Winner of the 2015 LGBT Studies Award presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation Scholars of US and transatlantic slavery have largely ignored or dismissed accusations that Black Americans were cannibalized. Vincent Woodard takes the enslaved person’s claims of human consumption seriously; focusing on both the literal starvation of the slave and the tropes of cannibalism on the part of the slaveholder; and further draws attention to the ways in which Blacks experienced their consumption as a fundamentally homoerotic occurrence. The Delectable Negro explores these connections between homoeroticism; cannibalism; and cultures of consumption in the context of American literature and US slave culture. Utilizing many staples of African American literature and culture; such as the slave narratives of OlaudahEquiano; Harriet Jacobs; and Frederick Douglass; as well as other less circulated materials like James L. Smith’s slave narrative; runaway slave advertisements; and numerous articles from Black newspapers published in the nineteenth century; Woodard traces the racial assumptions; political aspirations; gender codes; and philosophical frameworks that dictated both European and white American arousal towards Black males and hunger for Black male flesh. Woodard uses these texts to unpack how slaves struggled not only against social consumption; but also against endemic mechanisms of starvation and hunger designed to break them. He concludes with an examination of the controversial chain gang oral sex scene in Toni Morrison’s Beloved; suggesting that even at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century; we are still at a loss for language with which to describe Black male hunger within a plantation culture of consumption.
#1161724 in Books Marion Casey 2007-03-01 2007-03-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 10.25 x 1.88 x 7.13l; 2.80 #File Name: 0814752187733 pagesMaking the Irish American History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very Good CompilationBy Mary SThis is a compilation of several contributors and is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in modern Irish history.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. collected essays go into all areas of Irish American heritage and accomplishmentsBy Henry BerryOf the 29 articles; nine have been previously published; one in 1963; another in 1988; and the others in the past seven or so years. Some authors are widely-known--Daniel Patrick Moynihan; Pete Hamill; Calvin Trillin; while the others are steeped in Irish traditions from heritage and academic or other professional positions. The collected articles are crossovers between popular interest and academic perspective. Most combine popular subjects and approach with historical documentation or data. Within major sections on Irish-American foundations and identity are articles on sports; music; religion; organizations; and the role of notably; in some cases somewhat stereotypical; Irish figures such as domestics known as "biddies" or firemen in Irish-American assimilation and as representative of Irish-Americans in general. For the astute editorial selection of the number of general and somewhat specialized articles; expertise of the authors; and documentation in articles and appendices plus notes and bibliographies; "Making the Irish American" is a major text tying together this field of ethnic studies with American history and social history.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A thoughtful set of essays and articlesBy Midwest Book ReviewPlenty of books have been written on Irish-American history both locally and nation-wide; but MAKING THE IRISH AMERICAN holds a difference: it's nearly thirty perspectives on the process of the Irish in America and blends original research with reprints of classic analyses; making for a thoughtful set of essays and articles which survey Irish-American history in context of the overall immigrant experience. Any college-level holding strong in ethnic studies or American history will find this an outstanding compilation; highly recommended as a basic collection addition.Diane C. DonovanCalifornia Bookwatch
