Exhibiting Slavery: The Caribbean Postmodern Novel as Museum

Front Cover
University of Virginia Press, Sep 22, 2009 - Literary Collections - 207 pages
0 Reviews
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified

Exhibiting Slavery examines the ways in which Caribbean postmodern historical novels about slavery written in Spanish, English, and French function as virtual museums, simultaneously showcasing and curating a collection of "primary documents" within their pages. As Vivian Nun Halloran attests, these novels highlight narrative "objects" extraneous to their plot--such as excerpts from the work of earlier writers, allusions to specific works of art, the uniforms of maroon armies assembled in preparation of a military offensive, and accounts of slavery's negative impact on the traditional family unit in Africa or the United States. In doing so, they demand that their readers go beyond the pages of the books to sort out fact from fiction and consider what relationship these featured "objects" have to slavery and to contemporary life. The self-referential function of these texts produces a "museum effect" that simultaneously teaches and entertains their readers, prompting them to continue their own research beyond and outside the text.

 

What people are saying - Write a review

We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.

Contents

Novels as Museums in a Postmodern Age
1
Books as National Literary History Museums
21
Art Museums Visual InterTexts
51
Ethnographic Museums The Literary Diorama
79
Between Plantation and Living History Museum
100
World Heritage Sites The Fortress
121
Mourning Museums Diasporic Practices
149
Notes
177
Bibliography
191
Index
203
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Exhibiting Slavery: The Caribbean Postmodern Novel as Museum
Vivian Nun Halloran
Limited preview - 2009
Exhibiting Slavery: The Caribbean Postmodern Novel as Museum
Vivian Nun Halloran
No preview available - 2009

Common terms and phrases

actual African American Angels artistic audience bondage British building calls Caribbean century chapter characters Citadel claims collections colonial Condé’s consider constitute contemporary context create criticism cultural dead death depicted describes dioramas discussion display documents domestic Elmina Castle European exhibition experience fact fiction figures fortress Free freedom French function Graveyard Ground Haitian heritage historical novels human identity images individual institution interest interpretation island L’esclave larger literary literature living memory mentioned metafictive Middle Passage military mourning museum narrative narrator noche oscura objects official ofthe original painting past perform plantation points political portray postmodern practices present Puerto Rican readers reading reference represent respective Rodríguez Juliá’s role scenes shared slave trade slavery space Spanish specific story structures suggests tion Tituba tourists traditional translation United visitors visual World writers written

About the author (2009)

Vivian Nun Halloran is Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at Indiana University.

Bibliographic information

QR code for Exhibiting Slavery
TitleExhibiting Slavery: The Caribbean Postmodern Novel as Museum
New World Studies Imprint: ALI
New World studies
UPCC book collections on Project MUSE
AuthorVivian Nun Halloran
ContributorAmerican Literatures Initiative
Editionillustrated
PublisherUniversity of Virginia Press, 2009
ISBN0813928656, 9780813928654
Length207 pages
Subjects › 

Literary Collections / Caribbean & Latin American
Social Science / Slavery
  
Export CitationBiBTeX EndNote RefMan