The Discourse of Race and Southern Literature, 1890-1940: From Consensus and Accommodation to Subversion and Resistance

The monograph looks at the literary representation of race relations in the American South from 1890 to 1940. Literary texts by Southern white and black authors form part of a complex discourse of race that incorporates historical, economical, social, and literary practices. In four historical periods the increasing opposition to the prevalent discourse of race is delineated. Each chapter covers four interlocked areas: 1. The grounding of the literary discourse of race in the economic and political developments. 2. The changes in the representation of the black ‘Other’ by white writers. 3. The tactics of subversion and resistance through ‘black sounds’ that established a counterhegemonic discourse. 4. The role of women writers and their attempts at undermining the patriarchal discourse.