| Edition |
1st ed. |
| Description |
1 online resource (x, 171 pages) |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 141-159) and index. |
| Contents |
What's old is new again, or The brand new fetish: black/white bodies in American racial discourse -- From naxos to Copenhagen: Helga Crane's mixed-race aspirations in Nella Larsen's Quicksand -- Homeward bound: negotiating borders in Lucinda Roy's Lady Moses and Danzy Senna's Caucasia -- "This is how memory works": boundary crossing, belonging, and Blackness in mixed-race autobiographies -- B(l)ack to last drop? Mariah Carey, Halle Berry, and the complexities of racial identity in popular culture. |
| Summary |
The past two decades have seen a growing influx of biracial discourse in fiction, memoir, and theory, and since the 2008 election of Barack Obama to the presidency, debates over whether America has entered a & ldquo;post-racial & rdquo; phase have set the media abuzz. In this penetrating and provocative study, Sika A. Dagbovie-Mullins adds a new dimension to this dialogue as she investigates the ways in which various mixed-race writers and public figures have redefined both & ldquo;blackness & rdquo; and & ldquo;whiteness & rdquo; by invoking multiple racial identities. Focusing on several key novels & mdash;Nella Larsen & rsquo;s Quicksand (1928), Lucinda Roy & rsquo;s Lady Moses (1998), and Danzy Senna & rsquo;s Caucasia (1998) & mdash;as well as memoirs by Obama, James McBride, and Rebecca Walker and the personae of singer Mariah Carey and actress Halle Berry, Dagbovie-Mullins challenges conventional claims about biracial identification with a concept she calls & ldquo;black-sentient mixed-race identity. & rdquo; Whereas some multiracial organizations can diminish blackness by, for example, championing the inclusion of multiple-race options on census forms and similar documents, a black-sentient consciousness stresses a perception rooted in blackness & mdash; & ldquo;a connection to a black consciousness, & rdquo; writes the author, & ldquo;that does not overdetermine but still plays a large role in one & rsquo;s racial identification. & rdquo; By examining the nuances of this concept through close readings of fiction, memoir, and the public images of mixed-race celebrities, Dagbovie-Mullins demonstrates how a & ldquo;black-sentient mixed-race identity reconciles the widening separation between black/white mixed race and blackness that has been encouraged by contemporary mixed-race politics and popular culture. & rdquo; A book that promises to spark new debate and thoughtful reconsiderations of an especially timely topic, Crossing B(l)ack recognizes and investigates assertions of a black-centered mixed-race identity that does not divorce a premodern racial identity from a postmodern racial fluidity. SIKA A. DAGBOVIE-MULLINS is associate professor in the Department of English at Florida Atlantic University. Her articles have appeared in African American Review, the Journal of Popular Culture, and other publications. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
American fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
|
|
American fiction. |
| Chronological Term |
20th century |
| Subject |
American fiction -- 21st century -- History and criticism.
|
| Chronological Term |
21st century |
| Subject |
African Americans -- Race identity.
|
|
African Americans -- Race identity. |
|
Racially mixed people in literature.
|
|
Racially mixed people in literature. |
|
Racially mixed people -- Race identity -- United States.
|
|
Racially mixed people -- Race identity. |
|
United States. |
|
Passing (Identity) in literature.
|
|
Passing (Identity) in literature. |
| Chronological Term |
1900 - 2099 |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
|
|
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: Dagbovie-Mullins, Sika A. Crossing b(l)ack. 1st ed. Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, ©2013 9781572339323 (DLC) 2012020592 (OCoLC)794272325 |
| ISBN |
9781572339774 (electronic book) |
|
1572339772 (electronic book) |
|
9781572339323 |
|
1572339322 |
|
