C. L. R. James (1901-1989), one of the most important intellectuals
of the twentieth century, expressed his postcolonial and socialist
philosophies in fiction, speeches, essays, and book-length
scholarly discourses. However, the majority of academic attention
given to James keeps the diverse mediums of James's writing
separate, focuses on his work as a political theorist, and
subordinates his role as a fiction writer. This book, however,
seeks to change such an approach to studying James. Defining
creolization as a process by which European, African, Amerindian,
Asian, and American cultures are amalgamated to form new hybrid
identities and cultures, Nicole King uses this process as a means
to understanding James's work and life. She argues that, throughout
his career, whether writing a short story or a political history,
James articulated his attempt to produce revolutionary, radical
discourses with a consistent methodology. James, a Trinidad-born
scholar who migrated to England and then to the United States and
who described himself both as a black radical and a Victorian
intellectual, serves as a definitive model of creolization. King
argues that James's writings also fit the model of creolization,
for each is influenced by diverse types of discourses. James rarely
wrote from within the confines of a single discipline, instead
choosing to make the layers of history, literature, philosophy, and
political theory coalesce in order to make his point. As his West
Indian and Western European influences converge in his work and
life, he creates texts that are difficult to confine to a specific
category or discipline. No matter which writerly medium he uses,
James was preoccupied with how to represent the individual
personality and at the same time represent the community. The C. L.
R. James that emerges from King's study is a man made more
compelling and more human because of his complicated, multilayered,
and sometimes contradictory allegiances. Nicole King is an
associate professor of literature at the University of California
(San Diego). She has been published in Soundings and the
forthcoming book Minds, Bodies, Blackness.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(2)
(1)
(4)
