Postcards from the edge-city : mass-media and photographic images in contemporary novels of the Black diaspora
This dissertation examines the use of photographic and mass-media images in literary representations of Black urban slums or "edge-cities." I explore four contemporary novels and a film that rely heavily on photographic and mass-media images to illuminate, articulate, and critique modern-day Black urban existence: Patrick Chamoiseau's Texaco (1997), Chris Abani's Graceland (2004), John Edgar Wideman's Fanon, Paulo Lins' Cidade de Deus (1997), and Fernando Meirelles' 2002 film adaptation of Lins' novel City of God. In each chapter, I examine the ways in which photographic and/or mass-media images are used as narrative tropes or devices for representing the material conditions of an emerging slum existence. I argue that each text reveals a preoccupation with the rise of global urbanism and visual culture as new types of discursive spaces--new kinds of "texts"-- that shape not only the real life of black people, but also the literary landscape of Black writing across the globe. Theoretically, I situate these novels as intersections of contemporary postcolonial and postmodern literature and as part of a Pan-Africanist/ Black Diaspora literary tradition.
Read
- In Collections
-
Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Material Type
-
Theses
- Authors
-
Mason, Lauren Camille
- Thesis Advisors
-
O'Donnell, Patrick
- Committee Members
-
Harrow, Kenneth
Hassan, Salah
Nieland, Justus
- Date
- 2011
- Subjects
-
Chamoiseau, Patrick
Abani, Chris
Wideman, John Edgar
Lins, Paulo, 1958-
Cidade de Deus (Motion picture)
Cidade de Deus (Lins, Paulo)
Slums in literature
Postcolonialism in literature
Literature--Black authors
City and town life in literature
Black people in literature
African diaspora in literature
- Program of Study
-
English
- Degree Level
-
Doctoral
- Language
-
English
- Pages
- [iii], 161 pages
- ISBN
-
9781124549262
1124549269
- Embargo End Date
-
Indefinite
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/x2j2-fy33
This item is not available to view or download. To request a copy, contact ill@lib.msu.edu.