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E-book

Title Passing and the fictions of identity / edited by Elaine K. Ginsberg
Published Durham, NC : Duke University Press, 1996
©1996

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Description 1 online resource (vi, 298 pages) : illustrations
Series New Americanists
New Americanists.
Contents Subaltern as imperialist : speaking of Olaudah Equiano / Marion Rust -- "Most respectable looking gentleman" : passing, possession, and transgression in 'Running a thousand miles for freedom' / Ellen M. Weinauer -- 'Autobiography of an ex-colored man' : (passing for) black passing for white / Samira Kawash -- Sliding significations : passing as a narrative and textual strategy in Nella Larsen's fiction / Martha J. Cutter -- Spanish masquerade and drama of racial identity in 'Uncle Tom's cabin' / Julia Stern -- Blackness and the literary imagination : uncovering 'The hidden hand' / Katharine Nicholson Ings -- "Most disagreeable mirror" : reflections on white identity in 'Black like me' / Gayle Ward -- Confederate counterfeit : the case of the cross-dressed Civil War soldier / Elizabeth Young -- Displacing desire : passing, nostalgia, and 'Giovanni's room' / Valerie Rohy -- Passing for white, passing for black / Adrian Piper
Summary Passing refers to the process whereby a person of one race, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation adopts the guise of another. Historically, this has often involved black slaves passing as white in order to gain their freedom. More generally, it has served as a way for women and people of color to access male or white privilege. In their examination of this practice of crossing boundaries, the contributors to this volume offer a unique perspective for studying the construction and meaning of personal and cultural identities. These essays consider a wide range of texts and moments from colonial times to the present that raise significant questions about the political motivations inherent in the origins and maintenance of identity categories and boundaries. Through discussions of such literary works as Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom, The Autobiography of an Ex–Coloured Man, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Hidden Hand, Black Like Me, and Giovanni’s Room, the authors examine issues of power and privilege and ways in which passing might challenge the often rigid structures of identity politics. Their interrogation of the semiotics of behavior, dress, language, and the body itself contributes significantly to an understanding of national, racial, gender, and sexual identity in American literature and culture. Contextualizing and building on the theoretical work of such scholars as Judith Butler, Diana Fuss, Marjorie Garber, and Henry Louis Gates Jr., Passing and the Fictions of Identity will be of value to students and scholars working in the areas of race, gender, and identity theory, as well as U.S. history and literature. -- Publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-284) and index
Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL
digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL
Print version record
Subject American literature -- History and criticism.
Passing (Identity) in literature.
Difference (Psychology) in literature.
Gender identity in literature.
African Americans -- Race identity.
Racially mixed people in literature.
African Americans in literature.
Group identity in literature.
Difference (Philosophy) in literature.
LITERARY CRITICISM -- American -- General.
Difference (Philosophy) in literature
African Americans in literature
African Americans -- Race identity
American literature
Civilization
Difference (Psychology) in literature
Gender identity in literature
Group identity in literature
Passing (Identity) in literature
Racially mixed people in literature
Letterkunde.
Amerikaans.
Culturele identiteit.
Rassenverhoudingen.
SUBJECT United States -- Civilization. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85139934
Subject United States
Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Form Electronic book
Author Ginsberg, Elaine K., 1936- editor.
ISBN 9780822382027
0822382024
1283062496
9781283062497
0822317559
9780822317555