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BlacknessandValue
SeeingDouble
BlacknessandValueinvestigatestheprinciplesbywhich"value"operatesandaskswhetheritisusefultoimaginethattheconceptsofracialblacknessandwhiteness intheUnitedStatesoperateintermsoftheseprinciples.Testingtheseconceptsbyexploringvarioustheoreticalapproachesandtheirshortcomings,LindonBarrett findsthatthegulfbetween"thestreet"(whereraceisacknowledgedasapowerfulenigma)andtheliteraryacademy(whereuntilrecentlyithasnotbeen)canbe understoodasasymptomofracialviolence. Thebooktracesseveralinterrelationsbetweenvalueandrace,suchasliterate/illiterate,thesigning/singingvoice,time/space,civic/criminal,andacademy/street,and offersrelevantandfreshreadingsoftwonovelsbyAnnPetry.Whereascommonlyapproachestoraceandvalueareexaminedhistoricallyorsociologically,this intriguingstudyprovidesanewcriticalapproachthatspeakstotheoristsofraceaswellasgenderandqueerstudies. LindonBarrettisAssociateProfessorintheDepartmentofEnglishandComparativeLiteratureandthePrograminAfricanAmericanStudiesattheUniversityof California,Irvine.