Plagiarama!

William Wells Brown and the Aesthetic of Attractions

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Black, Poetry History & Criticism, American
Cover of the book Plagiarama! by Geoffrey Sanborn, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Geoffrey Sanborn ISBN: 9780231540582
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: March 8, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Geoffrey Sanborn
ISBN: 9780231540582
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: March 8, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

William Wells Brown (1814–1884) was a vocal abolitionist, a frequent antagonist of Frederick Douglass, and the author of Clotel, the first known novel by an African American. He was also an extensive plagiarist, copying at least 87,000 words from close to 300 texts. In this critical study of Brown's work and legacy, Geoffrey Sanborn offers a novel reading of the writer's plagiarism, arguing the act was a means of capitalizing on the energies of mass-cultural entertainments popularized by showmen such as P. T. Barnum. By creating the textual equivalent of a variety show, Brown animated antislavery discourse and evoked the prospect of a pleasurably integrated world.

Brown's key dramatic protagonists were the "spirit of capitalization"—the unscrupulous double of Max Weber's spirit of capitalism—and the "beautiful slave girl," a light-skinned African American woman on the verge of sale and rape. Brown's unsettling portrayal of these figures unfolded within a riotous patchwork of second-hand texts, upset convention, and provoked the imagination. Could a slippery upstart lay the groundwork for a genuinely interracial society? Could the fetishized image of a not-yet-sold woman hold open the possibility of other destinies? Sanborn's analysis of pastiche and plagiarism adds new depth to the study of nineteenth-century culture and the history of African American literature, suggesting modes of African American writing that extend beyond narratives of necessity and purpose, characterized by the works of Frederick Douglass and others.

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

William Wells Brown (1814–1884) was a vocal abolitionist, a frequent antagonist of Frederick Douglass, and the author of Clotel, the first known novel by an African American. He was also an extensive plagiarist, copying at least 87,000 words from close to 300 texts. In this critical study of Brown's work and legacy, Geoffrey Sanborn offers a novel reading of the writer's plagiarism, arguing the act was a means of capitalizing on the energies of mass-cultural entertainments popularized by showmen such as P. T. Barnum. By creating the textual equivalent of a variety show, Brown animated antislavery discourse and evoked the prospect of a pleasurably integrated world.

Brown's key dramatic protagonists were the "spirit of capitalization"—the unscrupulous double of Max Weber's spirit of capitalism—and the "beautiful slave girl," a light-skinned African American woman on the verge of sale and rape. Brown's unsettling portrayal of these figures unfolded within a riotous patchwork of second-hand texts, upset convention, and provoked the imagination. Could a slippery upstart lay the groundwork for a genuinely interracial society? Could the fetishized image of a not-yet-sold woman hold open the possibility of other destinies? Sanborn's analysis of pastiche and plagiarism adds new depth to the study of nineteenth-century culture and the history of African American literature, suggesting modes of African American writing that extend beyond narratives of necessity and purpose, characterized by the works of Frederick Douglass and others.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Toxic Exposures by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book Chinese History and Culture by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book Ballots, Bullets, and Bargains by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book Altered States by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book The CEO's Boss by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book Our Broad Present by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book When Principles Pay by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book The Politics of Our Selves by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book Social Empathy by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book Short Selling by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book Satyajit Ray on Cinema by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book The Shorter Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book When the State Winks by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book Beautiful Circuits by Geoffrey Sanborn
Cover of the book New Russian Drama by Geoffrey Sanborn
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