Black Women and Energies of Resistance in Nineteenth-Century Haitian and American Literature

Black Women and Energies of Resistance in Nineteenth-Century Haitian and American Literature explores how Black women resisted oppressive regimes through diasporic spiritual beliefs and practices, revealing new stories that center them in a revolutionary world.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 23 November 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

In nineteenth-century Haitian and American literature, Black Women and Energies of Resistance challenge conventional narratives of American modernity by placing Black women at the forefront of a rapidly interconnected world. While traditional accounts of modernity have highlighted advancements in communication technologies, animal and fossil fuel extraction, and the rise of urban centers, Mary Grace Albanese argues that women of African descent resisted these often violent regimes through diasporic spiritual beliefs and practices, including spiritual possession, rootwork, midwifery, mesmerism, prophecy, and wandering. This book demonstrates how these energetic acts of resistance were carried out on various scales, from the confined spaces of garden plots to the expansive circuits of global migration. By examining the concept of energy from narratives of technological progress, capital accumulation, and global expansion, this book unveils new stories that center Black women at the heart of a pulsating, revolutionary world.

Weight: 432g
Dimension: 158 x 238 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781009314244