The White Image in the Black Mind: A Study of African American Literature
African American writers have created a rich literature that reflects their experiences and achievements. In many instances, whites figure prominently in these works, frequently portrayed as oppressors. Through a careful examination of works by black writers, Davis constructs a typology of white images in the African American imagination. The book argues that these images repeatedly occur in works by black writers. Some of these stereotypes include the overt bigot, the hypocrite, the liberal, and the good-hearted weakling.

While black writers are often explicit in representing the racism of the overt bigot, Davis notes that African American literary works are much more complex in their exposition of the hidden forms of bigotry manifested by covert white racists. The volume suggests that black authors believe that racism is not merely a form of thought or behavior, but a manifestation of identity. While Davis gives detailed attention to the works of Charles Chesnutt, James Baldwin, and Richard Wright, she also looks at several other black writers and examines discussions of whites in contemporary critiques of race by such authors as Derrick Bell and Ellis Cose.

"1132778360"
The White Image in the Black Mind: A Study of African American Literature
African American writers have created a rich literature that reflects their experiences and achievements. In many instances, whites figure prominently in these works, frequently portrayed as oppressors. Through a careful examination of works by black writers, Davis constructs a typology of white images in the African American imagination. The book argues that these images repeatedly occur in works by black writers. Some of these stereotypes include the overt bigot, the hypocrite, the liberal, and the good-hearted weakling.

While black writers are often explicit in representing the racism of the overt bigot, Davis notes that African American literary works are much more complex in their exposition of the hidden forms of bigotry manifested by covert white racists. The volume suggests that black authors believe that racism is not merely a form of thought or behavior, but a manifestation of identity. While Davis gives detailed attention to the works of Charles Chesnutt, James Baldwin, and Richard Wright, she also looks at several other black writers and examines discussions of whites in contemporary critiques of race by such authors as Derrick Bell and Ellis Cose.

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The White Image in the Black Mind: A Study of African American Literature

The White Image in the Black Mind: A Study of African American Literature

by Jane Davis
The White Image in the Black Mind: A Study of African American Literature

The White Image in the Black Mind: A Study of African American Literature

by Jane Davis

Hardcover(New Edition)

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Overview

African American writers have created a rich literature that reflects their experiences and achievements. In many instances, whites figure prominently in these works, frequently portrayed as oppressors. Through a careful examination of works by black writers, Davis constructs a typology of white images in the African American imagination. The book argues that these images repeatedly occur in works by black writers. Some of these stereotypes include the overt bigot, the hypocrite, the liberal, and the good-hearted weakling.

While black writers are often explicit in representing the racism of the overt bigot, Davis notes that African American literary works are much more complex in their exposition of the hidden forms of bigotry manifested by covert white racists. The volume suggests that black authors believe that racism is not merely a form of thought or behavior, but a manifestation of identity. While Davis gives detailed attention to the works of Charles Chesnutt, James Baldwin, and Richard Wright, she also looks at several other black writers and examines discussions of whites in contemporary critiques of race by such authors as Derrick Bell and Ellis Cose.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780313304644
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 04/30/2000
Series: Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies: Contemporary Black Poets , #194
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 184
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Lexile: 1470L (what's this?)

About the Author

JANE DAVIS teaches in the English Department at Iowa State University./e She was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University and has taught at Fordham University and the University of Rochester.

Table of Contents

Preface
The White Image in the Black Mind
White Types in Black Lives
Lynching Gyneolatry
The White Problem in Today's America
A Dirty Rag in White People's Hands: The White Image Deep Inside the Black Mind
What Is a White Person?
Bibliography
Index

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