Gender and the Spatiality of Blackness in Contemporary AfroFrench Narratives

This book explores the spatial negotiations of black women in France through a transdisciplinary lens, combining critical black and urban geographies, intersectional feminism, and textual analysis. It assesses literature, film, and music as narrative forms and engages with the sociocultural and political contexts from which they emerge. Through the figure of the black flâneuse and the analytical framework of walking as method, the book goes beneath spectacular representations of ghettoized banlieues, televised protests, and shipwrecked migrants to analyze the spatiality of blackness in the everyday. It argues that the material-discursive framing of black flânerie, as both relational and embodied movements, renders visible a politics of place embedded in everyday micro-struggles of raced-sexed subjects.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 172 pages
Publication date: 25 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This captivating book delves into the intricate study of AfroEurope by exploring narrative forms created in contemporary France, a place that serves as a vivid illustration of race in European spaces. Through a transdisciplinary approach that seamlessly blends critical black and urban geographies, intersectional feminism, and textual analysis, the book uncovers the fascinating spatial negotiations of black women in France. It assesses a wide range of literature, film, and music as narrative forms, engaging with the sociocultural and political contexts from which they emerge. By employing the figure of the black flâneuse and the analytical framework of walking as a method, the book ventures beyond the sensationalized representations of ghettoized banlieues, televised protests, and shipwrecked migrants. It aims to analyze the spatiality of blackness in the everyday, shedding light on the underlying politics of place embedded in the micro-struggles of raced-sexed subjects.

This book stands out by foregrounding expressive modes and forms that have historically received limited critical attention outside of the French and francophone world. It offers valuable insights to academics, researchers, writers, students, activists, and readers with a keen interest in Literary and Cultural Studies, African and Afrodiasporic Studies, Black Feminisms, Migration Studies, Critical Black Geographies, Francophone Studies, and the comparative framework of Afroeuropean Studies.

In conclusion, this book is a groundbreaking exploration of AfroEurope, offering a rich and multi-dimensional perspective on the experiences of black women in France. Through its transdisciplinary approach, it sheds light on the complex spatial negotiations, political implications, and cultural expressions of blackness in contemporary France. It is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the multifaceted dimensions of race, gender, and identity in Europe.

Weight: 292g
Dimension: 156 x 235 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367637538