Slavery: History And Historians
In this expanded version of his pamphlet Slavery (1981), British historian Parish essays the recent dramatic shifts in the historiography of slavery. He eschews comprehensiveness for selective treatment of the major works of the 1960s-80s, noting the shift from the 1970s synoptic histories to the intensively localistic studies of the 1980s. New sources, new methodologies, and new sensitivity to the slaves as persons rather than passive objects--all inform the "new history" of slavery that emphasizes a dynamic, syncretic Afro-American culture and the masters' sometimes tenuous hold on the slaves and the South. Parish covers such topics as the business of slavery, labor, the slaves' lives, slavery in comparative New World contexts, and more, and concludes that the "peculiar institution" was riddled with contradictions. This book is an essential primer. Recommended for college libraries.- Randall M. Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., PhiladelphiaCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.