Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. The Logic of Slavery
  • Cited by 27
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      05 September 2012
      27 August 2012
      ISBN:
      9781139177252
      9781107025073
      9781107607811
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139177252
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.56kg, 264 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.37kg, 262 Pages
      • Series:
      Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture
      Subjects:
      Literature, Area Studies, American Literature, American Studies, African Studies, African and Caribbean Literature, Literary Theory
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Series:
    Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture
    Subjects:
    Literature, Area Studies, American Literature, American Studies, African Studies, African and Caribbean Literature, Literary Theory
    Information

    Book description

    In American history and throughout the Western world, the subjugation perpetuated by slavery has created a unique 'culture of slavery'. That culture exists as a metaphorical, artistic and literary tradition attached to the enslaved - human beings whose lives are 'owed' to another, who are used as instruments by another and who must endure suffering in silence. Tim Armstrong explores the metaphorical legacy of slavery in American culture by investigating debt, technology and pain in African-American literature and a range of other writings and artworks. Armstrong's careful analysis reveals how notions of the slave as a debtor lie hidden in our accounts of the commodified self and how writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rebecca Harding Davis, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison grapple with the pervasive view that slaves are akin to machines.

    Awards

    A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2013

    Winner of the 2013 Hugh Holman Award, Society for the Study of Southern Literature

    Reviews

    'The Logic of Slavery is a bracing read and a showcase for Armstrong’s remarkable intellectual flexibility and range.'

    Source: The Cambridge Journal of Postcolonial Literary Inquiry

    'Compelling, persuasive, and theoretically sophisticated, this book is concerned primarily with the figural, metaphorical dimensions of slavery in the Western world … A strikingly original work - deeply engaging, carefully researched and documented - this volume will interest informed readers, students, and scholars of slavery and race, the history of slavery, African American studies, and American studies.'

    J. A. Miller Source: Choice

    '… deserves a close read by specialists interested in the investment American culture has in slavery and its historical narratives … Its engagement with African American literature, theory, and historical narrative will engage scholars across disciplines.'

    Source: The Journal of American Culture

    'The book is an extraordinarily erudite, intellectually sophisticated, and beautifully written contribution to the wider project - which must necessarily be multifaceted - of disinterring slavery’s continuing impact on contemporary American culture.'

    Anita Rupprecht Source: Cultural Critique

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents

    Metrics

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.