Melville and the Idea of Blackness

Race and Imperialism in Nineteenth Century America

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American
Cover of the book Melville and the Idea of Blackness by Professor Christopher Freeburg, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Professor Christopher Freeburg ISBN: 9781139540155
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: August 27, 2012
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Professor Christopher Freeburg
ISBN: 9781139540155
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: August 27, 2012
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

By examining the unique problems that 'blackness' signifies in Moby-Dick, Pierre, 'Benito Cereno' and 'The Encantadas', Christopher Freeburg analyzes how Herman Melville grapples with the social realities of racial difference in nineteenth-century America. Where Melville's critics typically read blackness as either a metaphor for the haunting power of slavery or an allegory of moral evil, Freeburg asserts that blackness functions as the site where Melville correlates the sociopolitical challenges of transatlantic slavery and US colonial expansion with philosophical concerns about mastery. By focusing on Melville's iconic interracial encounters, Freeburg reveals the important role blackness plays in Melville's portrayal of characters' arduous attempts to seize their own destiny, amass scientific knowledge and perfect themselves. A valuable resource for scholars and graduate students in American literature, this text will also appeal to those working in American, African American and postcolonial studies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

By examining the unique problems that 'blackness' signifies in Moby-Dick, Pierre, 'Benito Cereno' and 'The Encantadas', Christopher Freeburg analyzes how Herman Melville grapples with the social realities of racial difference in nineteenth-century America. Where Melville's critics typically read blackness as either a metaphor for the haunting power of slavery or an allegory of moral evil, Freeburg asserts that blackness functions as the site where Melville correlates the sociopolitical challenges of transatlantic slavery and US colonial expansion with philosophical concerns about mastery. By focusing on Melville's iconic interracial encounters, Freeburg reveals the important role blackness plays in Melville's portrayal of characters' arduous attempts to seize their own destiny, amass scientific knowledge and perfect themselves. A valuable resource for scholars and graduate students in American literature, this text will also appeal to those working in American, African American and postcolonial studies.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Peripheral Neuropathies by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book Bartolomé de las Casas by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book War and Society in Early Rome by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book Romanticism, Self-Canonization, and the Business of Poetry by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book Soft War by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book Stochastic Analysis by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book Anthropology, History, and Education by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book The Economics of Education by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book When Things Fell Apart by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book So You Want To Be A Journalist? by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book Lord Byron and Scandalous Celebrity by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book Generalized Linear Models for Insurance Data by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Mill by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book Cultures of Power in Post-Communist Russia by Professor Christopher Freeburg
Cover of the book The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning by Professor Christopher Freeburg
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy