Characterizing Olaudah Equiano's eighteenth-century narrative of his life as a type of "scriptural story" that connects the Bible with identity formation; Vincent L. Wimbush's White Men's Magic probes not only how the Bible and its reading played a crucial role in the first colonial contacts between black and white persons in the North Atlantic but also the process and meaning of what he terms "scripturalization." By this term; Wimbush means a social-psychological-political discursive structure or "semiosphere" that creates a reality and organizes a society in terms of relations and communications. Because it is based on the particularities of Equiano's narrative; Wimbush's theoretical work is not only grounded but inductive; and shows that scripturalization is bigger than either the historical or the literary Equiano. Scripturalization was not invented by Equiano; he says; but it is not quite the same after Equiano.
#158062 in Books imusti 2003-03-27 2003-03-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.10 x 1.60 x 9.00l; 2.27 #File Name: 0199254575688 pagesOxford University Press USA
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Very dissapointed!By Michael HerndonI must admit up front; I didn't even get past the first 100 pages! This book was not at all what I was expecting. I thought at long last someone had written a good modern history of the occupation of France in WWII. Instead this book was; ...well...uh...it's really kind of hard to put in words;it's more like a previous reviewer stated"a college thesis" on the psychology of the French people in the late 19th early 20th century. It could just never get to the "meat" of the subject at least for me; even when I skipped ahead to try to get interested. This book just plain rambles on about everything but the GERMAN OCCUPATION OF FRANCE. Having said all of this; this book is very well researched.It may "work" for others; but I just couldn't get interested. Who knows? Maybe i'll finish it someday!2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. a detailed account of France's history; from the late thirties to the Liberation in 1944 - obviously the work of an historianBy XtalfuFor people who love a rational approach to history; with facts; causes; consequences and figures.Relating France's history in the late thirties-early forties has always been a challenge for French historians - and very often English authors are much more successful at this difficult exercice. Julian Jackson wrote a detailed account of France's worst years. It's articulate; well documented and still easy to read.If you want to understand where the Vichy regime came from; how it failed to protect France from the Nazi system but at the same time planted some of the seeds of modern France; that's a book to read.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Excellant SourceBy European History MajorThis book is an excellant source for any scholar or amateur historian interested in the European theater of World War II. Although it did not adequately address the concerns that the Americans had for supporting the French resistance early in the war; it still provided emensely important information. The book begins by explaining the deep social rifts in French society between the socialist-elements and the conservatives prior to the war; and how this dynamic played a role in the fall of France and the establishment of Vichy France. It also very clearly identifies the complex sentiments the french people had for Vichy France; including the early feelings of legitimacy and mild support in the founding months of the regime; and how this feeling of support gradually crumbled under the shadow of National Socialism. It also goes into deep detail about the various overlooked actors of the french resistance; including the roles that Jews; women; and even foreign volunteers (even ethnic anti-nazi Germans!) played in the story of the resistance. It describes how different resistance grops formed under different circumstances; with an emphasis on the differences in resistance group formation in the occupied and unoccupied zones of France. It continues by describing how the roles that De Gaulle and Moulin played in orchastrating the various groups and how the concept of the resistance played into French culture and identity in the formation of the fourth republic.
