African-American literature /
"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 explo...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Routledge,
2020.
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| Series: | Routledge research in American literature and culture.
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| 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 historicized differently, according to critical factors such as socioeconomic 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. |
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| Physical Description: | 142 pages ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages [128]-137) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780367819897 0367819899 |