Research Catalog
Exodus politics : civil rights and leadership in African American literature and culture
- Title
- Exodus politics : civil rights and leadership in African American literature and culture / Robert J. Patterson.
- Author
- Patterson, Robert J., 1980-
- Publication
- Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2013.
Items in the Library & Off-site
Filter by
1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | Sc D 14-450 | Schomburg Center - Research & Reference |
Details
- Description
- xiii, 202 pages; 23 cm
- Summary
- "Using the term "exodus politics" to theorize the valorization of black male leadership in the movement for civil rights, Robert J. Patterson explores the ways in which the political strategies and ideologies of this movement paradoxically undermined the collective enfranchisement of black people. He argues that by narrowly conceptualizing civil rights in only racial terms and relying solely on a male figure, conventional African American leadership, though frequently redemptive, can also erode the very goals of civil rights. The author turns to contemporary African American writers such as Ernest Gaines, Gayl Jones, Alice Walker, and Charles Johnson to show how they challenge the dominant models of civil rights leadership. He draws on a variety of disciplines--including black feminism, civil rights history, cultural studies, and liberation theology--in order to develop a more nuanced formulation of black subjectivity and politics. Patterson's connection of the concept of racial rights to gender and sexual rights allows him to illuminate the literature's promotion of more expansive models. By considering the competing and varied political interests of black communities, these writers reimagine the dominant models in a way that can empower communities to be self-sustaining in the absence of a messianic male leader." -- Publisher's description.
- Alternative Title
- Civil rights and leadership in African American literature and culture
- Subjects
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [179]-193) and index.
- Contents
- Introduction: Civil rights, leadership, and exodus politics -- "Is he the one?" : civil rights activism and leadership in Ernest Gaines' The autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman -- "The refusal of Christ to accept crucifixion" : bridge leadership in Alice Walker's Meridian -- "The important thing is making generations" : reproduction and blues performances as forms of civil rights leadership in Gayl Jones' Corregidora -- "We all killed him" : the limits of formal leadership and civil rights legislation in Charles Johnson's Dreamer -- Epilogue: Is there life after exodus politics?
- Call Number
- Sc D 14-450
- ISBN
- 9780813935256 (cloth : acid-free paper)
- 0813935253 (cloth : acid-free paper)
- 9780813935263 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
- 0813935261 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
- 9780813935270 (e-book) (canceled/invalid)
- 081393527X (e-book) (canceled/invalid)
- LCCN
- 2013011900
- 40022949477
- OCLC
- 836206078
- Author
- Patterson, Robert J., 1980- author.
- Title
- Exodus politics : civil rights and leadership in African American literature and culture / Robert J. Patterson.
- Publisher
- Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2013.
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [179]-193) and index.
- Other Standard Identifier
- 40022949477
- Research Call Number
- Sc D 14-450