Description
This illuminating and indispensable anthology lays bare a fascinating genealogy of the most frequently invoked trope in the history of U.S. Black culture and politics: The New Negro. Professors Gates and Jarrett take us on an intellectual journey through a crucial half century of Black thought that remains relevant in our time! -- Cornel West, author of "Race Matters" and "Democracy Matters" This anthology will make a marvelous companion to any course on the Harlem Renaissance or the 'New Negro' phenomenon, and an excellent resource even for advanced scholars looking for a compendium of essays that contextualize African American cultural and political thought between the 1890s and 1930s. The range of authors is admirable and many of these essays are immensely readable--pithy, vituperative, inspiriting, and humorous by turns. -- George B. Hutchinson, Indiana University Bringing together a comprehensive body of essays from a wide range of fields, this anthology will be invaluable to scholars and students of the period from the late nineteenth century to the end of the Harlem Renaissance. It provides not only canonical texts, but also lesser-known pieces, so that it will enhance our understanding of this important period. -- Valerie Smith, Princeton University
About the Author
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University. His most recent books include "Finding Oprah's Roots" and "The Trials of Phillis Wheatley". Gene Andrew Jarrett is associate professor of English and African American studies at Boston University. He is the author of "Deans and Truants: Race and Realism in African American Literature".
Reviews
"Because 'New Negro' is really just a catchprase for the capacious topic of race in America, this is less an anthology than a mix of articles, criticism, essays, theories, calls to action and commentary by people both black and white, ranging from the famous (Richard Wright, James Weldon Johnson, H.L. Mencken) to those lesser known but prominent in their time (Alain Locke). The result is a spirited...dialectic tracing the most intense period of New Negro discussions, between 1892 and 1938."--Erin Aubry Kaplan, Los Angeles Times Book Review "Recent years have seen an explosion of writings on the so-called new Negro... Now Gates and Jarrett lend their considerable voices to the discussion. Including an excellent introduction that situates the debate, this anthology collects some 100 essays on the trope of the new Negro between 1892 and 1938, years that broadly encompass the period known as the Harlem Renaissance... The book covers not only literature but also music, theater, and the fine arts and convincingly links them with social and political happenings of the period... [O]verall this is a masterful piece of work."--L. J. Parascandola, Long Island University, for CHOICE "The New Negro is a valuable collection of essays that is accessible to scholars, teachers, and those generally interested in African-American history. When placed within the context of recent New Negro scholarship, the anthology reinforces the need to expand the depth and breadth of research into Post-Reconstruction representations of race in African-American culture."--Gabriel A. Briggs, Callaloo
Book Information
ISBN 9780691126524
Author Henry Louis Gates
Format Paperback
Page Count 608
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publisher Princeton University Press
Weight(grams) 1021g