Frederick Douglass & Herman Melville : essays in relation / edited by Robert S. Levine & Samuel Otter.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Levine, Robert S. (Robert Steven), 1953-

Otter, Samuel, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895--Political and social views.

Douglass, Frederick.

Melville, Herman, 1819-1891--Political and social views.

Melville, Herman.

Melville, Herman, 1819-1891.

Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895.

American literature--19th century--History and criticism.

American literature.

Literature and society--History--19th century.

Literature and society.

Race relations--History--19th century.

Race relations.

African Americans--Intellectual life--19th century.

African Americans.

African Americans--Intellectual life.

Cultural pluralism in literature.

History.

Political and social views.

Physical Description:

475 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Other Title:

Frederick Douglass and Herman Melville

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2008]

Summary:

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) and Herman Melville (1819-1891) addressed in their writings a range of issues that continue to resonate in American culture: the reach and limits of democracy; the nature of freedom; the roles of race, gender, and sexuality; and the place of the United States in the world. Yet they are rarely discussed together, perhaps because of their differences in race and social position. Douglass escaped from slavery and tied his well-received nonfiction writing to political activism, becoming a figure of international prominence. Melville was the grandson of Revolutionary War heroes and addressed urgent issues through fiction and poetry, laboring in increasing obscurity.

In eighteen original essays, the contributors to this collection explore the convergences and divergences of these two extraordinary literary lives. Developing new perspectives on literature, biography, race, gender, and politics, this volume ultimately raises questions that help rewrite the color line in nineteenth-century studies.

Contents:

Introduction: Douglass and Melville in Relation / Robert S. Levine, Samuel Otter 1

Part I Literary and Cultural Geographies

Revolutionary Fictions and Activist Labor: Looking for Douglass and Melville Together / John Ernest 19

Fugitive Justice: Douglass, Shaw, Melville / Robert K. Wallace 39

Cheer and Gloom: Douglass and Melville on Slave Dance and Music / Sterling Stuckey 69

Douglass, Melville, and the Moral Economies of American Authorship / Susan M. Ryan 88

Volcanoes and Meteors: Douglass, Melville, and the Poetics of Insurrection / William Gleason 110

Interracial Friendship and the Aesthetics of Freedom / John Stauffer 134

Political Theology in Douglass and Melville / Steven Mailloux 159

The Ethics of Impertinence: Douglass and Melville on England / Elisa Tamarkin 181

The Ends of Enchantment: Douglass, Melville, and U.S. Expansionism in the Americas / Rodrigo Lazo 207

Part II Manhood and Sexuality

Fraternal Melancholies: Manhood and the Limits of Sympathy in Douglass and Melville / Elizabeth Barnes 233

Douglass's and Melville's "Alphabets of the Blind" / Hester Blum 257

A View from the Closet: Reconcilable Differences in Douglass and Melville / David Van Leer 279

Riveted to the Wall: Covetous Fathers, Devoted Sons, and the Patriarchal Pieties of Melville and Douglass / Maurice Wallace 300

Part III Civil Wars

Fahrenheit 1861: Cross Patriotism in Melville and Douglass / Russ Castronovo, Dana D. Nelson 329

White Fratricide, Black Liberation: Melville, Douglass, and Civil War Memory / Carolyn L. Karcher 349

Douglass, Melville, and the Lynching of Billy Budd / Gregory Jay 369

Melville, Douglass, the Civil War, Pragmatism / Maurice S. Lee 396

1855/1955: From Antislavery to Civil Rights / Eric J. Sundquist 416

A Douglass and Melville Chronology 443.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780807831847

0807831840

9780807858721

0807858722

OCLC:

166255057