Title: Dislocating the color line
First published: 1997
Description: This book provides a historical context for the recent resurgence of racial division by tracing the path of the color line as it appears in the narrative writings of African-Americans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In readings of slave narratives, "passing novels," and the writings of Charles Chesnutt and Zora Neale Hurston, the author asks: What is the work of division? How does division work?

The history of the color line in the United States is coeval with that of the nation. The author suggests that throughout this history, the color line has not functioned simply to name biological or cultural difference, but more important, it has served as a principle of division, classification, and order. This book seeks not only to understand, but also to bring critical pressure on the interpretations, practices, and assumptions that correspond to and buttress representations of racial difference.
Subjects: African Americans in literature, Racially mixed people in literature, Color, American literature, History and criticism, Criticism and interpretation, Individuality in literature, Race in literature, Group identity in literature, Narration (Rhetoric), African American authors, Intellectual life, Slavery in literature, African Americans, Chesnutt, charles waddell, 1858-1932, Hurston, zora neale, 1901-1960, American literature, african american authors, history and criticism
People: Zora Neale Hurston, Charles Waddell Chesnutt (1858-1932)
LC classification: PS153.N5 K38 1997