Black Womanist Ethics / Edition 1

by Katie G. Cannon

Overview

This study articulates the distinctive moral character of the Afro-American women's community. Beginning with a reconstructive history of the Afro-American woman's situation in America, Katie G. Cannon goes on to trace the emergence of the Black woman's literary tradition and explain its importance in expressing the moral wisdom of Black women. The life and work of Zora Neale Hurston are examined in detail for her unique contributions to the moral tradition of the Afro-American woman. A final chapter initiates a promising exchange between the works of Hurston and those of Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555402167
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/02/1988
Series:	AAR Academy Series , #60
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	8.72(w) x 5.64(h) x 0.52(d)

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Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction	1
	Origins of the Study	1
	Methodologies Used in the Study	5
	Summary of the Study	6
	Preliminary Explanation of the Study	9
Chapter I.	The Black Woman's Moral Situation, 1619-1900
	The Moral Situation of the Black Woman in Slavery	31
	The Moral Situation of the Black Woman After the Civil War	41
Chapter II.	The Black Woman's Moral Situation in the Twentieth Century
	The Moral Situation of the Black Woman During the Great Migration	59
	The Moral Situation of the Black Woman Between the World Wars	62
	The Moral Situation of the Black Woman in Contemporary Society	66
Chapter III.	The Black Woman's Literary Tradition as a Source for Ethics
	The Black Woman's Literary Tradition Parallels Black History	77
	The Black Woman's Literary Tradition Uses the Oral Narrative Devices of the Black Community	84
	The Black Woman's Literary Tradition Capuslizes the Insularity of the Black Community	87
	Conclusion	89
Chapter IV.	Resources for a Constructive Ethic in the Life of Zora Neale Hurston
	"Invisible Dignity" as It Relates to Moral Agency and Racism' in Hurston's Life	105
	"Invisible Dignity" as It Relates to Moral Agency and Gender Discrimination in Hurston's Life	108
	"Invisible Dignity" as It Relates to Moral Agency and Poverty in Hurston's Life	114
Chapter V.	Resources for a Constructive Ethic in the Work of Zora Neale Hurston
	Resources in the Fiction of Zora Neale Hurston (Quite Grace)	125
	Resources in the Nonfiction of Zora Neale Hurston (Unshouted Courage)	143
	Conclusion	149
Chapter VI.	Resources for a Constructive Ethic in the Theology of Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King, Jr.
	Thurman: 'Imago Dei' and Mysticism	160
	King: 'Imago Dei' and Natural Law	163
	Thurman: Love through Justice and Social Change	164
	King: Love and Justice	165
	Thurman: Community and Inter-relatedness	168
	King: Beloved Community, Pragmatism and a Praxis of Resistance	169
	Conclusion	174
	Bibliography