Racial Worldmaking

The Power of Popular Fiction

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Public Speaking, Rhetoric, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies
Cover of the book Racial Worldmaking by Mark C. Jerng, Fordham University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mark C. Jerng ISBN: 9780823277773
Publisher: Fordham University Press Publication: November 7, 2017
Imprint: Fordham University Press Language: English
Author: Mark C. Jerng
ISBN: 9780823277773
Publisher: Fordham University Press
Publication: November 7, 2017
Imprint: Fordham University Press
Language: English

When does racial description become racism? Critical race studies has not come up with good answers to this question because it has overemphasized the visuality of race. According to dominant theories of racial formation, we see race on bodies and persons and then link those perceptions to unjust practices of racial inequality. Racial Worldmaking argues that we do not just see race. We are taught when, where, and how to notice race by a set of narrative and interpretive strategies. These strategies are named “racial worldmaking” because they get us to notice race not just at the level of the biological representation of bodies or the social categorization of persons. Rather, they get us to embed race into our expectations for how the world operates. As Mark C. Jerng shows us, these strategies find their most powerful expression in popular genre fiction: science fiction, romance, and fantasy.

Taking up the work of H.G. Wells, Margaret Mitchell, Samuel Delany, Philip K. Dick and others, Racial Worldmaking rethinks racial formation in relation to both African American and Asian American studies, as well as how scholars have addressed the relationships between literary representation and racial ideology. In doing so, it engages questions central to our current moment: In what ways do we participate in racist worlds, and how can we imagine and build one that is anti-racist?

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

When does racial description become racism? Critical race studies has not come up with good answers to this question because it has overemphasized the visuality of race. According to dominant theories of racial formation, we see race on bodies and persons and then link those perceptions to unjust practices of racial inequality. Racial Worldmaking argues that we do not just see race. We are taught when, where, and how to notice race by a set of narrative and interpretive strategies. These strategies are named “racial worldmaking” because they get us to notice race not just at the level of the biological representation of bodies or the social categorization of persons. Rather, they get us to embed race into our expectations for how the world operates. As Mark C. Jerng shows us, these strategies find their most powerful expression in popular genre fiction: science fiction, romance, and fantasy.

Taking up the work of H.G. Wells, Margaret Mitchell, Samuel Delany, Philip K. Dick and others, Racial Worldmaking rethinks racial formation in relation to both African American and Asian American studies, as well as how scholars have addressed the relationships between literary representation and racial ideology. In doing so, it engages questions central to our current moment: In what ways do we participate in racist worlds, and how can we imagine and build one that is anti-racist?

More books from Fordham University Press

Cover of the book The Diary of Prisoner 17326 by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book A Touch More Rare by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book Practicing the City by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book Heartbeats in the Muck by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book The Lincoln Assassination by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book Earth, Life, and System by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book The Noetics of Nature by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book The Rose Man of Sing Sing by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book On the Commerce of Thinking by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book Musical Meaning and Human Values by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book Deus in Machina by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book Remembering Wolsey by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book Flashpoints for Asian American Studies by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book Race Questions, Provincialism, and Other American Problems by Mark C. Jerng
Cover of the book In Dante's Wake by Mark C. Jerng
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