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Description of  Cervantine Blackness (Iberian Encounter and Exchange, 475 1755)

0271098783 pdf There is no shortage of Black characters in Miguel de Cervantess works, yet there has been a profound silence about the Spanish authors compelling literary construction and cultural codification of Black Africans and sub-Saharan Africa. In Cervantine Blackness, Nicholas R. Jones reconsiders in what sense Black subjects possess an inherent value within Cervantess cultural purview and literary corpus. In this unflinching critique, Jones charts important new methodological and theoretical terrain, problematizing the ways emphasis on agency has stifled and truncated the study of Black Africans and their descendants in early modern Spanish cultural and literary production. Through the lens of what he calls Cervantine Blackness, Jones challenges the reader to think about the blind faith that has been lent to the idea of agencyand its analogues presence and resistanceas a primary motivation for examining the lives of Black people during this period. Offering a well-crafted and sharp critique, through a systematic deconstruction of deeply rooted prejudices, Jones establishes a solid foundation for the development of a new genre of literary and cultural criticism. Read more