Theorizing a Colonial Caribbean-Atlantic Imaginary

Theorizing a Colonial Caribbean-Atlantic Imaginary
Author: Keith Sandiford
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2010-11-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1136853995

This book develops a theory of a Caribbean-Atlantic imaginary by exploring the ways two colonial texts represent the consciousnesses of Amerindians, Africans, and Europeans at two crucial points marking respectively the origins and demise of slavocratic systems in the West Indies. Focusing on Richard Ligon’s History of Barbados (1657) and Matthew ‘Monk’ Lewis’ Journal of a West India Proprietor (1834), the study identifies specific myths and belief systems surrounding sugar and obeah as each of these came to stand for concepts of order and counterorder, and to figure the material and symbolic power of masters and slaves respectively. Rooting the imaginary in indigenous Caribbean myths, the study adopts the pre-Columbian origins of the imaginary ascribed by Wilson Harris to a cross cultural bridge or arc, and derives the mythic origins for the centrality of sugar in the imaginary’s constitution from Kamau Brathwaite. The book’s central organizing principle is an oppositional one, grounded on the order/counterorder binary model of the imaginary formulated by the philosopher-social theorist Cornelius Castoriadis. The study breaks new ground by reading Ligon’s History and Lewis’ Journal through the lens of the slaves’ imaginaries of hidden knowledge. By redefining Lewis’ subjectivity through his poem’s most potent counterordering symbol, the demon-king, this book advances recent scholarly interest in Jamaica’s legendary Three Fingered Jack.

A Companion to American Literary Studies

A Companion to American Literary Studies
Author: Caroline F. Levander
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 592
Release: 2015-08-17
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1119062519

A Companion to American Literary Studies addresses the most provocative questions, subjects, and issues animating the field. Essays provide readers with the knowledge and conceptual tools for understanding American literary studies as it is practiced today, and chart new directions for the future of the subject. Offers up-to-date accounts of major new critical approaches to American literary studies Presents state-of-the-art essays on a full range of topics central to the field Essays explore critical and institutional genealogies of the field, increasingly diverse conceptions of American literary study, and unprecedented material changes such as the digital revolution A unique anthology in the field, and an essential resource for libraries, faculty, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Author: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Total Pages: 2146
Release: 2008-05-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1593394926

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia is the perfect resource for information on the people, places, and events of yesterday and today. Students, teachers, and librarians can find fast facts combined with the quality and accuracy that have made Britannica the brand to trust. A tool for both the classroom and the library, no other desk reference can compare.

Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature

Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
Author: Merriam-Webster, Inc
Publisher: Merriam-Webster
Total Pages: 1260
Release: 1995
Genre: Literature
ISBN: 9780877790426

Describes authors, works, and literary terms from all eras and all parts of the world.