Race and Affect in Early Modern English Literature

This collection explores the emotional dimensions of race in early modern literature through the intersection of critical race studies and affect theory,raising questions about the experiences of racial formation, racist ideologies, and the affective register of anti-blackness. It offers new ways of reading and interpreting literary traditions, religious differences, gender experiences, class hierarchies, sexuality, and social identities by investigating how race feels.

Format: Hardback
Length: 180 pages
Publication date: 29 April 2022
Publisher: Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies,US

This collection brings together critical race studies and affect theory to examine the emotional dimensions of race in early modern literature. By integrating these two fields, it opens up a range of new and intriguing questions. What are the emotional experiences of racial formation and racist ideologies? How do feelings, whether through physical sensations, emotional passions, or sexual encounters, come to signify race? What is the affective register of anti-blackness that pervades canonical literature? How can these visceral forms of racism be resisted in discourse and in practice?

To answer these questions, the book investigates how race feels. It offers a fresh perspective on reading and interpreting literary traditions, religious differences, gendered experiences, class hierarchies, sexuality, and social identities. Traditionally, scholars have approached the study of race in the early modern period by focusing on various topics such as genealogy, language, economics, religion, skin color, and ethnicity. However, this book goes beyond that by considering racializing processes as visceral, affective experiences.

Through its analysis, the book demonstrates how emotions play a crucial role in shaping our understanding of race and its impact on individuals and society. It highlights the ways in which feelings, such as fear, anger, and desire, are intertwined with racial ideologies and practices, creating a complex web of power and oppression. By exploring these emotional dimensions, the book provides valuable insights into the ways in which literature and other cultural forms can contribute to the perpetuation of racial inequality and the resistance against it.

In conclusion, Race and Affect in Early Modern English Literature is a groundbreaking work that offers a fresh and innovative approach to the study of race in early modern literature. By integrating critical race studies and affect theory, it provides a comprehensive analysis of the emotional dimensions of race and its impact on individuals and society. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of early modern literature, race studies, and cultural studies, as well as anyone who is interested in understanding the complex and multifaceted ways in which emotions shape our understanding of race and its implications.

Weight: 460g
Dimension: 238 x 150 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780866986922